Some of Kim's recent commissions and projects include, Beyond Karma with the Gyuto Monks of Tibet,  Ishq, music for Khalili collection of Islamic Art at the Art Gallery of NSW; working with researcher Genevieve Campbell on her led project of music of the TIWI Islands; Songs to RA, music for the Egyptian Antiquities exhibition from the Louvre; Mandala for Dawn, an orchestral and choir work commissioned and performed in New York, The Thread of Life, a live recording of an international ensemble in New York for US release; The Temple Project, a realization process setting ancient Psalms and Biblical texts to Baghdadian Jewish chant on replica instruments; The Sacred Fire, an ABC commission to reconstitute the music of the first woman composer Hildegard of Bingen; Tomorrow's Islam, a commission to write music reflective of contemporary, modernist Islamic thinkers; and Buddha Realms, a response to the diversity of Buddhist music, written as a response to transcriptions of Buddhist players and singers. Kim has also written a significant body of music for television and screen in this period, principally for the ABC, which has seen him nominated for two Guild of Screen Composers Awards. Many of these projects include collaborations, particularly with soprano Heather Lee who has one of the finest high voices of Australia, and their work together combines classical methodology, traditional performance practice, new composition and wild improvisation.

Other noteworthy projects include Rising, a new opera which recently toured QLD, a planned recording of the landmark 13th Century collection, the Cantigas de Santa Maria, producing soprano Heather Lee and the Statny Komorny orchestra, producing composer Yitzhak Yedid’s music for Challenge Records Germany, three discs with the visionary writer Stephanie Dowrick, CDs with Canadian clarinet virtuoso Francois Houle, a commissioned sertting of the stories of assylum seekers in Australia and a new work for The Song Company. Between this Kim is building towards an international project based on the precepts of field recording and acoustic ecology. In the field of technology Kim has beern making a number of sample libraries with Evolution Series, and an upcoming work titled the extended violin is planned with Grame Jennings.

Kim has 25 years of experience as an artistic practice and discursive researcher as well as a longstanding history as a composer. In this time, I have worked to increase the profile and understanding of artistic practice research in the academy. At the Qld Conservatorium I was co-chair of the Music and Communities Research Hub for the Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre (QCRC), working as a researcher supervisor, and researcher, receiving special commendation for my Doctoral supervision. 

Selected Traditional Research

Meredith, N, Cunio, Scarborough D, Wynne, A (2022). Music of the Spheres.

Astronomy & Geophysics, Volume 63, Issue 1, February 2022, Pages 1.38–1.40, https://doi.org/10.1093/astrogeo/atac013

Cunio K. (2021). Doye Doye (Interpretation of the 1988 Burma democracy uprising and its violent military suppression), Research Roadshow on Biography and Memoir. ANU School of History.

Cunio K. (2019-2021). Op-eds for the Crawford Ask Policy Forum, 2018-2020. 

Cunio K. (2019). Australia: History, culture, and geography of music from the Sage History and Culture of Music. Major chapter and Australian entry for a five volume compendium on music around the world. IN Print, publication 2019.

Cunio, K. The Vanishing (2018). Published and in Proceedings of the Winter Institute, University of Tokyo. 

Cunio, K. Bearing Witness in musical composition. In Tomlinson, T, Wren T, Editors. (2017). Here and Now. Artistic Research in Music, an Australian Perspective. Book chapter, New York, Intelligent Arts.

Cunio, Kim. Keynote. Screen composition practice and thought. Taipei National University of the Arts, ROC, Screen conference and Festival.(November 2018).

In publication are chapters for Australian Studies, The Journal of the Humanities.

Selected Pre ANU Traditional

Draper, P., & Cunio, K. (2014). The little r in Artistic Research Training. In S. Harrison (Ed.), Research and Research Education in Music Performance and Pedagogy (pp. 105–117). United Kingdom: Springer.

