KATIA TIUTIUNNIK was born in Sydney, Australia, in 1967. Her father is Russian-Ukrainian and her mother an Australian of Irish descent. Tiutiunnik holds a Bachelor of Music degree "with merit" from Sydney Conservatorium of Music (University of Sydney) where she was awarded the John Antill Composition Scholarship, the Don Banks Memorial Scholarship and the Alfred Hill Prize, in 1992. In 1993 Tiutiunnik moved to Italy to undertake postgraduate studies with the late Maestro Franco Donatoni: first privately in the province of Verona, and then at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. Tiutiunnik graduated from this academy in 1995, with high distinction, and was awarded the Diploma di Studi Superiori di Perfezionamento in Composizione, the highest postgraduate title in composition available in Italy. While pursuing composition studies in Rome, Tiutiunnik also completed a master class with British composer, George Benjamin, and was enrolled as an observer in viola courses held by the internationally acclaimed violists Bruno Giuranna and Reiner Schmidt. She subsequently received an invitation from Reiner Schmidt to enrol as a full participant in a viola summer school in Greece, which she declined.

During her sojourn in Italy, Tiutiunnik's composition, Adone, for nine instruments, was selected by the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia for performance in the Festival Internazionale di Musica Contemporanea "Nuove Sincronie", in Milan. Adone received its world premiere on 24th November 1994, in the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine, Milan, played by ensemble "Nuove Sincronie". The following year, her solo piano piece Bhairawa was selected by the same institution, for performance in the Festival, receiving its premiere on 17th December 1995 at the Palazzina Liberty, Milan, performed by the acclaimed Italian pianist, Alberto Caruso. In June-July 1997, recordings of Tiutiunnik's early works were played at an exhibition of engravings by the acclaimed Italian visual artist, Francesco Guadagnolo. This exhibition, entitled "Il Vento del Sahara", was held at the Associazione Culturale Internazionale "Castelli Arte", in the province of Rome. In August 1997, Tiutiunnik worked as a teaching assistant to the Italian composer Marco Werba, at a summer course entitled "Musica per Immagini", at the International Music Institute in Rome.

Subsequent to Tiutiunnik's return to Australia in September 1997, her compositions were performed at numerous festivals, both in Australia and abroad. These include the Sydney Spring Festival which featured the Australian premiere of her piano composition, Bhairawa (subsequently broadcast on ABC Classics FM), performed by Tamara Anna Cislowska; the National Multicultural Festival, Canberra, Australia, in which Tiutiunnik's symphonic poem for viola solo and orchestra, Nights In Arabia, was performed by the Canberra Youth Orchestra, conducted by Dominic Harvey, with violist Jeremy Tatchell; the Musica Nova Festival in Sofia Bulgaria, which included Tiutiunnik's piano composition Bhairawa, performed by Mario Angelov (1999) and her trombone solo Mahdoom, played by Ivailo Kristov (2000); Festival Internazionale della Chitarra: Niccolò Paganini in Parma, in which her guitar solo, Danza delle Fate Arabe, was performed by Giampaolo Bandini (1999) and Giovanni Pattavina (2000); Suoni e Voci del Lago, Cisano di San Felice del Benaco, Brescia, Italy, where Danza delle fate arabe received its third Italian performance, played by Giovanni Pattavina (2000); Festival of Contemporary Arts (2001) where Tiutiunnik's violoncello solo, al-Hisar, and her guitar composition, Tre Preghiere di Nabuccoduriussor, were performed by David Pereira and Luke Tierney respectively; Chitarra Imperia: Seminari e Festival di Primavera, Liguria, Italy, where Giovanni Pattavina performed Danza delle fate arabe, as well as Tiutiunnik's second guitar composition, Tre Preghiere di Nabuccoduriussor (dedicated to Giovanni Pattavina) at the Santuario dell'Oliveto, Chiusavecchia, Liguria, on 9 June 2002; and the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, Alaska, where Dr James Michael Bicigo performed his trombone transcription of her violoncello solo, al-Hisar, on 19 July 2002.

