Paul Dean

Brisbane born and bred clarinetist Paul Dean is regarded as one of Australia’s foremost musicians in his multiple capacities as soloist, recitalist, chamber musician, composer and artistic director.

He currently holds the position of Head of Winds at Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University. Paul was the Artistic Director of the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) from 2010 – 2015 and is a Principal Clarinet with the Australian World Orchestra. He is a founding member of the Sculthorpe Wind Quintet, the Endeavour Trio and is Artistic Director of Ensemble Q.

Paul was the Artistic Director of the Four Winds Festival and the Tutti Beijing International Youth Music Festival and was also the founder of the Southern Cross Soloists, the Bangalow Music Festival, the Coramba Chamber Music Festival and the Sunwater and Stanwell Winter Music School.

Between 1987 and 2000 he was Principal Clarinet with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and has appeared as soloist with the Orchestra on over 40 occasions.

Paul has performed as soloist with the Queensland, Melbourne, West Australian, Adelaide and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras, the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, Southern Sinfonia NZ, Trondheim Symfoniker (Norway). He has been guest artist with the Navarra Quartet, the Doric Quartet, the Heath Quartet, the Australian String Quartet, the Goldner String Quartet, the Grainger Quartet, the Flinders Quartet, and the Tin Alley Quartet. He has performed as soloist at many Festivals throughout world including the Oxford May Music Festival, the Huntington Music Festival, Alpine Classic Switzerland, the Australian Festival of Chamber Music, Trondheim Chamber Music Festival, Coramba Chamber Music Festival, Camden Haven Music Festival, and the Melbourne, Christchurch, Brisbane, Queensland, Perth, and Sydney Festivals.

Paul’s recording of the Mozart and Brahms clarinet works for the Melba label, and the clarinet music of English composer Benjamin Frankel for German label CPO have won high praise from critics around the world.

Paul has composed music for the violinists Jack Liebeck and Anthony Marwood, cellists Torleif Thedeen, Trish O’Brien and Patrick Murphy, tenor Andrew Goodwin and pianist Daniel De Borah, harpist Marshall McGuire, the Brodsky and Flinders Quartets, Katie Noonan, the Melbourne Piano Trio, the Seraphim Trio, the Endeavour Trio and the Australian Flute Festival. Paul is currently working on an opera commissioned by the Queensland Conservatorium Opera School, which will premiere in September 2018, with the Orchestral Fragments being performed by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra in August 2017.

Latest news: Paul was appointed Composer in Residence for the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s 2019 season, He composed a violin concerto, a clarinet concerto, and a chamber work for this season.