Biography

Ashlyn Keiler (b.2004) is a Brisbane-based composer whose works have been described as ‘spine-tingling’ and ‘compellingly communicative’.

Ashlyn was one of few selected participants in Topology’s Launchpad Mentorship 2025, which culminated in a series of workshops and performances of Polarise and Crystallise with the ensemble. She has been a member of UQ’s Sketch Ensemble since 2023 and has been involved in film-scoring projects for Nosferatu, Faust, Joan of Arc, with a fourth for Battleship Potemkin later this year.

The recipient of UQ’s Percy Brier Memorial Prize (2024), Ashlyn’s choral work Tangling, Turning, Twisting was premiered in QPAC’s concert hall under the baton of Dr Graeme Morton AM. She has also had various compositions workshopped and performed by ensemble including The Australian Voices, Black Square String Quartet and Sketch Ensemble. Her work Spiral Song for flute quartet was recently premiered by Jacaranda Flute Collective at the UQ Art Museum as a feature of UQ’s Spectrum concert collection.

One of three selected participants in the Sound Production program at Australian Youth Orchestra’s 2026 National Music Camp, Ashlyn has also developed a keen interest in audio engineering, mixing and recording, and aspires to adapt these skills to incorporate elements outside of the strictly classical realm.

Ashlyn is in her fifth year studying chemistry and composition at UQ, completing her Honours thesis with Dr Robert Davidson. Other composition mentors include Dr Lisa Cheney, Erik Griswold and Isabella Gerometta. She has previously studied violin with Courtenay Cleary and Adam Chalabi. She is especially interested in how composition and chemistry can be intertwined through composing works inspired by interesting theories in chemistry and using composition as a tool to understand the very conceptual field of chemistry.