Cunio, K, Harvey, L. (2011). ISHQ: A collaborative film and music project – art music and image as an installation, joint art as boundary crossing. Published and in proceedings of Create World 28 Nov – 30 Nov 2011  Brisbane, Australia.

Cunio K (2011). The War On the Critical Edition Volume 2, multiple compositions from a single source. In proceedings of the ORCIM RESEARCH FESTIVAL 2011 X-PERIMENT - an international dialogue on Artistic Experimentation in Music Orpheus Research Centre in Music [ORCiM] Ghent, Belgium 5-8 October 2011.

Cunio K (2011). The musicologist as composer / producer – the intersections of traditional music, creative practice and technology. In proceedings of the Sustainability and ethnomusicology Symposium, Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University 17 – 19 March 2011.

Cunio, K, Hitchcock M. (2011). Creative practice: Investigating the development of inter-disciplinary collaboration in the creative arts. In proceedings of the International Technology, Education and Development Conference, 7 – 9 March 2011, Valencia Spain.

Cunio, K. ‘By the Bund and beyond: Music-making in the Shanghai and overseas Jewish communities’ In, Encounters: Musical meetings between Australia and China, edited by Nicholas Ng. Australia, Australian Academic Press, 2013.

Hitchcock, M. Cunio, K, Chircop D, Harvey, L. (2010). Crossing boundaries: promoting cross-disciplinary projects in four creative arts faculties. Published and in proceedings of Create World 2010 Working on the Edge: Creativity, Technology and Innovation, 29 Nov – 1 Dec, Brisbane, Australia.

Cunio K. (2010). Practice based research as a methodology to resolve artistic and economic contradiction within the working life of an artist. In proceedings of the Queensland Conservatorium Research Centre Research Festival, Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, November 22, 2010.

Cunio, K. (2010). Interspiritual music as a model for personal transcendence within interfaith dialogue. In proceedings of the Australian Association for the Study of Religions annual conference, July 2 – 4  2010, Brisbane, Australia.

Cunio, K. (2010). The War on the Critical Edition. Published and in proceedings of CreateWorld 2009: Mobile Me, Creativity on the Go, 30 November – 2 December 2009, Brisbane, Australia.

Cunio, K. (2009). The Thread of Life: Intercultural music making and the process of defining cultural connection. Refereed proceedings, Conference of the Musicological Society of Australia, 25 – 27 September 2009, Newcastle, Australia.

Cunio, K. (2008). Intercultural Composition and the realization of ancient and medieval music. Sydney, Doctoral thesis, University of Western Sydney, 2008

Cunio K, (2022). John and Pauline learn Farsi. Commissioned y the Canberra International Music Festival for the 21^st anniversary of the Tampa incident and scandal in Australia.

Cunio K, Meredith, N, Scarborough D.  (2021). Celestial Incantations. Album. ‘Sounds of space’ in natural radio and gravitational waves from the Earth to beyond the galaxy. UK, British Antarctic Survey and the ANU, released freely on ‘bandcamp’.

Cunio, K. (2021). C02 and the Ice Core. 25 minute symphony composed and conducted for the Canberra Symphony Orchestra and violin soloist Kirsten Williams.

Cunio, K. (2021). Heaven. Electroacoustic orchestral work for the final movement of the Vietnam Requiem, directed and conceived by Chris Latham.

Cunio K, Meredith, N, Scarborough D. (2020). Aurora Musicalis. Double album. ‘Sounds of space’ as captured, converted and recorded in Antarctica at the British Antarctic Survey’s Halley V1 station, with newly composed piano music. UK, British Antarctic Survey and the ANU, released freely on ‘bandcamp’.

Cunio, K, Edwards, R, Latham, C, (2018). 62,000  Bells for the fallen in the First World War. Installation as part of The Diggers Requiem, Amiens, France, and the Australian War Memorial 2018.