In Canberra, Tiutiunnik's composition al-Kauthar, for violoncello, received its world premiere on 13 August 1999 at the School of Music (Australian National University), performed by David Pereira. David Pereira subsequently performed al-Kauthar on 19 October 1999, as part of John Crawford's programme "Sunday Live", on ABC Classic FM. Also, her trombone piece, Mahdoom, was performed at the School of Music by Phil Stuckey in October 1998, and Tom Burge in August 1999. Tom Burge subsequently performed Mahdoom for the second time at the Tuggeranong Arts Centre, in July 2000. In 1999 Tiutiunnik's guitar composition, Danza delle fate Arabe, originally requested by the publishing house, Kookaburra Edizioni, Parma, was performed by Luke Tierney at the School of Music. Its second Australian performance was at the Egyptian Embassy, Canberra on 16 June 2000.

On 23 September 1999, Tiutiunnik's symphonic poem Noor, dedicated to Queen Noor of Jordan, was performed for the first time, to critical acclaim, by the Orchestra of the National Music Conservatory, Amman, conducted by Mohammed Othman Siddiq, with violin soloist Tymour Ibrahimov. This premiere took place in front of the Treasury House in Petra, Jordan, as part of the 28th General Assembly of the International Music Council (UNESCO). It was the first concert ever to be held at the archaeological site of Petra. Tiutiunnik was able to attend this premiere thanks to the assistance of the Hashweh Corporation/QANTAS, Professor Deane Terrell (Vice-Chancellor of the Australian National University) and the Australian Embassy in Jordan. Also in 1999, Tiutiunnik was one of four composers, selected from a strong field of 36 applicants, to participate in the Australian Composers' Orchestral Forum 2000 (ACOF2000). Her symphonic poem, An Orientalist In Palestine, was performed by the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (TSO), under the baton of David Porcelijn, in the final concert of ACOF2000, on 14th July 2000. This performance, which received a very favourable press review, was recorded live by ABC Classic FM and broadcast on "New Music Australia", ABC Classic FM, on 31 January 2001.

In March 2000, Tiutiunnik received private sponsorship from Italy to attend the second Italian performance of her guitar composition, Danza delle fate arabe, at the Festival Internazionale della Chitarra: Niccolò Paganini, Parma. During this festival Tiutiunnik was introduced to the Rimsky-Korsakov Quartet of St. Petersburg. She subsequently received a commission from them to compose the string quartet, Night Journey (2001). Tiutiunnik's sojourn in Italy in 2000 also led to a request from the guitarist Giovanni Pattavina, for a second guitar composition, Tre Preghiere di Nabuccoduriussor, which she dedicated to him. Tre Preghiere di Nabuccoduriussor was performed for the first time by Luke Tierney, on 28 September 2001, in the Great Hall of University House at the Australian National University. Tre Preghiere di Nabuccoduriussor received its Italian premiere on 9 June 2002, performed by Giovanni Pattavina, at the Santuario dell'Oliveto, Chiusavecchia, Liguria, as part of the festival Chitarra Imperia: Seminari e Festival di Primavera.
On 12 October 2000 Tiutiunnik's solo trombone composition, Mahdoom, received its US premiere, performed by US trombonist/composer/educator Dr. James Michael Bicigo, at the Davis Concert Hall, in the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. This performance was broadcast nationally on ABC Classic FM, on 1 August 2001 and on South Eastern Public Radio (USA) on 10 February 2002. The US premiere of Mahdoom led to requests from Dr. Bicigo for the compositions Wonders of Babylon (trombone and wind orchestra) and Rinascita (mezzo soprano, trombone, violin violoncello and percussion).

In November 2000 Tiutiunnik's compositions al-Kauthar, for violoncello, and Lament of the flutes for Dumuzi, for flute and piano, were accepted for publication by TauKay Edizioni Musicali, Udine Italy. On 27 December 2000, the ABC Classic FM studio recording of Lament of the flutes for Dumuzi, performed by Michael Sitsky (flute) and Andrew Basile (piano), was broadcast on "New Music Australia", ABC Classic FM, during the course of an interview John Crawford conducted with Tiutiunnik.

