Stephanie Eslake is an award-winning arts journalist and founding editor of national music magazine CutCommon. She works freelance from her home in Tasmania.
editor@cutcommon.com
You might’ve seen Stephanie’s words published in The Guardian, Meanjin, The Mercury, SBS, Limelight Magazine, ArtsHub, The Herald Sun, and The Music, among others.
Stephanie also creates content for educational institutions and arts organisations. Some recent corporate clients include the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Ten Days on the Island, and Melba Opera Trust.
Learn more about Stephanie and her services.
Posts of interest
It’s official – our editor is writing a book for arts practitioners
In 2021, CutCommon editor Stephanie Eslake received a grant to write a new book for arts workers. Chapters will be designed to help build skills in interview techniques, editing, feature writing, arts marketing, and reviewing, among others. The project is supported by the Tasmanian Government.
Tim Minchin is “finding a balance between self-loathing and pride”
A Q&A with the Australian comedian and musician. By Stephanie Eslake, CutCommon, 2020.
The TSO Chorus has turned social distancing into an art
A showcase of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra’s vocal talent during COVID-19 lockdowns. By Stephanie Eslake, TSO News, 2020.
Howard Shore explains how he composes his fantasy worlds
An interview feature with the composer of The Lord of the Rings. By Stephanie Eslake, CutCommon and Level and Gain, 2020.
CutCommon: The new generation of classical music
Founded in 2014, CutCommon is Australia’s independent classical and new music magazine. As editor, Stephanie works to showcase emerging and established industry talent, and mentors new voices in music journalism.
“CutCommon addresses a crisis in music coverage and criticism with a smart, flexible solution committed to diversity of voices, new talent and innovation and, above all, wider access to classical music. It has the potential to greatly enhance Australia’s ecosystem of artists, media and audiences.”
– Classical:NEXT 2017 Innovation Award (shortlisted)
“Based in Hobart, Stephanie Eslake has been a trailblazer in Australian and international arts, and more specifically music journalism, since 2014. Since establishing the new music magazine CutCommon in 2014, with the aim of rebranding classical music, in the past seven years Stephanie and her team of talented young writers have provided a voice for the less mainstream classical music in Australia. Panel members commented on the huge challenge involved in establishing a new music-specific arts magazine when others are closing down, and the vision, tenacity and courage it takes to do so.
Six years on, the national reach of CutCommon is incredibly important; it is a great national initiative. Panel members noted Stephanie Eslake’s visionary leadership and fearless trailblazing in establishing CutCommon and its commitment to provided a voice to younger and more emerging composers and performers, who otherwise don’t often have an opportunity to be featured in mainstream media.”
– APRA AMCOS Art Music Awards panel members commenting on Stephanie’s 2021 win (Luminary Award).
‘It is such a fleeting thing’: Hobart residents flock to witness the Disappearing Tarn
A quick-turnaround commission about this natural phenomenon. By Stephanie Eslake, The Guardian, 2020.
Why we love Elena Kats-Chernin
Homage to an Australian composer. By Stephanie Eslake, first published through the Kill Your Darlings New Critic Award, then in CutCommon, 2019.
How can we hear classical music in video games?
An in-depth exploration into game scoring and composition. By Stephanie Eslake, first published through the Kill Your Darlings New Critic Award, then in Level and Gain, 2019.
The art island
An opinion piece about Tasmania’s arts and cultural landscape at the time of writing. By Stephanie Eslake, Kill Your Darlings, 2017.
Stephanie Eslake 