Composer-pianist WENDY HISCOCKS was born in Wollongong near Sydney and began playing the piano at an early age.  In her teens she started composing, and went on to study composition with Peter Sculthorpe at University of Sydney.  Her career started with a two-year residence as composer and composition teacher at a major Perth school that resulted in the establishment of composition as an accredited subject in the West Australian school syllabus.  Since moving to London in 1988 she has received commissions, premières and broadcasts from distinguished soloists, ensembles and choirs from around the world.  Wendy’s recent appearance in ABC TV’s I.O.U. documentary on the Australian painter Lloyd Rees includes a performance of her choral work Grace by Trinity College Choir, Melbourne and is scheduled for broadcast in February 2008.  As pianist she has appeared internationally at venues ranging from London’s Purcell Room to festivals on various continents such as the Kusatsu International Summer Academy and Festival in Japan and Australia’s Port Fairy Festival.  She performs piano duos and duets, chamber music and accompanies singers in a large range of repertoire including her own compositions.  She has recorded piano duet and duo music by Chabrier with Roy Howat for the French label Stil and her piano duet arrangement of Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre was published by Edition Peters in 2007.  Wendy is also an authority on the music of Arthur Benjamin, a topic on which she is preparing a doctorate for the Australian National University.  Wendy has recently returned from a tour to Hawaii to perform two-piano works with Roy Howat, give a composition masterclass and attend Scott McCarey’s world premiere of two piano solos titled ‘Trees and Lightning’ and ‘Prawning Lanterns on Lake Illawarra’ which are part of a larger collection of piano works called Scenes from an Australian Childhood.