Ross Bolleter (born 1946, Subiaco, Western Australia) is an Australian avantgarde composer and improviser notable for his experimentation on ruined pianos. He has been a member of The Blackeyed Susans and he is a co-founder of the WARPS Music label.
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Bolleter started his career by practicing improvised music with the flautist Tos Mahoney. He later went to study music, including theory, history and composition, at the University of Western Australia, between 1964 to 1967. This re-awoke his interest in the music of composers such as Anton Webern, Karlheinz Stockhausen and Pierre Boulez, whom he had studied as part of his course. He then went investigating non-conventional timbral and rhythmic possibilities of the prepared piano. In the last 10 years Bolleter has explored playing with ruined pianos, that is old pianos that have been found after having been left exposed to the action of time and weather, thus acquiring novel and unexpected musical possibilities.
Bolleter is primarily interested in improvisation, both as a solo player and in group work. Although he has composed some pieces formally, he feels little interest in having pieces recreated by other performers.
Ross in the distant past played piano in restaurants and bars, but for some time has worked as a piano teacher. In 2009 he was invited to participate in Tasmania's Ten Days On The Island festival, and his ruined piano installations were very successful. Ross recently published a book of poetry, and is completing another on Zen spirituality. He is divorced from his wife, but they still maintain a strong bond due to their two children.