Paul Clift was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1978. He currently lives in New York, where he is undertaking a doctorate in composition at Columbia University, receiving tuition from Tristan Murail, Fred Lerdahl & Fabien Lévy. He obtained a Master of Music at King’s College, London, under the tutelage of George Benjamin. In Paris he studied with Jean-Luc Hervé & Philippe Leroux, and from 2007–09, participated in the New Music Technology & Composition Cursus programme at IRCAM, under the direction of Yan Maresz; this culminated in the premier of a new work for 6 musicians and dancer, With my limbs in the dark, created in collaboration with French choreographer Alban Richard and performed by Ensemble l’Instant Donné & Laurie Giordano during the Agora Festival. Paul has also participated in festivals such as Royaumont Voix Nouvelles, Centre Acanthes, Domaine Forget, IMPULS & Darmstadt Ferienkurse allowing him further study with eminent composers Brian Ferneyhough, Beat Furrer, Michaël Levinas & Gerard Pesson among others.