Cunio K, Lee, H. Indian Tour. Performances at the Pushkar Sacred Music Festival (India 2018), a commission to stage a new realization of Sri Aurobindo’s Savitri at the Indian Arts Centre Calcutta, as well as performances, keynotes and consultancies in Tamil Nadu.

Sainsbury C., Cunio, K, Hunt, K. Ngarra Burria: Indigenous Composers Initiative. Teaching and mentoring 15 indigenous composers, working with the Australian Music Centre and Ensemble Offspring. CD release with Australian Music Centre 2018, ABC broadcasts in 2018-2021. Live performances in Sydney and Canberra 2018-19 with ensemble partners including Offspring and Navy Band.

Cunio K, Hogg C. The Sacred Space of my mind. Music and spoken word CD. International release on Eternity Ink, 2020.

Cunio K, Hog, C. Masters of Change. 108 episodes on Indian philosophy and art for Indian national television, India Awakening Channel, 2020-23. Distributed in the US with viewership of 20-100 million.

Cunio, L. Psalm 137. 10 minute choral work commissioned for Luminescence Chamber Singers East Coast Tour, 2018. 

Cunio, K. World Strings Oud Sample Library. A 40 gig recording of all possible performance techniques of the oud for release on the KONTAKT platform, Evolution Series, Germany.

Cunio, K. World Strings Saz. Sample Library, A 40 gig recording of all possible performance techniques of the saz for release on the KONTAKT platform, Evolution Series, Germany.

Cunio, K. World Strings Tanpura. Sample Library, A 25 gig recording of all possible performance techniques of the tanpura for release on the KONTAKT platform, Evolution Series, Germany.

Cunio, K. World Harmonium. Sample Library, A 30 gig recording of all possible performance techniques of the harmonium for release on the KONTAKT platform, Evolution Series, Germany.

 These four NTROs constitute a world first, best practice techniques in recording scoring and sampling these middle Eastern instruments. Each instrument has taken 3 years to develop.

 Cunio, K. Prelude and Postlude to the Lord’s Prayer. 13 minute solo cello work, Written and premiered by Christopher Pidcock at the 2018 Darmstadt 49TH International Summer course and concert series for new music. Australian premier for the retirement of broadcaster Dr Rachael Kohn. Germany, July 14-28, 2018.

Cunio K, Byers, B, Meredith, N, Scarborough D. Sounds of Space and Antarctica. A work for projected images, dance new music and curated sound. A collaboration between scientists form the British Antarctic Division, artist Scarborough, and Cunio utilising NASA space recordings. UK Science Festivals 2018, 2019.

Scarborough D, Cunio, K, Meredith, N. In other worlds. 6 Short film for the Venice Biennale and the Aldeburgh International Film Festival, Alive in the Universe, UK, 2018.

Selected Pre ANU Non Traditional Research

Cunio, K, Sharma, M, Sharma, A. The Vanishing. A multidisciplinary work relating the stories of vanished Indian girls through installation, broadcast and social activism. Installed in India, US, QLD and NSW, broadcast on Radio National. May 1 – June 30, 2015.

Campbell, G editor. Ngarukuruwala. CD release, tour and residency at QLD Conservatorium 2016. Contributing composer and engineer to the project. Host academic for QLD tour.

Renwick, M. Cunio, K,  (2015). Window to the Soul. A multimedia work for Vivid Festival. May 25-30, 2015.

Cunio, K, Gyuto Monks of Tibet, Fallon, M. (2015). Sound Sleep. Gyuto House, released April, 2015.

Cunio, K, Dowrick, S. (2015). Psalm 57. A new score commissioned for The Song Company. Performed in The Song Company’s Easter tour, April 11-25. Included live broadcast on The Music Show, April 11 and performances in Sydney, Melbourne and regional venues. 

Cunio, K, Lee, H. (2014). Savitri A new score to the text by Sri Aurobindo

Commissioned for Savitri Bhavan and Matramandir, India, Tamil Nadu. Dec 12, 2014 – Jan 05 2015. Performances in India with upcoming CD release in India.

