A Musicians’ Orchestrator
Callum has written music for albums, films, television, live concerts, theatre shows, and adverts. His list of past clients includes an extraordinarily diverse range of top artists and ensembles from Michael Bublé and Quincy Jones & RAYE to the BBC Concert Orchestra and the Danish Radio Big Band.
He prides himself on producing high quality, stylistically aware music, with a first-hand understanding of instrumental playing at its core.
Arranging & Orchestrating
However large or small your project, Callum can arrange or compose music for you for any ensemble or combination of instruments.
Callum Au Orchestra feat. Claire Martin
‘I Never Went Away’
Once you are happy with everything, Callum will provide you with a set of immaculately copied parts, as PDFs or as physical charts (or both), that leave no room for doubt in a studio or live setting.
Turnaround times depend on the scale of the project but can start from as little as 72 hours for a single track.
Would you like to discuss your next project?
Composing
Callum Au has worked with many of the world’s finest orchestras, big bands, and chamber ensembles as both trombonist and composer. His practical experience as a performing musician gives him a first-hand insight into writing original music for these ensembles. Music by Callum can regularly be heard on television, radio, adverts and podcasts.
Callum is the 2020 winner of the Brussels Jazz Orchestra International Composition Competition. His original compositions have been performed and recorded by groups including the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the SWR Big Band and the Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Orchestra.
Callum’s refreshingly natural feel for arresting melodies and lush harmonies has seen him increasingly in demand from classical ensembles over the past few years. Recent commissions have seen his work performed at the Royal Albert Hall by Bone a-fide Trombone Quartet, at the at the Spitalfields and Ryedale Festivals by Inner City Brass, at the European Brass Band Championships 2022 with the Cory Band and Louis Dowdeswell Big Band, and at the Cheltenham Festival by the Tippett Quartet.
‘Far Beyond the Stars’
feat. Nadim Teimoori
Would you like to discuss a new commission?
Musical Director
Callum Au can help you take your musical project from initial conception to finished product. Alongside a trusted team of industry professionals and world-leading musicians, Callum can provide consultation & expert guidance throughout the project, from composing, arranging, contracting, conducting, recording, mixing, and performing.
Would you like to discuss your next project?
Transcribing
An original flair for transcribing music.
The Callum Au Big Band feat. Atila Huseyin
‘Night & Day’
Over the course of his career, Callum Au has transcribed hundreds of arrangements from the big band era, originally penned by writers like Nelson Riddle and Billy May. Many of the world’s top jazz artists have performed his transcriptions, including Dee Dee Bridgewater, Gregory Porter and Randy Brecker.
If you can provide the audio, Callum can transcribe it, whatever the original instrumentation. He can also re-orchestrate and adapt the original arrangement for your band’s specific line-up, skilfully adding or removing parts to make it work perfectly with the available forces. He will provide you with a set of immaculately copied parts, as PDFs or as physical charts (or both), that leave no room for doubt in a studio or live setting.
Turnaround times depend on the scale of the project, but can start from as little as 48 hours for a single track.
Would you like to discuss your next project?
Projects
Songs & Stories
In 2020 Callum released his second album, ‘Songs and Stories’: a selection of jazz standards and American Songbook classics given a compelling, sensitive, modern orchestral treatment and featuring multi-award winning singer Claire Martin OBE alongside full symphonic forces. The record won ‘Album of the Year’ in the 2021 Parliamentary Jazz Awards, and was performed in full at the Cadogan Hall in January 2023.
Ultimate Big Band Toolkit
Callum’s long-standing collaboration with high note trumpet sensation Louis Dowdeswell has seen their videos amass millions of streams. Their e-books ‘Louis and Cal’s Ultimate Big Band Toolkit’ Volumes 1 and 2 allow aspiring professional big band players to learn and play remotely with some of the best musicians in the world.
Ensembles
Callum leads or co-leads various ensembles, ranging in size from jazz quintet to full orchestra.