I studied music at the Australian Institute of Music and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, before completing postgraduate studies at Macquarie University and the University of Technology Sydney. I hold a PhD in computational musicology focused on machine learning approaches to music analysis.
Over the past two decades I have developed music software and research systems in C, C++, Java, R, Haskell, and Python, including a symbolic music search engine for large orchestral datasets.
I have also taught extensively across musicology, harmony, improvisation, music history, ensemble practice, and computational topics, primarily in tertiary music and university settings. Teaching has remained an important part of my work throughout my career, and I am particularly interested in helping students develop both practical musical skills and a deeper understanding of how music works.
In 2012 I moved out of academia into data science and machine learning, working primarily in health analytics and developing AI systems and data security solutions across a range of corporate and government roles. This culminated in my appointment as Chief Data Officer at the Cancer Institute NSW, a role I held from 2018 until 2025. It was certainly a rewarding time, giving me the opportunity to lead data and analytics strategy, manage large data science and technology teams, contribute to data and analytics architecture in the health space, and participate in AI strategy at the state and federal level.
In 2025, I decided to step back from data and technology to find time for music again. I started working with a number of different ensembles, and started carving out time for composition once again. It has been absolutely amazing and as well as my ongoing work as a musician and composer, I returned to teaching in schools, this time deciding to focus on both primary and secondary education.
As a performer, I am currently working across solo and ensemble contexts that span jazz fusion, experimental improvisation, and electronic ambient music. When playing live, I often mix acoustic and electric piano, synthesis, and looping, shifting between structured performance and open-ended improvisation depending on the setting.
I have also recently released a first album, SAJA Project 01 with Aotearoa based artist Sally Jamila and we are recording a follow up album in 2026.