On 23 December 2001, Tiutiunnik's string quartet, Night Journey, was premiered, to critical acclaim, by the world renowned Rimsky-Korsakov Quartet. This performance took place in the Hall of the Composers' Society of St. Petersburg, Russia, in the palace of Montferrand (the architect of St. Isaac's cathedral, St. Petersburg). Tiutiunnik won a significant grant from Professor Ian Chubb, the Vice-Chancellor of the Australian National University, to enable her to attend the premiere of Night Journey, and Australian Embassy in Moscow, who financially sponsored the event, paid for Tiutiunnik's internal travel in Russia. The Friends of the School of Music (Austalian National University) paid for the concert to be professionally recorded on video and CD. Tiutiunnik gave a successful pre-concert talk in Russian at the opening of the premiere. Kevin Magee, the Counsellor and Deputy Head of the Australian Embassy, also gave a speech about Tiutiunnik's work, and Australian culture in general, at the opening of the concert. The concert was organised by Dr. Elena Kostyuchenko, the representative of the Rimsky-Korsakov Quartet of St. Petersburg. Night Journey, the first Australian work ever to be performed by the Rimsky-Korsakov Quartet, received a substantial and very favourable scholarly review from Alexander Epishin. This review was published in the May edition of Klassika: St Petersburg's Journal of Culture and Art. The recording of its world premier performance was broadcast three times in 2002: on 2 June, as part of the "Eine Kleine Frauen Muisk" programme, hosted by Dr. Jeanne Shaffer, South Eastern Public Radio, USA; on 27 June, in the programme "Theme and Variation", hosted by Casper Sunn, Wort 89.9, Madison, South Central Wisconsin, USA; on 24 July, as part of the "New Music Australia" programme, hosted by Julian Day, ABC Classic FM.

On 24 May 2002 Tiutiunnik's trio for flute, violoncello and piano, Canto di Enheduanna, requested by the Fondazione Adkins Chiti: Donne in Musica (Women in Music), received its world premiere in the Sala San Carlo, Teramo, Italy, performed by Ensemble Calliope. Her composition Apoteosi, for flute, alto flute and piccolo (one player), also received its world premiere in the same concert, performed by Vilma Campitelli, the flautist of the ensemble. The concert formed part of an international conference on women composers, organised by the Fondazione Adkins Chiti and entitled Le Compositrici: nuove strategie per una migliore valorizzazione" (Women Composers: new strategies for a better appreciation).

Tiutiunnik is also a viola player, and performed with the Sydney Youth Orchestra in 1990-1993. In June 1990, Tiutiunnik performed her incidental music to the play Swallowing Is A Very Private Thing, on the viola, during seasons at the Ensemble Theatre, Sydney, and La Mamma Theatre, Melbourne. Swallowing is a Very Private Thing subsequently had successful seasons at Edinburgh Fringe Festival and in London. After abandoning the viola for several years, Tiutiunnik recommenced playing in December 2000 and was employed by the Canberra Symphony Orchestra for their Prom Concert in February 2000. She has also studied viola Tor Fromyhr and performed in the Canberra School of Music Symphony Orchestra. On 26 October 2002, Tiutiunnik played the viola with the School of Music String Orchestra at the National Gallery of Australia, in the world premier performance of Blue Poles, by Australian composer Andrew Ford. This premiere took place in conjunction with an exhibition of Jackson Pollock's work, entitled Blue Poles.

Tiutiunnik's viola composition, al-Hisar, originally composed for herself, was performed for the first time by Nouran Meho, at the National Music Conservatory in Amman, Jordan, on 28 June 2001. Nouran Meho, who played al-Hisar as part of her final examination recital at the Conservatory, is a student of the eminent Iraqi violist, Muhammad Ali Abbass. On 28 September 2001 Tiutiunnik performed al-Hisar during a presentation she gave at the Graduate Symposium of the Australian Musicological Society. On the same date David Pereira performed the cello version of al-Hisar in the Great Hall of University House, at the Australian National University, as part of the Festival of Contemporary Arts. (Her guitar composition, Tre Preghiere di Nabuccoduriussor received its world premiere performance at the same concert, performed by Luke Tierney.)

