Thalia Skopellos (performer name Ellatronix) has been announced as the 2024 NATSIMO Screen Composer Intensive recipient.
Starting 1 April, this Sydney-based program explores the key practices of screen composing in production settings and will be mentored by Ken Francis.
“I hope that this will be the beginning of creating lasting and meaningful connections in the industry,” said Thalia.
The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music Office (NATSIMO) is pleased to announce Thalia Skopellos (performer name Ellatronix) as the recipient of the 2024 NATSIMO Screen Composer Intensive.
Thalia is an electronic music producer, sound composer and entrepreneur with Aboriginal, Greek, Filipino, Chinese and South Sea Islander heritage.
Thalia is set to participate in a three-month program in Sydney, focusing on the fundamental aspects of composing for the screen within production environments. During this intensive course, she will have access to a composing area at Church Street Studios. Here, she will develop a new soundtrack for a short film under the mentorship of renowned screen composer Ken Francis. Additionally, she will collaborate on the arrangement with Jessica Wells from Jigsaw Music.
The intensive is funded by APRA AMCOS with support from the Australian Guild of Screen Composers (AGSC), Church Street Studios, Jigsaw Music and Trackdown Studios.
Thalia holds a Bachelor of Music (Composition & Music Production) and a Diploma of Interactive Media (Film and Video). She is the founder of Soulset Studios and a filmmaker and co-founder at Beyond Summerland Entertainment.
In January 2024 she undertook a two-week placement with Soundfirm and Blackfella Films, and in 2023 composed the soundtrack for the opening drone show of the Fremantle Biennale First Lights - Kooranup festival. The show brought to life an ancient story of ancestral beings and an epic battle that shaped the West Australian coastline.
She has won silver in composition for a short animation at the AEFF Awards (2022) and has been nominated for the Prague Music Video Awards
(2023), amongst others.
"We are thrilled to congratulate Thalia on her selection within the 2024 NATSIMO Screen Composer Intensive. A multi-award-winning artist, Thalia brings an extensive wealth of knowledge in music composition, production, screen music and other areas of the music industry. The NATSIMO team eagerly anticipates supporting Thalia on this exciting journey and is looking forward to experiencing her innovative works at the program's conclusion,” said Nathaniel Andrew, NATSIMO Education and Special Projects Manager.
“I’m really looking forward to working with Thalia in the Screen Composer Intensive program; her creativity and promise shines through her beautiful existing music, her passion and drive evident in how she has thrown herself into taking on roles behind the camera from writer, DoP, editor, foley, along with composing & audio postproduction; I’m sure she will flourish in the program and evolve towards that unique and powerful musical voice that she aspires to be. I can’t wait for us to get started!” – Ken Francis, mentor.
“I'm excited, humbled and very grateful to be selected in this year's NATSIMO Screen Composer Intensive,” said Thalia. “I'm looking forward to being mentored by industry professionals Ken Francis and Jessica Wells to get a deeper understanding of scoring and arranging to film.
“As an independent artist, I wouldn’t normally have access to this education, recording facilities and session musicians. I'm looking forward to the challenge of taking an idea to score and seeing it come to life in a recording studio with musicians.
“I hope that this will be the beginning of creating lasting and meaningful connections in the industry and will provide a platform for me to learn and grow as an artist and entrepreneur and to showcase my craft and skills as a composer," said Thalia.
2024 is the third year of the Intensive. Composer Rhyan Clapham (DOBBY) was the 2022 recipient, the creative outcome of the which resulted in Rhyan’s composition, 'SPRING'. Composer Amanda Davis (Dyagula) was the 2023 recipient and was mentored by Ken Francis.