Ruth Lee Martin is a Senior Lecturer in Music, who works across composition, performance and research. Her research interests cover three broad areas: as a Scottish migrant, she is strongly influenced by Scottish folk music, she is also interested in the connection between music and landscape, along with feminist issues relating to music.
Ruth's compositional output is diverse, consisting of works for solo instruments such as piano, ruan (Chinese lute), oboe, and guitar, small and large ensembles, and choir and orchestral music. Vocal and choral music are becoming an increasing focus of her work. Recent works include her work for solo piano The Winter it is Past which was premiered at the Manhattan School of Music, New York by pianist Joanne Polk in 2011. In 2009 Ruth was awarded the prestigious ArtsACT Creative Arts Fellowship during which time she focused on vocal and choral composition.
Her new CD, A Vision of Wildfowers (2011), shows the results of this fellowship and includes a song cycle setting the evocative poetry of British Australian theologian, philosopher and poet Kevin Hart. Wimmera Song Cycle was commissioned by Halcyon Ensemble, and was well received at its performances in Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne (2010). The CD also contains six sacred choral works commissioned by Trinity College Choir, Melbourne including a Magnificat, Nunc Dimittis, and Gloria. Annunciation 2 sets the text of her sister Prof. Dorothy Lee who is a theologian, priest and poet, and finally on the CD are two choral anthems I Heard a Loud Voice in Heaven and Then the Prophet Miriam ….
Ruth has composed music for documentaries including A House for a Nation, a four-part series on the Australian House of Representatives (2004). She was also commissioned to write an piece for the Elektra String Quartet and two Australian songs in collaboration with her sister theologian and poet Dorothy Lee for the House of Parliament's 20th birthday celebrations (2008). This music is now a feature of the documentary Pride of Place and has been aired on the Skynews channel.
In 2010 Ruth was one of the Australian composers chosen to compose a work for Encounters: Harvest of Endurance event held at Griffith University in Brisbane. For this she composed a work for the Song Company, setting poetry by Alan Gould called Cheng-Ho’s Sixth Voyage. She has been the recipient of many commissions and is a represented composer at the Australian Music Centre.
Ruth is also a performer of traditional Scots Gaelic song and a member of touring world-fusion band Eilean Mòr (Big Island) and is currently undertaking studies in the Scots-Gaelic language.
Ruth also composes in the folk tradition and her original songs form part of the repertoire of Eilean Mòr. Her songs include Edinburgh Hogmanay, Clearance of the Hill, Red Air, The Inbetween and Lullaby for Baby George.
Eilean Mòr consists of Ruth (vocals and percussion), Catherine Fraser (fiddle), Bill Grose (guitar), Bill Williams (double-bass), Ed Rodrigues (drums). Eilean Mòr have undertaken numerous performances nationally and internationally to critical acclaim. In 2007 they toured Tasmania, New Zealand, Hong Kong and the UK. Ruth also gave a lecture-recital at the National Library of Scotland in July 2007 on Australian Gaelic songs from the mid 1800s.
Eilean Mòr released their first CD in 2006 35 Degrees South produced with the assistance of the Australia Council. It has been very well received. A new folk CD Left of the Sun was released in 2009.
