I am a multidisciplinary musician who works as a cellist, composer, creative producer and educator. I am passionate about creating new work with artists and communities that tell vital, current and courageous stories and work to empower people through collaborative creation.
Hilary enjoys playing cello in live and recorded performance, working as a freelance musician for leading ensembles, orchestras and contemporary music & jazz artists. A versatile performer, equally at home playing in contemporary and jazz contexts, playing baroque cello with period specialist chamber ensembles and also on amplified cello with experimental and improvising ensembles. She often works in theatre and dance, where her roles have included composer, sound designer, performer and musical director for productions including Restless Dance Theatre’s 'Exposed' (2022), ‘Seeing Through Darkness’ (2020) & 'Next of Kin' (2010), State Theatre Company South Australia’s 'Jack Maggs' (2024), 'The Normal Heart' (2022) ‘Gods of Strangers’ (2018), ‘Vale’ (2017) & 'Babyteeth' (2013) and Brink Productions ‘The Aspirations of Daise Morrow’ (2015) & 'Land & Sea' (2012).
For over 20 years Hilary was cellist with and Artistic Director of Zephyr Quartet - ‘Arguably Australia’s most lateral thinking and inventive ensemble’ (Music Australia) – an award-winning, bold and adventurous string quartet, delighting in the exploration of diverse music and forging dynamic collaborations. With ZQ she has been invited to perform in festivals in Australia and overseas, has performed with leading musicians and bands, has had much experience in playing and commissioning contemporary music and also in producing and curating complex multi-artform collaborations. Zephyr Quartet has released several albums of original music, enjoys air time on radio in Australia and abroad and has won several awards including the APRA / AMCOS Art Music ‘Award for Excellence by an Organisation’ in 2019, Ruby Awards for 'Innovation' in 2007 and 2014 and the UNESCO: City of Music award for 'Best International Collaboration' in 2018.
Compositionally Hilary is fascinated by exploring the human condition, our place within the natural world and our connection to it and each other. She often uses found sounds, images and media as inspiration as both a starting point and within her music and seeks to incorporate other people's voices in her work in various ways.
Hilary’s compositions are played by young people and professional ensembles, with works being commissioned / performed by ensembles such as the Muses Trio, Clocked Out, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide Chamber Singers and the Adelaide Youth Orchestras. In 2020 she was invited to undertake the Summers Night Project, working together with Decibel Ensemble and Soundstream New Music, and in 2018 she was COMA’s (Creative Original Music Adelaide) Featured Composer. Recently she has led collaborative composition projects for the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra working together with school and community groups in the projects 'Floods of Fire' (2020/2024), 'Silos & Symphonies' (2019/2020) and 'Compose with ASO' (2024 / 2025).
The Lost Art of Listening is Hilary's current major research, development and composition project, a performance piece for prepared piano and audience-played smartphone choir which investigates listening and how people experience and value music in an age of 24-hour connectedness and distraction. Working together with pianist Erik Grisworld and creative coder Steve Berrick, this ambitious project also involves the development and creation of a purpose-built smartphone choir app LISTEN. It has been supported by organisations such as Vitalstatistix, Adelaide Festival Centre, Arts South Australia, Australia Council for the Arts, UKARIA and Camber Made.
Hilary believes that access to the arts and a quality arts education should be available to all people. She is often invited to be a guest artist and educator at schools, universities and organisations and enjoys working with people of all ages and abilities, seeking to empower them through collaborative creativity. She is currently teaching at Brighton Secondary School and maintains a home teaching studio.
Hilary is Co-Director of and lead Teaching Artist with Connecting the Dots in Music, working on projects such as Lullaby Project Australia and The Nest. Hilary completed the Global Leaders Program in 2021, winning the Hildegard Behrens Foundation Social Impact Award.
Hilary currently sit on the Peggy Glanville Hicks Composer's House Board. She was the Creative Producer of Musica Viva’s Sessions 2019 Concert Series in Adelaide. She served on the New Music Network Australia board from 2016-2019 and the Artistic Advisory panel of Adelaide Symphony Orchestra in 2019, and facilitated the establishment of COMA (Creative Original Music Adelaide) in 2005, serving as its Artistic Director from 2005-2007.
