Jethro Woodward is a Melbourne-based composer, musical director, arranger, musician and sound designer recognised for his expansive and highly layered film, theatre and dance scores.  A multi–Green Room Award winner and Helpmann nominee, he has worked with some of Australia’s leading major and independent companies including; Malthouse Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company. Sydney Theatre Company, Belvoir, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Opera Victoria, Chamber Made Opera, Back to Back, Arena, Windmill, Chunky Move, Lucy Guerin, Australian Dance Theatre, Aphids, Stuck Pigs Squealing, Rawcus, and more. He is a regular collaborator with Meow Meow in shows such as Apocalypse Meow: Crisis is Born, Little Mermaid and more.

Recent theatre and live performance works include: Cost of Living, Sunday: A Fantasy Life At Heide and a double bill of Escaped Alone & What If If Only (MTC), Macbeth (An Undoing) and Hour of the Wolf (Malthouse Theatre), Eternity and Duck Pond (Circa), Distant Matter (Staatsballett Berlin), Common Ground (Chunky Move/Dance Massive), Rumplestiltskin, (Windmill/Southbank Centre London) and Paul Capsis & the Fitzroy Youth orchestra (Sydney Festival and Adelaide Cabaret Festival).

His credits in film include Composer for Van Dieman’s Land and Original Score and Musical Direction for The Turning (Fog).

Jethro has received Green Room Awards for Outstanding Technical Achievement (2018), Best Composition and Sound Design (Song For A Weary Throat, 2018), Best Design: Alternative & Hybrid (For The Ones Who Walk Away, 2018), Best Composition and Sound Design: Theatre Companies (The Bloody Chamber, 2018), Best Composition and Sound Design: Theatre, Alternative & Hybrid Performance (Irony Is Not Enough, 2013), Best Composition and Sound Design: Theatre Companies (Moth, 2010), Best Composition and Sound Design: Theatre Companies (Goodbye Vaudeville Charlie Mudd, 2009). He has also received award nominations for Composition and Sound Design from The Sydney Theatre Awards, The Helpmann Awards and The Ruby Awards.

