KAYLIE MELVILLE BIO

Melbourne-based percussionist Kaylie Melville is a soloist and chamber musician dedicated to new music performance. Noted for her “extraordinary ability to impart a sense of musicality to even the smallest gestures” (Partial Durations), Kaylie is the Artistic Director of Australia’s leading percussive arts organisation Speak Percussion, founding Co-Director of chamber music ensemble Rubiks Collective ,and frequently works with leading Australian ensembles and orchestras. In addition to performing, Kaylie's practice incorporates directing, producing, curating, improvising and mentoring. 

As a passionate advocate of new music Kaylie has performed in the world premieres of award-winning Australian works, including Liza Lim’s ‘Atlas of the Sky’ (Performance of the Year, 2019 Art Music Awards) and Kate Neal's 'Semaphore' (Performance of the Year, 2016 Art Music Awards). Her festival appearances include the Melbourne Festival, Sydney Festival, Salihara Festival (Indonesia), Australia Fest (India), George Town Festival (Malaysia), and the Percussive Arts Society’s International Convention (US).

Kaylie is currently the recipient of a two-year artistic fellowship awarded by the Ian Potter Foundation and Australian National Academy of Music. Her fellowship project is focused on artistic leadership in the contemporary art music sector and the development of new projects for Rubiks and Speak.

Kaylie has a keen interest in community-engaged and education projects that make participation in music accessible to all. From 2015 to 2024 she led Speak’s Sounds Unheard secondary education program, which was recognised five times as a finalist at the Art Music Awards for Excellence in Education. In 2024-2025 she co-designed Rubiks workshops for young people with vision impairment with Melbourne Recital Centre and Vision Australia, and co-designed music workshops at the University of Melbourne for young people from the d/Deaf community with the Science Gallery. Kaylie has presented guest lectures and workshops at the University of Melbourne (VIC), Griffith University (QLD) and the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA).

Kaylie was one of the first percussionists admitted to the Professional Performance Program at the Australian National Academy of Music, and holds Master of Music (Research) and Master of Music Studies qualifications from the University of Melbourne. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Western Australia, where she earned a Bachelor of Music (Honors) and a Bachelor of Arts with majors in French and English Literature. Her teachers have included Peter Neville, John Arcaro, Robert Cossom, Tim White and Alex Timcke.

Website photo credits: 
APRA AMCOS, MASS MoCA, Alan Weedon, Bryony Jackson, Cameron Jamieson, Chris Bennett, Daniel Pufe, Darren James, Johannes Kreidler.