Callum Mintzis is a composer, performer, educator, psychotherapist and writer.

His work is informed by a deep love for the world around him, and the people in it. He considers his longstanding meditation practice, of which he begun at the age of seven, as foundational to his outlook on life. Informed by the principles of Tibetan Buddhism, Zen, Taoism and other wisdom traditions, he values love and interconnectedness. He humbly recognises the necessity of human suffering as an avenue to better understanding our place in the world, and perpetually regards himself as a beginner - a student who does not wish to preach or assert. He believes his teachers to be everyone and everything, from the trees and birds to brief interactions with passing strangers.

He is also the custodian of Lim Meng Sing (Peter Lim), PhD, a poet and writer whose work has deeply explored the principles of Zen, Taoism and living from the heart.

Personal Life

Callum grew up in Melbourne, Australia, on the stolen lands of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung. At a very young age, he developed an interest in meditation. As a child, he routinely asked himself questions such as “Who am I?” and “What is it to be alive?” He often felt very connected to nature, the animals, and something much bigger than himself. During this time, he decided he wanted to be a writer, pledging to have as many experiences as possible. He felt that he could only write authentically if he had experienced what his characters had. This commitment, he believes, opened him up to the richness and mystery of the world.

As he continued into his teens, he became interested in music and philosophy. He was fascinated with Zen, Taoism, and Tibetan Buddhism - most notably through the work of Alan Watts. This period preceded a series of heartbreaking, world‑shattering experiences that fractured his assumptions about the world and became a catalyst for much of his work. Inside pain and sorrow, instead of an abyss of meaninglessness, he found expressions of love. In this heartbreak, he was able to experience the universality of suffering and the underlying love beneath it. Callum views each aspect of his work as an outlet for exploring and sharing this.

Trombone

Inspired by his musical family, Callum began playing the trombone at the age of 12. A keen student of James Macaulay, he fell in love with early jazz from the 1920s, 30s and 40s. His grandfather, John McKinnon, played accordion and saxophone in dance bands throughout his life, never learning to read music. This, Callum believes, is why this music feels so familiar. As he gently dismantled his expectations of what music “should” be, his love expanded to embrace many different styles.

At the age of sixteen, Callum was invited as the youngest musician to perform with the Monash Art Ensemble, and by nineteen, was lucky enough to be performing regularly with Australian Jazz luminary, Andrea Keller. By the age of twenty, Callum had performed with GRAMMY nominated/winning artists Vijay Iyer, Linda Oh, Ambrose Akinmusire and Terri Lyne Carrington - Akinmusire describing Mintzis’s playing as "extremely unique" and "unlike any trombonist he'd ever heard."

Callum’s music has received critical acclaim by publications and organisations such as The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, ABC, PBS and APRA/AMCOS, and has been commissioned by the City of Melbourne, ASTRA Chamber Music Society, La Mama Theatre and Melbourne University. Callum currently teaches trombone at Monash University.

Callum’s explores the early swing music of his grandfather’s in Callum’s Codgers, a project featuring a rotating cast of Steve Grant, Tamara Murphy, Robbie Finch, Sam O’Halloran and Maddison Carter. Callum also has a recent quartet comprising Helen Svoboda, Joe O’Connor and Chloe Kim which perform his original compositions. This group has recently recorded an album entitled Oraison.

Composition

Psychotherapy

Callum is currently completing his Master of Psychotherapy & Counselling at the Cairnmillar Institute. His interest in being a psychotherapist was born of his reckoning with difficult, heartbreaking experiences and the insights of finding the compassion to be with them. Where music is an outlet to share these insights indirectly, psychotherapy is a direct one. His first placement was at Doncare Family Violence Clinic, where he worked with victim survivors of domestic abuse. He is currently completing his second placement at Mingary-Cairnmillar on Collins Street, Melbourne CBD. He will begin working in private practice from 2027.

His work is influenced by the person-centered principles of Carl Rogers, while drawing on the theory and practices of Eugene Gendlin, John Welwood and many other voices. Overall, Callum is humanistic in his approach while taking influence from his longstanding meditation practice and growing research into the science of flourishing.