Romano Crivici is one of Australia’s leading contemporary composer/performers (violin and piano). Crivici, a former member of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the New England String Quartet and the popular and humorous Paranormal Music Society, has also worked widely as a pianist, repetiteur and conductor. However it has been his work as composer, director and violinist with his ensembles Elektra String Quartet and, directing from piano, the ECU (Elektra Collektive Unconscious), for which he is most widely known.

 

In pioneering the integration of technology, improvisation and cross-cultural collaborations within the classical tradition, he and his ensemble created a genre unique to contemporary music making.

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Crivici founded the Elektra String Quartet in 1993 soon after leaving the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and created a disciplined and flexible ensemble that, touring both nationally and internationally, worked within many cross cultural art-forms.

The ensemble featured works by Crivici himself as well as commissioning and performing works by some of Australia’s best known composers.

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As well as fostering relationships with some of Australia's best known composers, Crivici collaborated with artists from many cultures and performance styles, including long working relationships with Australian indigenous artists, Indian/Jazz fusion artists, Javanese percussionists and traditional Tibetan performers within the various multi-media formats he has devised.

 

Crivici has also been commissioned by many organisations and ensembles including the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Arafura Ensemble, Sante String Quartet (Switzerland), 10 Days on the Island Festival, Sydney Film Festival, Fresh Ballet Company, Sydney Dance Company, One Extra Dance Company and Pacific Arts Festival.

 

At the height of Elektra’s performance trajectory he completed a Masters in Performance (Conducting) as well as a Diploma of Social Science (Anthropology) both at the University of Sydney.​

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Reflecting the larger scale of the works he creates, Crivici has expanded Elektra String Quartet to a much larger ensemble Elektra Collective Unconscious (ECU), which, comprised of both classical and jazz performers, he directs from the keyboard.

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His most recent projects are the recording of his String Quartets 4 & 5, a work for didjeridu, string quartet and percussion, (Flat Earth), the recording of Reflections on Life, Death and Transience (for Vln, Vla and spoken text) and a number of works for solo piano; Getting There, If leaves Could Sing and Adagio and Allegro in C#.

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His aim is, in his own words, “to create not only something of beauty or soulfulness, but an attempt at finding or creating some meaning and relevance …… a living and ongoing sense of shared humanity, if not in the broader cultural milieu, then at least within my own head.”

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Romano has a Masters in Conduction (MA) from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music (USYD) and a Diploma of Social Science (Anthropology) from the University of Sydney.