Dante Clavijo is an experienced young composer, guitarist and teacher. Upon graduating from St. Mary Mackillop College in 2015, he received the BSSS and St. Mary Mackillop College Creative Arts Awards. During college, he also undertook the ANU School of Music’s Type 1 pre-tertiary jazz course. Dante successfully completed his undergraduate studies at the ANU School of Music in 2019, majoring in Composition, Arranging and Sound Design. Dante has been privately teaching guitar and theory since 2015. 

Dante has had pieces workshopped and performed by members of the Royal Australian Navy Band in 2016, and by the Canberra Youth Orchestra in 2017, as part of the School of Music’s ‘Melody Makers’ project. His first orchestral composition was premiered by the National Capital Orchestra in 2019 (cond. Leonard Weiss). Dante has collaborated with students from Hawker College as part of a film project in 2017, and with students from the Academy of Interactive Arts as part of two separate video game projects in 2018. In addition, Dante was awarded the ANZCA Scholarship for composition in both 2016 and 2017.  

Dante assisted in mic’ing and recording “The Lost Jewels” (Dir. Christopher Latham) – a commemoration and performance of works written by composers who perished during World War I – alongside Dr. Kim Cunio at the National Gallery of Australia in 2018. He typeset, arranged and assisted in the recording of a fanfare by Emeritus Professor Larry Sitsky, which was played at the ANU Grand Graduation ceremony at the end of 2019. He has also created a new digital instrument as part of a musical internship with Anthony Ammar in Sydney in 2019.