David Ahern

David Anthony Ahern was an Australian composer born in Sydney in 1947 who died in the same city in 1988, at the age of forty. His career unfolded almost entirely within the sphere of his country's musical avant-garde, where his unconventional works constantly challenged the musical establishment of Sydney during the 1960s and 1970s.

He studied with Butterley and Meale and began composing at a very young age. Among his early pieces, After Mallarmé (1966) stands out, followed by Music for Nine and Ned Kelly Music, the latter a deliberate departure from the European tradition. In 1968 he completed a course in new music in Cologne, at the Rheinische Musikschule, and attended the summer course at Darmstadt. That same year, back in Australia, he composed Journal (1969) on commission for the nation's bicentenary. He returned to Germany to work as an assistant to Stockhausen, and then passed through London, where he took part in the first concerts of Cardew's Scratch Orchestra.

Back in Sydney he founded AZ Music, a concert organisation, and the small improvisation group Teletopa. For almost six years AZ kept new music at the forefront. After its dissolution at the end of 1975, Ahern worked as a sound teacher for several years, and afterwards his name fell into long oblivion.

His legacy rests above all on his role as a promoter and on experimental works such as Stereo/Mono and Cinemusic, which combined film and live performers.