It is with great sadness that we have learned of the death of Martin Armiger.
The Head of Screen Music at AFTRS for 14 years, he lobbied to make sure music was a key discipline taught at the School, teaching and inspiring countless students. In 2017, he was honoured with the inaugural APRA/AGSC Distinguished Service to the Australian Screen Award.
Nell Greenwood, AFTRS Director of Curriculum and Student Registrar said: “It is hard to put into words the extraordinary contribution that Martin made to the School and to the industry. His skill and generosity shaped the careers of so many students. His incredible intelligence, his musical genius, his kindness, his wit and his daring, disrupting mind influenced so many of us and will be so missed.”
Martin was a giant of Australian music – a record producer, multi-talented musician, performer and music composer. He wrote music for film, television, radio and the stage and composed the on-air theme music for ABC TV News.
He kicked off his music career as a singer, songwriter and guitarist for legendary Melbourne-based rock band The Sports and, in 1972, he started his screen profession composing music for a short film called Drac. From 1984, Martin was musical director for the much-loved ABC series Sweet and Sour, a 20-episode, weekly pop music, drama TV series. A musical all-rounder, he provided backing vocals, lead guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, drums and lyrics and produced the soundtrack album.
Martin composed music for 14 feature films, and many telemovies and TV mini-series, as well as documentaries, long-running television series and short films. His list of works includes the feature films Thank God He Met Lizzie and Young Einstein, the television series The Secret Life of Us, mini-series Come In Spinner and Bodysurfers, Police Rescue, and the documentary Cane Toads. He was also president of the AGSC for seven years.
AFTRS staff and students send their condolences to Martin’s family and his many friends.