Receiving second place in the Joseph Dorfman Memorial Composers’ Competition in an ancient German castle on the edge of the Black Forest was a “magical experience”, says Rob, whose work was performed by a professional ensemble during the award ceremony.

The competition followed an intensive two-week workshop for 13 of the world’s finest student composers.

“I had been studying Aboriginal resilience in the arts this semester and I was moved by all the discussion in Australia about marriage equality,” Rob said of his composition Four Attempts at Reconciliation.

“My time in Europe brought great clarity and inspired the work.”

Rob started a Diploma in Piano Performance at the NSW Conservatorium of Music when he left school 20 years ago. But his ambitions of becoming a concert pianist were derailed by the unsociable demands of rehearsing and “the lure of travel, parties and socialising”.

Instead, he worked in training and development for a time, before pursuing his passion for experimental art.

“I was performing and exhibiting and engaging with all sorts of artists through the Queensland Art Gallery’s Asia Pacific Triennial, workshops in China and an Australia Council residency to study sound installation and new media in Amsterdam,” Rob said.

“I created events for the Sydney Biennale, Mardi Gras, the Gay Games and the Festival De Antipodes in St Tropez.

“It was a complete break from my classical training, but eventually I started playing the piano again and writing pieces.

“It was then that I decided I wanted to finish my studies, so I enrolled in the Bachelor of Music program with UNE.

“Studying online with UNE enabled me to move to a beautiful place (Noosa, Queensland) to live and work, and to discover my interest in composing.”

Being hand-picked to participate in the International Summer Academy of Music composer workshop in Germany in July was a major turning point.

Alongside other aspiring composers from New York’s Juilliard School, the Royal College of Music in London, and the Moscow Conservatoire, Rob learnt daily from two master composers as part of a program to “generate a harvest of new, beautiful, and highly artistic works” for the competition.

He says his composition – for clarinet, piano and cello – endeavours to bridge the divide between the left and right sides of politics and society.

“The arguments in Australia of late have become so polarised and I was seeking to encourage open dialogue and to find a compromise,” Rob said.

“I wanted to represent discussions about nature, culture, the inevitability of time, and survival.”

Fresh from his success, and with a professional recording of the performance and 500 euros in his pocket, Rob is now intent on completing his Honours.

“I thought I would perhaps perform or become a piano teacher, but now, thanks to UNE, I have found that I want to develop my chamber music and orchestral writing, and maybe even do my PhD,” he said.

“I love starting with an idea that is conceptual and developing it and crafting it to produce a musical work.”

Photo: An ensemble performs Rob Kelly’s work Four Attempts at Reconciliation in Germany.