BIOgraphy

Abigail Lui is a Brisbane-based composer and violinist inspired by the stories that help us make sense of the world. A recipient of ABC Classic’s Composer Commissioning Fund (2024) and winner of Adelaide Chamber Music School’s String Quartet Composition Prize (2022), she is fast gaining a reputation for bold and intuitive writing that’s equally lucid in concert hall and community.2024 has seen her string quartet Colour of Time recorded by Amiti Quartet for ABC Classic, piano trio Wayfarers recorded by Cerulean Collective for release through Corella Recordings, and on the choral-music side, a new piece for Voices of Birralee inspired by Vincent van Gogh’s artistic practice, and lyric-writing commission composed in collaboration with Elena Kats-Chernin. She has taken part in composition programs with the Australian Youth Orchestra (2024), Queensland Youth Orchestra (2023), Topology (2022-23), and Singapore-based choir Vox Camerata (2022-23). Her music has also been performed by Brisbane Chamber Choir, Lumens, Birralee Singers, and Vocal Australia, and she has written and performed music for films (Nosferatu and Cabinet of Dr. Caligari). Abigail is studying composition with Robert Davidson and violin with Courtenay Cleary, and previously Adam Chalabi, through a Bachelor of Music (Honours) and Science at the University of Queensland. Her Honours research explores how violin performance knowledge can enrich compositional practice through personal study and collaboration. Other composition mentors include Lachlan Skipworth, Paul Dean, Cameron Patrick, Nicole Murphy, Corrina Bonshek, and Erik Griswold. She is an Associate with the Australian Music Centre.Photo (right) by Captured Muses