On 20 April 2002, Dr. James Michael Bicigo performed his trombone transcription of Tiutiunnik's composition al-Hisar, as well as her trombone solo Mahdoom, as part of his presentation "The Composer and Performer as a Vehicle of Cultural Outreach and Understanding", at the International Conference on Conflict Resolution, Bard College, Union Theological Seminary, Broadway, New York, USA. The trombone transcription of al-Hisar was performed for the second time by Dr Bicigo, on 19 July 2002, at the Hering Hall, Fairbanks, Alaska, as part of the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival. Dr Bicigo subsequently performed al-Hisar and Mahdoom, as well as excerpts of the trombone soloist's part of Tiutiunnik's symphonic poem, Wonders of Babylon, for trombone and wind orchestra, in his presentation on Tiutiunnik's work, at the Hawaii International Conference of the Arts and Humanities, 12-15 January 2003.

In December 2002, Tiutiunnik completed a trio for horn, trumpet and trombone, entitled Via Trionfale: Verso Il Loto Benedetto, dedicated to the victims (and survivors) of the destruction of the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York, on 11 September 2001. The composition was commissioned by the Borealis Brass Trio, represented by Dr James Michael Bicigo, the trombonist of the trio. Via Trionfale: Verso Il Loto Benedetto, received its world premiere performance in a special concert that took place at the Northwest Division of the Music Educators' National Conference Convention, in Portland, Oregon USA, 12-14 February 2003. Tiutiunnik traveled to the USA to attend this event, and to give pre-concert talks about the trio at its premiere and subsequent performances. Tiutiunnik was awarded a grant by artsACT (the Cultural Council of the Government of the Australian Capital Territory) to assist with her living expenses during this sojourn in the USA.

Tiutiunnik has been represented at Australian Music Centre since 1998. She was accepted into the Fellowship of Australian Composers in 2000. Her music is held at the Australian National University Library, the National Library of Australia, as well as in a number of libraries and publishing houses in Europe. She has also received sponsorship from Italy, where her music is published by Kookaburra Edizioni, Parma, and Edizioni Musicali TauKay, Udine. In addition to South Eastern Public Radio (USA), WORT 89.9, (South Central Wisconsin, USA) and ABC Classic FM, Tiutiunnik's compositions have been broadcast and recorded by RAI- RADIO 3 (Italy), Bulgarian National Radio and JordanTV.In 2003, Tiutiunnik received a commission from artsACT, the cultural council of the government of the Australian Capital Territory, to compose a 25-minute solo suite for internationally acclaimed Australian cellist, David Pereira.

Tiutiunnik obtained her PhD from the Australian National University in 2002. Her PhD supervisory panel, which comprised several eminent national and international academics, included the Australian composers Larry Sitsky and Michael Smetanin, as well as the scholars Robert Barnes and Larbi Sadiki. During her doctoral candidature, Tiutiunnik obtained her Graduate Teaching Certificate from the Graduate School of the Australian National University and was employed as a part-time tutor and lecturer at the School of Music (Australian National University). As an adjunct to her research, Tiutiunnik also completed the advanced course in Arabic at the Australian National University, topping the year in every exam and winning a scholarship to pursue postgraduate studies in Arabic in Kuwait, which she declined. Tiutiunnik's thesis was examined by three external examiners: Professor Nicola Lefanu (UK), Professor Sean Heim (USA) and Professor Philip Braccanin (Australia). One examiner nominated Tiutiunnik for the annual John Crawford Prize for best PhD thesis. Tiutiunnik has also completed undergraduate university studies in Italian (which she speaks fluently) as well as private studies in Russian.

In 2003 and 2004 Tiutiunnik was a Visiting Research Fellow at the Australian National University, as well as continuing her work as a violist and international freelance composer, receiving sponsorship from both Australia and abroad. A highlight of her Visiting Fellowship at the Australian National University was the second performance of her symphonic poem, An Orientalist In Palestine, performed by the ANU School of Music Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Nicollette Fraillon, in the Llewellyn Hall, ANU School of Music, on 12 October 2003, with Tiutiunnik playing in the viola section of the orchestra.

