Mary Finsterer is recognised as one of Australia’s most innovative composers. Having received international recognition for her music in Europe, Britain, USA and Canada, Mary has received many awards both nationally and abroad including representing Australia in five International Society for Contemporary Music Festivals, the prestigious Paul Lowin Orchestral Prize and numerous Australian Art Music Awards throughout her career. A featured composer in the ABC Classic FM Pedestal Programme, Finsterer’s award–winning work can be heard not only on concert stages, she has also composed for the screen, including the Australian feature film score, South Solitary, which was a finalist in the 2011 Film Critics Circle Awards, and the Hollywood blockbuster Die Hard 4.
Her style takes its musical cues from contemporary practice and the Renaissance with equal ease. Her first opera, Biographica, premiered in 2017 and was described as “an outstanding new opera that deserves a permanent place in the repertoire”. Her second opera, Antarctica, having recently received its premiere at the Holland Festival in 2022 and Sydney Festival in 2023, was described as "magnificent, a milestone for Australian opera". Finsterer is published by the distinguished publishing house, Schott Music, and holds the position of CALE Creative Fellow at the College of Arts, Law and Education at the University of Tasmania.
Mary Finsterer's position as 2023 MSO Composer in Residence was generously supported by Kim Williams AM.