Cunio, K, Dowrick, S. (2014). Rising. Floods, a Travelling QLD Opera. Commissioned, performed and toured by the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University 18 Sep – 4 October 2014.

Renwick, M. Cunio, K,  (2014). The Dance of Life  A multimedia work for Vivid Festival. May 12-25, 2014.

Cunio, K, Lee, H. (2014). The Adventures of Prince Achmed. A new score to the silent film by Lottie Reiniger. Commissioned by the Gallery of Modern Art, QLD. Jan 15 – October 20 2014. Performances in NSW, QLD and internationally.

Cunio K, Harvey, L. Ishq. In proceedings of the opening of the Queensland Conservatorium foyer, Griffith University 6 September 2011.

Cunio, K. (2009) (Musical Director). Coming into the presence of God. In proceedings of The Parliament of the World’s Religions, 3 – 9, December, Melbourne, Australia.

Cunio K, Lee H, Ng N. (2010). Sacred music: A Plenary Performance. In proceedings of the Australian Association for the Study of Religions annual conference, July 2 – 4  2010, Brisbane, Australia.

Cunio, K. (2009) (Performance / lecture). Sephardic music. Keynote, The Parliament of the World’s Religions, 3 – 9 December Melbourne, Australia.

Cunio, K & Dowrick, S. (2009). (Composer / Producer). Meditation Essentials. Vision Australia, Australia. Music CD.

Cunio, K. (2009). (Composer / Producer) Garden and Cosmos. Sydney, Art Gallery of NSW 2009. Music CD, peer reviewed scholarly article, installation, concert series, 18 October 2009 ­– 31 January 2010.

Cunio K & Lee, H. (2009) (Composer and Musical Director) Sweet Dreams, Sydney, Sydney Opera House, concert series 11 – 16 February, 2009, Sydney Australia. 

Cunio K, Lee H. (2008) (Keynote, Performance, Composer Producer). The Thread of Life. In proceedings and published by the Foundation of Universal Sacred Music 2^nd Research and performance Festival, 7 – 11 November 2006, New York, USA. 

Cunio K, Lee H.  (2007) (Composer / Producer). Hildegard Von Bingen, The Sacred Fire, Commissioned peer reviewed CD and scholarly essay, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Sydney Australia.

Cunio K. (2007) (Composer Producer). Ishq. Sydney, Art Gallery of NSW 2007. Music CD, peer reviewed scholarly article, installation, concert series. 22 June – 23 September 2007, Sydney Australia.

Cunio K, Canute C. (2007) (Composer / Producer). The bamboo flute. Sydney, Young Australia Workshop, 12 March – 30 September, National touring performance.

Cunio K. The Quiet Revolution. Music for 3 part ABC Television special on the interfaith movement around the world. ABC Television 2006-8.

Cunio K. Buddha Realms and Under Eastern Skies. Music for 2 part ABC documentary series to accompany the Buddha Radiant Awakening Exhibition, Art Gallery of NSW 2001-2. CD released on ABC Music.

Cunio K. The Temple Project. Commissioned work for the 2004 Melbourne International Music Festival, collaboration with the Haifa and Australian Jewish Museums. Live ABC radio broadcast October 2004, ABC Sunday Arts Program Jan 2005, touring performances around Australia 2005-8. Scholarly papers and presentations at the University of Western Sydney and Jo Wha CD, Wirripang, 2006.

Cunio K, Lee H. Music of the Dead Sea Scrolls (2000-2004). Installation at Art Gallery of NSW, soundtrack to touring exhibition in conjunction with Israel Department of Antiquities, Music CD, concert series, soundtrack to two part ABC Compass documentary. Scholarly paper in the Australasian Journal of Jewish Studies.

