Daryl Buckley (born February 1957, Melbourne) studied politics and history at the University of Melbourne and music at the Victorian College of the Arts. He also spent a year working as a boilermaker’s assistant at the Naval Dockyards in Williamstown. Since 1986 he has been the Artistic Director and driving force for the ELISION Ensemble, Australia's premier and international contemporary music group.

In this capacity Daryl has developed a broad experience in the handling of international collaborations, a practical understanding of the need for cultural exchange, funding diversification and the complexity of inter-arts practices.  He has been responsible for the development of innovative projects in the domains of contemporary opera, site-specific installation, improvisation and large-scale electro-acoustic music.

Daryl has organised over twenty-two international tours from Australia to fourteen different countries with highlights including performances at the Hebbel Theater of Berlin, the Berlin Philharmonie and Konzerthaus, Berliner Festspiele, Wien Modern Festival, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Radio Bremen, Festival Ars Musica of Brussels, the Zürcher Theater Spektakel, Saitama Arts Theatre, IRCAM as part of the Agora festival in Paris, the 50th Warsaw Autumn Festival, the Chekov International Theatre Festival of Moscow, Festival d’Automne à Paris and Ultima Festival Oslo.

As a guitarist Daryl has been responsible for significant first performances which include Richard Barrett’s Colloid for 10-string guitar, as well as transmission for electric guitar.  The recording of the latter piece released on NMC records was critically received in the UK’s Gramophone Magazine as a ‘tour de force’.  He has also worked closely with composers such as Liza Lim, Timothy O’Dwyer, John Rodgers, John Butcher and others, in the development of repertoire and the use of effects pedals for the electric guitar in chamber contexts.

January 2010

Image © 2008 Atmosphere Photography