[3] Dean was artistic director of the Australian National Academy of Music in Melbourne until June 2010, when his brother, Paul, took up the post.
[4] The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra celebrated Dean's 50th birthday, and his contribution to music as composer, performer and teacher, in its 2011 Metropolis Festival.
[6] Dean began composing in 1988, initially focusing on experimental film and radio projects as well as improvisational performance.
Dean's compositional style is known for creating dynamic soundscapes and treating single instrumental parts with complex rhythms.
Modern playing techniques are as characteristic for his style as an elaborate percussion scoring, often enriched with objects from everyday life.
Environmental problems are the subject of Water Music and Pastoral Symphony, while Vexations and Devotions deal with the absurdities of a modern society obsessed with information.
Dean's clarinet concerto Ariel's Music won an award from the UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers in 1995.
[37] It was founded by the Australia Council in honour of Don Banks, Australian composer, performer and the first chair of its music board.