Featured Non Traditional Research

1. Cunio, K, Rigzin, S. (2016-17) Beyond Karma. CD for New Earth records (US), International touring including WOMAD, Glastonbury and Australian National tour, radio broadcasts and residency at QLD Conservatorium, and new orchestral work for Tyalgum Festival and Camerata of St Johns Orchestra. CD on Grammy list (pre nomination). Top 100 Us Zone music Charts 2016. Charted US world music charts for 3 months. CD, tour, new work. Commissioned by New Earth, US. Released US, Europe, Australia, Japan, distributed by Sounds True. Longlisted for a Grammy Award 2016. This is the first classically informed album  with the Gyuto Monks of Tibet, (the lowest chanters in the world), for many years, and continues research started by Huston Smith 40 years ago. This was seen as a critical masterpiece. Peer reviewed by the record label, a long list for a Grammy Nomination in 2016, Top 100 releases US Zone reporter 2016, Charted US world music charts 4 months (peaked at number 13), charted US ambient charts 2016 for 3 months. International touring including WOMADELAIDE, Glastonbury, and shows throughout Australia, a residency at the Qld Conservatorium, and a new 30 min orchestral work commissioned by the Tyalgum Festival with the Camerata of St Johns. Read the ANU reporter: https://reporter.anu.edu.au/how-even-possible

More information

CD release https://www.newearthrecords.com/music/beyond-karma/

Broadcast, Rhythm Divine, ABC Radio National 

http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/rhythmdivine/beyond-karma,-beyond-chant/7322580

Audio recording movement 1 live at the Qld Conservatorium with Divertimenti Strings conducted by Graeme Jennings https://drive.google.com/open?id=1z4kJVzBEWGfIszlmVAJF2hs6UREexUVG

Tyalgum Festival video, suggested viewing at 16’00

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxRnhZgvTsZ3Y0JoaHc5NTBzM1U

Selected reviews and quotes: http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/archived/rhythmdivine/beyond-karma,-beyond-chant/7322580

2. In depth non traditional research review (2021): Limelight

Kim Cunio is the head of the ANU School of Music, and, at this concert, he conducted the Canberra Symphony Orchestra in the world premiere performance of his work, CO₂ and the Ice Core, which he wrote about recently for Limelight. There is something of a sardonic tongue-in-cheek, ironic honesty about this quite unashamed statement about climate change, even expressed in the titles of the three movements: The frogs measure the temperature of the pond, The dance of the fossil fuels and And the women sing while the world burns.

Of the first movement, for example, the composer notes: “We are the clever frogs that can measure the temperature of our pond even as it boils.” Each movement is founded on what the composer describes as “found sound”, respectively “CO₂ leaving the ice core” (recorded by the British Antarctic Survey), “Durga Puja festival, Kolkata, 2018”, and “Coal processing plant, Orissa, India” (which the composer recorded at some personal danger). The third movement also has an electroacoustic element: 16 sopranos expressing “our collective grief”.

The found and electroacoustic sounds morph into orchestral interpretations in each of the three movements.  Each movement is in Common time, with a pretty much consistent tempo throughout, which the composer conducted in very strict time. The second movement begins with individual musicians putting their own take on the sounds of the Durga Puja festival, guided by text rather than score. It could sound like a cacophony – it certainly was a mix of wild sounds – but it works brilliantly, soon evolving into the marvellously tasteful orchestrations (including tuned percussion instruments) and wonderful scoring patterns that are hallmarks of this inventive work. CO₂ and the Ice Core also calls for a solo violin, which Williams took with great assuredness, adding what Cunio described as, in the case of the third movement: “seemingly free lines that glue the movement together”. As much could be said about the solo violin’s part throughout. The work concludes with an increasing intensity, with some occasional dissonances, but also with hints of “Sunrise” from Ferde Grofé’s Grand Canyon Suite. Underscoring all of that is an uneasy calm – the composer’s “childish optimism that in some way we are moving towards better times” – at the end. CO₂ and the Ice Core entertains, but also, and more so, fascinates, inspires and provokes thought, and even, perhaps, action. It certainly is worthy of inclusion in the modern canon.