Live Performance

SUNDAY
Composer / Sound Design. Dir. Sarah Goodes, Melbourne Theatre Company 2023
NEW RETRO
Composer / Sound Design. Lucy Guerin Association Inc 2022
FLUX JOB
Composer / Sound Design. By Arts House & Lucy Guerin 2022
THE TRUTH
Composer / Sound Design. Melbourne Theatre Company 2021
RAPTURE: A SONG CYCLE OF DESIRE AND ECSTACY, MURDER AND MAYHEM
Musical Director / Live Musician. Turning World Pty Ltd 2021
HOME, I’M DARLING
Composer / Sound Design. Melbourne Theatre Company 2020
APOCALYPSE MEOW: CRISIS IS BORN
Musical Director / Musician. Malthouse Theatre & BAM NYC 2019
SOLARIS
Composer / Sound Design. Malthouse & Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh 2019
LAZARUS
Musical Director. Production Company 2019
DISTANT MATTER
Composer / Sound Design. Staatsballet Berlin & Anouk van Dijk 2019
COMMON GROUND
Composer / Sound Design. By Anouk van Dijk & Chunky Move 2019
LIFE OF GALILEO
Composer / Sound Design. Belvoir Theatre 2019
THE LONG PIGS
Composer / Sound Design. We3 & Cluster Arts, Adelaide Festival 2019
PAUL CAPSIS & THE FITZROY YOUTH ORCHESTRA
Musical Director. Sydney Festival, Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2019
RUMPELSTILTSKIN
Composer / Musical Director / Sound Design. Windmill Theatre & State Theatre Co, London Southbank Centre 2019
SONG FOR A WEARY THROAT
Composer / Sound Design
In collaboration with Gian Slater & Invenio. Rawcus Theatre & Invenio, Melbourne Festival 2018
ASTROMAN
Composer / Sound Design. Melbourne Theatre Company 2018
TRUSTEES
Composer / Sound Design. Belarus Free Theatre / Malthouse Theatre 2018
BLASTED
Composer / Sound Design. Malthouse Theatre 2018
SAMMI IN PARADISE
Composer / Musical Director / Sound Design. Belvoir Theatre 2018
THE BLACK RIDER
An opera By Tom Waits & William S. Burroughs 2017
Malthouse Theatre, Opera Victoria & Melbourne Festival
Soundscape design
THE ELEPHANT MAN
By Tom Wright, Malthouse Theatre 2017
Original score (for strings and electronics), musical direction & sound design
MEOW MEOW’S LITTLE MERMAID
By Meow Meow. Directed by Michael Kantor. 2016 – 2017
Edinburgh Festival, Sydney Festival, Auckland Festival, Perth Festival,
Brisbane Festival, Malthouse Theatre.
Musical direction, arranger, guitar & keyboards, backing vocals, sound design & performance
SONG FOR A WEARY THROAT
Rawcus Theatre & Invenio Singers, Theatre-Works
Composition and musical direction (in collaboration with Gian Slater), sound design
MEOW MEOW – SOUVENIR
By Meow Meow & Jherek Bischoff & Jethro Woodward
Original songs, guitars, vocals, sound design & performance
RITA DREAMING – SARGEANT PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND 50TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY LIVERPOOL
Sound artist and designer
A Sound installation created in collaboration with Meow Meow (concept), Andrea Lauer (visual design) & parking attendants from the city of Liverpool (interview recordings) at The Oratory Liverpool to celebrate 50th anniversary of the release of the Beatle’s Sargeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album.
RITA RIOT & RITA REQUIEM – SARGEANT PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND 50TH YEAR
ANNIVERSARY LIVERPOOL
By Meow Meow, Jherek Bischoff, Jethro Woodward & Andrea Lauer & Culture Liverpool
Original songs, guitar, backing vocals, sound design & performance
A Street Parade & 2 outdoor concerts to celebrate 50th Anniversary of the release of the Beatles Sargeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album.
ANTIGRAVITY
By Anouk van Dijk. & Ho Tzu Nyen. Chunky Move & Malthouse Theatre
Original score & sound design.
PERMISSION TO SPEAK
By Kate Neil & Tamara Saulwick. Chamber Made Opera & Arthouse 2016
Sound design & operation
WINNER of ‘State Award for Performance of the Year’ – APRA AMCOS Art Music Awards 2017 NOMINEE ‘Best Choral Work of the Year’ – APRA AMCOS Art Music Awards 2017 NOMINEE ‘Best Sound Performance’ in Contemporary and Experimental Performance category — Green Room Association Awards 2016.
RUMPELSTILTSKIN (a new musical)
By Windmill Theatre & State Theatre Company Adelaide –
Adelaide Festival Centre 2016
Original songs, score, musical direction & sound design.
WINNER: Best Show – Musical/Opera – Adelaide Theatre Guide Curtain Call Awards
BACK AT THE DOJO
By Lally Katz, Stuck Pigs Squealing & Belvoir Theatre 2016
Original score & sound design
L U C I D
By Anouk van Dijk, Chunky Move 2016
Original score & sound design
WINNER “Concept and Realisation” 2017 Green Room Award
TIMESHARE (original musical)
By Lally Katz, Malthouse Theatre 2015
Original songs, score, musical direction & sound design
PINOCCHIO (original musical)
By Windmill Theatre & State Theatre Company, New Victory Theatre Broadway New York, Sydney Opera House, Malthouse Theatre & Adelaide Festival Centre
Original songs, score, musical direction & sound design.
WINNER: Best New Australian Work : Helpmann Awards 2014
WINNER: Best Presentation for Children : Helpmann Awards 2014
NOMINEE: Best Original Score : Helpmann Awards 2014
WINNER: Best Work – Ruby Awards
THE WIZARD OF OZ
By Windmill Theatre, directed by Rose Myers
Adelaide Festival Centre & Sydney Theatre 2009 – 2010
Musical direction, arrangements & Sound design
WINNER Best Theatre Show 2009 Advertiser Box office awards
NOMINEE Best Music : Helpmann Awards 2010
NOMINEE Best New Work Ruby Awards 2010
BIRDLAND
Melbourne Theatre Company, 2015
Composer, sound designer
ANTIGONE
Malthouse Theatre 2015
Original score for voice and electronics, musical direction & sound design
CAPTIVES OF THE CITY
Chamber made opera & Arts Centre Melbourne
Musical direction & sound design
HUNGER
By Rawcus in collaboration with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Composer, musical director & sound designer
WINNER 2008 Classical Music Awards Outstanding Contribution to Australian Music in Education

Film

LOT 57
Original score & sound design, Dir: Marcia Ferguson, 2017
THE CROSSING
Original Score for Strings, electric guitar & Mandolin (bowed)
Guitars, mandolin & musical direction, Dir: Marieka Walsh, 2016
TIM WINTON’S THE TURNING – FOG
Original score + musical direction, Creator: Robert Connolly, Dir: Jonathan Auf Def Heide, 2013
VAN DIEMAN’S LAND (2009)
Noise & Light, Dir: Jonathan Auf der Heide, 2009
Original score composed & performed.

Album Credits

MEOW MEOW’S LITTLE MERMAID
Producer, musical directer, arranger, 2016
CLOSING TIME AT YAH YAH’S
By Nick Batterham: bass, guitars, backing vocals, 2013
ANOTHER LAMENT
By Ida Dueland & Jethro Woodward: composer, producer, recording & mix engineer, 2013
DIE WINTERISE
By Ida Dueland: producer, recording & mix engineer, 2013
ALWAYS COMING DOWN
By Cordrazine: electric bass & backing vocals, 2010

Major Awards

Green Room Awards
WINNER 2013 – Best Sound & composition Theatre Companies – The Bloody Chamber
WINNER 2010 – Best Sound & composition Alternative & Hybrid – Irony is not enough
WINNER 2010 – Best Sound & composition Theatre Companies – MOTH
WINNER 2009 – Best Sound & composition Theatre Companies – The Bloody Chamber

In addition to his award wins, Jethro’s work in theatre, dance and hybrid performance has been
recognised by the Green Room Awards Panel with over 20 nominations.

Helpmann Awards
NOMINEE 2014 Best Original Score – Pinocchio (Windmill Theatre)
NOMINEE 2014 Best Sound Design – The Bloody Chamber (Malthouse Theatre)

Education

University of Melbourne, Victorian College of the Arts – Bachelor of Music Performance
2006 Professional development in New York and Ann Arbor, Michigan, supported by the Ian Potter Cultural Trust, researching innovative approaches to sound design and operation