From June 2004- September 2004 Tiutiunnik was Artiste-In-Residence and Guest Lecturer at the Canberra Girls' and Boys' Grammar Schools respectively. During her residency there she completed a worked for massed choirs and percussion, entitled Resurrection. This work received its critically acclaimed premiere on September 18 2004, performed by the choirs and percussion ensembles of the Canberra Boys' and Girls' Grammar Schools, conducted by Mary Tatchell, at the new music centre of the Canberra Girls' Grammar School.

Also in 2004, Tiutiunnik had the honor of being the first Australian composer ever to have been appointed Visiting Scholar at Columbia University in the City of New York, where she was resident from September 1 2004 until February 12, 2006 (the longest residency a visiting scholar has ever undertaken in the Columbia Music Department). During her residency in New York, several of Tiutiunnik's compositions were premiered, including her flute and piano composition, The Quickening: A Tribute to Jonathan Kramer, composed in honour of Tiutiunnik's Columbia University sponsor, the late Jonathan Kramer, which was premiered on December 7 2005, at the Miller Theatre, Columbia University, in memorial concert held for Jonathan Kramer, a world renowned composer and scholar.

Tiutiunnik returned to Australia, on February 16 2006, to settle a compensation case relating to injuries suffered to her right leg during a bus accident, in Canberra, in January 2004. (She have since made a complete recovery from these injuries.) Since that date returned to Russia and the USA for a number guest lectureships and concerts of her work and is currently working on a number of independent national and international composition projects (including projects related to electro acoustic composition). I am also collaborating with a number of established performers from the USA, Australia and Europe.

Some of Tiutiunnik's achievements from 2005-2006 include her October 2006 guest lecture and concert series at Wheaton College, Chicago, USA; her Daniel Pearl World Music Days viola performance and interdisciplinary presentation at School IS 192, in collaboration with poet Lucy Aponte, on October 18 2006; her PS10X (Bronx, New York) and International House (Manhattan) performances of her viola compositions, on October 13 and 19 2006; the international re-broadcast of her electro acoustic composition, Voices in the Night, as part of the "Lullabies for Free Children" project, sponsored by the Daniel Pearl Foundation, on October 13 2006 (the first broadcast having taken place in October 2005); the New York performances of several of her cello compositions, by acclaimed Canadian cellist Julia MacLaine, on February 8 2006, May 29 2006, September 29 2006 and November 11 2006; the New York premieres of her compositions Mahdoom (solo trombone) and Via Trionfale: Verso Il Loto Benedetto (brass trio) at Symphony Space, New York City, on October 31 2005; the Sydney premiere of her cello solo, al-Hisar, at Verbruggen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, on November 11 2005; the world premiere of her flute and piano duo, The Quickening, at Miller Theater, Columbia University, on December 7 2005; the performance/exhibition of her electro acoustic, 3 dimensional sound cube composition, Dumuzi Priest and King (completed during a 2005 summer internship at Charles Morrow Productions, New York), in the Charles Morrow Installation at the Gallerie Rachel Haferkamp, Cologne, Germany, from November 2005-January 2006; and her performance and recording of her viola work, al-Hisar, for Elixir Theatre's Off Off Broadway Production, Radium (Jewel Box Theatre, March-April 2005) and the use of recordings of a selection of her works for Wabi Sabi's Production, Songs of My Childhood (Bronx, New York, May-June 2005).

One of the highlights of Tiutiunnik's sojourn in the US was the guest lecture she gave on her flute music (solo and chamber), at the 30th Annual State Convention of the Florida Flute Association, on January 28 2006, at the Orlando/Altamonte Hilton. Tiutiunnik was invited to give this lecture by her esteemed colleague, Professor Kristen Stoner, of the University of Florida. She also completed a very successful guest lectureship at Purdue University, Indiana, in November 2004.

