Dr Mace Francis
A composer/musician. Since 2005 he has toured and recorded regularly with his 14-piece Mace Francis Orchestra. A recipient of the APRA Professional Development Award (2004), the Italian "Scrivere in Jazz" composition prize, APRA Jazz Work of the Year (2015) and a finalist in the Freedman Jazz Fellowship (2010) and the Australian Bell Awards (2013 & 2016). Mace is the artistic director of WA Youth Jazz Orchestra and has worked as a guest composer in France, Japan and Austria.
Dr Stephen Newcomb
Dr Steve Newcomb is an Australian pianist and composer equally in demand for his unique touch on the piano, detailed writing, and comprehensive style of arranging that explores the realm shared by jazz and new music. Based in Brisbane, Steve is Senior Lecturer, Head of Jazz and the Program Director of the Bachelor of Music degree at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University. Steve completed both his Master of Music and Doctorate of Musical Arts degrees at the Manhattan School of Music as a student of Jim McNeely.