Nick Wales is a composer working across contemporary classical and electronic music. His music ranges from melodic, atmospheric to darker and experimental.Nick has been commissioned for contemporary dance, film, theatre, visual art, popular music and live performance.
Selected commissions and projects
Momenta — collaboration with choreographer Rafael Bonachela and Sydney Dance Company
Wonderful Life with Stephen Fry — Samfry and Audible
Works with choreographer Marina Mascarelle — Ballet de l’Opéra de Lyon and Sydney Dance Company
True Spirit — feature film score for Netflix, directed by Sarah Spillane
Zampatti, Maton and Step Into Paradise — Powerhouse Museum
The Greatest Menace — podcast soundtrack for Amazon/Audible
AM I — Helpmann Award-nominated work for Shaun Parker & Company
Cathedral for a Deep Valley — immersive work for Bundanon
Rrawun Maymuru / Yolngu collaboration
Ongoing collaboration with Yolngu songman Rrawun Maymuru
Nguy Gapu (Ocean Water) — commissioned by the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra for its 2025 Water music series
Yolngu EP and single — winner of Song of the Year and Best Dance Release at the 2025 Northern Territory Music Awards
Nyapillilngu (Spirit Lady) — created for Sydney Dance Company’s Ocho (2017); winner of the Indigenous Language Award at the 2020 National Indigenous Music Awards
Film & television
True Spirit — Netflix feature film, directed by Sarah Spillane
Around the Block — feature film, directed by Sarah Spillane
Step Into Paradise — with Amanda Brown, Blakfella Films/ABC
The Lost Diggers of Fromelles — Channel 4 UK
Bird Nerd: The Art of Leila Jeffreys — ABC
Hannah Gadsby’s Nakedy Nudes — ABC
Nothing to Lose — SBS
Musical collaborators
Sarah Blasko, Bree van Reyk, Véronique Serret, Ngaiire, Tarik O’Regan, Sophie Hutchings, Deepchild, Stereogamous, Paul Mac, Jonny Seymour, Jess Green, Alyx Dennison, Jessica O’Donoghue and Jason Noble.
Visual art collaborations
Collaborations with Mel O’Callaghan, Lauren Brincat, Justin Shoulder and Hayden Fowler
Works presented at the Biennale of Sydney, MMCA Seoul, the Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art Australia
Works held in public collections including the Art Gallery of NSW, National Gallery of Australia and Artbank
Other
Founding member of ARIA-nominated art-rock group CODA
Long-term collaborator with Sarah Blasko, contributing orchestral arrangements and co-writing to Eternal Return, Depth of Field and Emergence
MUSIC PUBLISHER : WISE MUSIC
EDUCATION
Undergraduate studies in composition (Bmus Hons. class 1) Sydney University (1993 - 1996) under Peter Sculthorpe, Ross Edwards and Anne Boyd.
Post Graduate Diploma in Screen Composition from the Australian Film and Television School “AFTRS” (2007 - 2009).
AWARDS
WORK OF THE YEAR, LARGE ENSEMBLE (2026) | NOMINATION | NGUY GAPU (OCEAN WATER) WITH RRAWUN MAYMURU | APRA ART MUSIC AWARDS
SONG OF THE YEAR & BEST DANCE RELEASE (2025) | WINNER | YOLNGU (WITH RRAWUN MAYMURU) | NORTHERN TERRITORY MUSIC AWARDS
BEST CLASICAL ALBUM (2024) | WINNER | A WORLD OUTSIDE , SOPHIE HUTCHINGS | ARIA AWARDS | ROLE : CO PRODUCER, CO WRITER, ARRANGER
Best Original Score in a Documentary (2021) | Nomination | Step Into Paradise (with AMANDA BROWN) | AACTA (Australian Academy of Cinema & Television Arts) Award
INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE AWARD (2020) | WINNER | NYAPILLINGU (SPIRIT LADY) WITH RRAYWUN MAYMURU | NIMAS (National Indigenous Music Awards)
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE (2014) | NOMINATION | AM I FOR SHAUN PARKER AND COMPANY | HELPMANN AWARDS FOR AUSTRALIAN LIVE PERFORMANCE
BEST WORLD MUSIC ALBUM (2007) | NOMINATION | CODA : CALLING MISSION MU | ARIA AWARDS
BEST WORLD MUSIC ALBUM (2002) | NOMINATION | CODA : THERE IS A WAY TO FLY | ARIA AWARDS
RECENT | UPCOMING
2026
‘Wonderful Life with Stephen Fry’ | Audible podcast | composer
2025
October 9 -18 | composer | Brandenburg Orchestra | World premiere commission with Yolngu song man Rrawun Maymuru for ‘Water’ concert series
May - June | composer | Nuremberg Ballet Germany | Lux Tenebris | choreographer Rafael Bonachela
March | Sound Design | ‘somos’ | Sydney Dance Company | choreographer Rafael Bonachela
2024
June | Composer | Brandenburg Orchestra x Collider Films | ‘Fantasia’ | Music for Annual Subscription marketing campaign
May | Composer | ‘Momenta’ | choreographer Rafael Bonachela | Sydney Dance Company
March | composer | ‘The Ghost, the Host, She Shell and the Lyrebird’ | Royal Opera House London | Marina Mascarelle choreographer | Sydney Dance Company
2023
October | Composer | ‘Ab Intra’ | Madrid season Teatros del Canal | Sydney Dance Company | choreographer Rafael Bonachela
March | Composer | ‘The Ghost, the Host, She Shell and the Lyrebird” | with Marina Mascarelle choreographer | Sydney Dance Company
2022 / 2023 | Album co-producer | Sophie Hutchings | A World Outside | for Mercury KX/DECCA UK
2022
Novemeber | Composer | ‘Cathedral’ String Orchestra, Piano, Birdsong | Bundanon Siteworks. Artist in Residence Bundanon NSW Australia.Site specific installation ion featuring text and voice Mathew Bergan.
November | Composer | Carla Zampatti | Exhibition soundscape with Stereogamous |Powerhouse Museum Sydney
October | Composer | ‘OCHO’ Sydney Dance Company | Sydney Triple Bill
September | Composer | ‘Found Objects’ | Shaun Parker and Company, Brisbane Festival
September | Composer | ’The Demon’ | Physical theatre work | Sydney Opera House, OzAsia Festival Adelaide
August | Composer | ‘The Romance of The Swag’ | Linda Jackson Exhibition Soundand Music 60min for Bathurst Regional Art Gallery
August | Composer | ‘All is Life’ | Mel O’Callaghan (France/AUS) Two-channel colour video, 32:9, 7.1 surround sound 18 minutes 30 seconds Carriageworks, Sydney
June | Composer Performer | ‘Happenings’ VIVID Sydney | The Calyx Royal Botanical Gardens Sydney
Jan - April | Composer ’True Spirit’ | Feature film, Resonate Entertainment / Netflix USA
March April | Composer ‘ab intra’ | Sydney Dance Company French Tour March April 2022 , Maison de la Danse, Lyon; Theatre National de Chaillot, Paris, Le Theatre Olympia d’Arachon, Arachon; Theatre de Gascoggne, Mont de Marsan.
February | Composer | ‘The Greatest Menace’ | Podcast soundtrack | Amazon / Audible
2021
July | Co- Composer (with Amanda Brown) | ‘Step into Paradise’ Feature Doco, Blakfella Films / ABC TV Australia
September | Musical Director | Final Show ‘Afterpay Fashion Week’ Sydney
April | Composer Performer | ‘Happenings’ City Activation | Create NSW
January | Arranger | Sounds of Then with Sarah Blasko | Colorbond Ad campaign
