An Interview with Wayne Dauer

October 21, 2026| Alfred Music Official

Wayne Dauer is a composer and lifelong music educator based on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia, where he teaches primary students and directs multiple choirs at a school less than 300 metres from the ocean. A classical piano graduate of the Queensland University of Technology, he’s spent some thirty years teaching, performing, and composing — and above all, writing music his students love to sing. He has been publishing with Alfred Music for less than two years.

Q: How did you first discover your passion for composing?

It started during university and developed from there. I’ve had some wonderful students to teach over the years, and it’s them who inspire me constantly.

Q: Who has shaped how you think about music?

No one in particular. I love listening to a broad range of musical styles, and all that input somehow becomes part of your musical DNA.

Q: What was the first piece you wrote that made you think, “I might actually be onto something here”?

Believe it or not, I wrote a ton of recorder music — solos, duets, and ensemble pieces. My students loved playing them, and when they took them to competitions we continually achieved remarkable results. Adjudicators frequently praised the musicality of the pieces, and that was confirmation that I had something worthwhile to bring to the composing table.

Q: What’s the hardest creative problem you’ve had to solve, and how did you get through it?

For me it’s often the lyrics for vocal works. The musical ideas — melody, harmony, and so on — usually come to me first, and then it can be agonising to get the lyrics just right. Sometimes I’ll stew over one or two words for days or even weeks.

Q: How has your compositional voice changed over the years?

I think experience is everything. I remember writing pieces for voice or wind instruments and not leaving anywhere to breathe! You also go through phases where you focus on different things — a great melodic line, a captivating rhythm, or just a clever lyrical theme.

Q: Do you have a favorite piece on Alfred.com? What was the spark behind it?

Most likely my first published piece, “The Mariner.” I didn’t actually think highly of it after I wrote it, and it sat in the bottom drawer for around three years. One day I decided to use it with one of my choirs as part of a three-piece program at a major competition — which we went on to win. My students said it had been their favourite piece to sing all year, and after the performance, so many audience members told me they loved it too.

Q: If there were a soundtrack for your life right now, what piece would it be?

Probably “Happy” by Pharrell Williams. I’m really enjoying where I am in life right now. Teaching kids music is what I do, and despite having taught, performed, and composed for some thirty years, I’m enjoying it as much as ever. I also just love sitting at the piano and everything it brings — more than ever.

Q: Where are you based, and how does your environment influence your work?

I live on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, on the east coast of Australia. I’m close to the ocean, and the school I teach at is literally less than 300 metres from the water. The relaxed lifestyle here surely can’t hurt any inspiration.

Q: How do you spend most of your working hours?

I work in a lovely school teaching children aged 5 to 12. I teach full time, direct multiple choirs, and, when I can, sit at the piano. Composing gets very little time usually, but if an idea presents itself, I’ll make the time.

Q: Where did you study, and how much of what you do today traces back to your formal training versus what you figured out on your own?

I studied at the Queensland University of Technology, completing a music degree majoring in classical piano, with secondary studies in voice, guitar, composing, and conducting, alongside all the usual historical components. That said, not much of my compositional output really traces directly back to what I did at uni — it’s been more of a gradual, individual journey, gleaning bits and pieces along the way. My students have always been a great sounding board, too.

Q: Did you grow up in a musical household?

My parents loved music but had no substantial formal training. Dad tried violin as a kid and took some organ lessons, but his fingers were like thick sausages and wouldn’t fit between the black keys, so he had some significant limitations! Fortunately, I didn’t take after him — my fingers were just right for the piano. As a young boy, we lived across the road from a keyboard teacher, so the opportunity to learn presented itself, and the rest is history.

Q: How long have you been publishing with Alfred, and how did that relationship start?

Less than two years. A friend of mine is a great songwriter who writes with a heavily Australian character. He mentioned that he’d approached a publisher in Australia to take on his catalogue, which they did, and that inspired me to look further afield than my own small part of the world.

Q: Outside of composing, is there another role in music that’s been just as central to who you are?

Educator. It really defines who I am.

Q: What do you want your body of work to add up to?

I just get such a feeling of satisfaction knowing that somewhere outside of my small part of the world, children and adults are getting joy out of performing my pieces.

Q: Is there a favorite piece of yours that may not be your most popular work but resonates strongly with you?

Probably a piece that isn’t currently published, called “A World Without Music.” It just epitomises all my feelings about music. I cannot fathom a world without music and all the wondrous things it brings.