Most recently, Tiutiunnik was invited to Saint-Petersburg, Russia, to give a series of presentations on her music, as part of significant festivities held in March 2007, in celebration of two hundred years of business relations between Russia and Australia. Tiutiunnik was also invited to perform two of her viola works in a concert featuring her solo and chamber composition as part of the same festivities. Prominent Russian musicians, including the world renowned Rimsky Korsakov Quartet of Saint-Petersburg, and international prize winning pianist, Anna Shpagina, performed other selected solo and chamber works of Tiutiunnik. This concert, which also included selected works of Russian composers, was held on March 19 2007, in the world famous Palace of the Saint-Petersburg Composers' Society, Saint-Petersburg, Russia (the Dom Kompozitarov), which has hosted performances by some of the greatest composers of the 20th century. This was the third concert of Tiutiunnik's work to be held in this venue (the second and first were on June 24 2006 and December 23 2001). Furthermore, Tiutiunnik also gave a very well received guest lecture in composition, at the Saint-Petersburg Conservatory of Music, Russia, as part of the celebratory events. A programme devoted to her work (including a live interview in Russian), broadcast on Radio Maria, Saint-Petersburg, and was also included in these festivities.

These musical events coincided with a photographic exhibition relating to Australia, which included prints by Tiutiunnik's niece, the award winning, emerging, young Canberra photographer, Laura Plevey, as well as a Johnny Walker whiskey, chocolate and champagne reception. The festivities were sponsored by of Saint-Petersburg Association for International Co-operation, the Department Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australian Embassy in Moscow and Sebastian Fitzlyon Zinovieff, Honorary Australian Consul to Saint-Petersburg), the Australian-Russian Friendship Association of Saint-Petersburg and Australian entrepreneur, Lis Brandson, CEO of Global Qi Alliance, Australia.

Tiutiunnik's research interests include the symbolic dimension of music; the cultural heritage of the ancient Near East and its impact on the evolution of western art music; the role of music in the reconciliation of the "Arab/Islamic World" with the "West", and in the attainment of global harmony; the concept of music in Near Eastern mystical traditions, both ancient and modern; Classical Arab music theory; the role of music in the expansion of consciousness, as well as various related fields. Tiutiunnik has traveled widely to pursue these research interests.

To date, Tiutiunnik's music has been performed in Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Russia, the UK and the USA. Tiutiunnik have traveled extensively during the past fifteen years to attend national and international performances of her work. As previously stated, she has also given master classes in composition and related studies in Australia, Italy and the United States. Furthermore, as stated above, presentations devoted to her work (including performances and analyses of my music) have been given by Dr. James Michael Bicigo, (an esteemed colleague and referee from the University of Alaska Fairbanks), at the International Conference of Conflict Resolution, Bard College, Union Theological Seminary, New York (April 2002), and at the International Conference of the Arts and Humanities, at the University of Hawaii (January, 2003).

Tiutiunnik's works are held in several national international libraries, including the Australian Capital Territory Public Library, Bodleian Library at Oxford University, the Menzies Library and Music Library at the Australian National University, the National Library of Australia and the Wiener Music Library at Columbia University. A number of Tiutiunnik's compositions have been published by TauKay in Italy and several of her compositions have been broadcast in Australia, Bulgaria, Jordan, Russia and the USA.

Tiutiunnik has been the recipient of numerous grants, commissions, scholarships and other sponsorship, from both the government and private sectors, in Australia, Italy, Jordan and the United States.

.In addition to her activities as a composer, Tiutiunnik has always greatly enjoyed teaching music theory (including Classical Arab music theory) and composition to both high school and university students in Australia, Italy, Russia and the USA. Tiutiunnik was always taught by my mentor, the late Franco Donatoni, that teaching was an essential part of any fruitful career in composition. Hence, she considers the impartation of her knowledge, through teaching, to be essential to her continuing development as a composer. Furthermore, Tiutiunnik has always loved interacting with and assisting young musicians, both in Australia and abroad.

Finally, as mentioned above, Tiutiunnik has also been active as a violist in Australia, Italy and the USA, performing and recording her own compositions (most recently, on March 7 2007, in a session directed by the celebrated Australian recording engineer/producer, Belinda Webster, president and founder of Tall Poppies) as well as, to a lesser extent, the music of other composers. In addition, as stated above, Tiutiunnik has successfully completed advanced university studies in Arabic language and literature, at the Australian National University (topping every year), as well as undergraduate studies in Italian (which she speaks fluently) and private studies in Russian. Tiutiunnik's PhD dissertation includes several of my original translations of Arabic, Italian and Russian texts. I am currently pursuing private studies in Hebrew and Spanish.

Tiutiunnik is convinced that all of the above activities form an integral part of her creative process.