C06 A Hidden World
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Sunday, 1 May 2022
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Fairfax Theatre
National Gallery of Australia
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In Association with
Presented by Doma Hotels
Rubiks Collective presents Gemma Peacocke’s Waves & Lines; a multimedia song cycle for soprano, electronics, and chamber ensemble based on a tradition of Afghan women’s folk poetry.
Collected in the book I Am the Beggar of the World: Landays From Contemporary Afghanistan, these poems offer a surprising and vivid – and often humorous – glimpse into the lives of women existing under the watch of an ultraconservative regime.
Exploring the distance, anonymity, and strange intimacy of phone calls, text messages, and radio broadcasts in which the poems are shared, the song cycle features fixed electronics, projections and the stunning vocals of Persian born, Melbourne based performer Gelareh Pour.
Program
Gemma Peacocke (NZ/US): Waves & Lines
followed by a panel discussion, led by Genevieve Jacobs AM, with Virginia Haussegger AM, Gelareh Pour and Professor Amin Saikal.
Artists
Gelareh Pour with Rubiks Collective:
Kaylie Melville, percussion
Jacob Abela, keyboards
Hamish Gullick, bass
Accompanying projections by Anchuli Felicia King.
ARTIST Learn more about the artist
Artist Anchuli Felicia King
Anchuli Felicia King is a playwright and multidisciplinary artist whose practice spans across dramaturgy; sound, video and projection design; and creative consultation.
Artist Hamish Gullick
Hamish Gullick is a double bassist born and raised in Sydney. Hamish had his first double bass lessons when he was 12 with late jazz great Ed Gaston. From 2013-16 he studied with a scholarship at the Sydney Conservatorium with Kees Boersma and later Alex Henery. In 2019 he commenced training with Damien Eckersley at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM).
During his studies, Hamish played in masterclasses for Dominic Seldis, (former Principal Double Bass, Royal Concertgebouw) Owen Lee, (Principle Double Bass, Cincinnati Symphony) and Hiroshi Ikematsu, (Former Principal New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, NHK Symphony).
A voracious appetite for new sounds has led Hamish’s regular listening ranging from the lopsided beats of J Dilla, to the new Appalachian sounds of Chris Thile and Edgar Meyer, in addition to a wide range of western art music, culminating in Hamish’s pursuit of unconventional repertoire and interpretation.
Hamish premiered a number of solo and accompanied works for double bass by Australian composer Jim Coyle, and in April 2018 he was involved in the Australian premiere of Gemma Peacocke’s song cycle Waves and Lines with the Rubiks collective at the Metropolis Festival. He also premiered Stuart Greenbaum’s Sonata for double bass and piano Continental Drift at ANAM.
Over the last few years, Hamish has worked with the Sydney, Melbourne, New Zealand and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras as well as the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra. Through his training at ANAM, he has also been fortunate to play chamber music alongside Gregory Ahss, Lisa Moore, Nick Deutsch and the Australian Chamber Orchestra.
Artist Kaylie Melville
Melbourne-based percussionist Kaylie Melville is a soloist and chamber musician dedicated to new music performance. Noted for her “extraordinary ability to impart a sense of musicality to even the smallest gestures” (Partial Durations), Kaylie is an Artistic Associate with new music pioneers Speak Percussion, co-Artistic Director of the contemporary ensemble Rubiks Collective and frequently works with leading Australian ensembles and orchestras. In addition to performing, Kaylie’s practice incorporates improvising, directing, curating and teaching.
As a passionate advocate of new music Kaylie has performed in the world premieres of major Australian works, including Kate Neal’s ‘Semaphore’ (Arts House 2015) and as the percussion soloist in Jack Symond’s ‘Double Purity’ double concerto (BIFEM 2016). Her festival appearances include the Metropolis New Music Festival, Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music, Melbourne Festival, Adelaide Cabaret Festival, Salihara Festival (Indonesia), and the Percussive Arts Society’s International Convention (US). Kaylie has also participated in a number of prestigious new music courses including the inaugural Eighth Blackbird Creative Lab (USA, 2017), Darmstadt Summer Course for New Music (Germany, 2016), Bang on a Can Summer Festival (USA, 2015) and So Percussion’s Summer Institute at Princeton University (USA, 2013).
Kaylie’s awards include an Ian Potter Cultural Trust Grant for study in the US, an Australia Council ArtStart Grant, the University of Melbourne’s Professional Pathways Scholarship, and the Australian National Academy of Music’s John and Rosemary MacLeod Traveling Fellowship. Kaylie was Speak Percussion’s Young Artist in Residence in 2014, was selected as a finalist in the ANAM Concerto Competition in 2015, and was a finalist for the Freedman Classical Fellowship in 2016. In November 2016 she was featured in ABC Classic FM’s ’40 Under 40′ as part of Australian Music Month.
Artist Gelareh Pour
Gelareh Pour is an Iranian born classically trained multi-instrumentalist, singer, composer and music instructor, largely performing on the Kamancheh (Persian spiked fiddle). Currently based in Ballarat, Australia, Gelareh leads two experimental groups, Gelareh Pour’s Garden and ZÖJ, and regularly collaborates with artists from all walks of life. Gelareh’s music explores the duality of multiculturalism and true cross-cultural experimentation. Since her arrival in Australia she has produced six independent albums, composed music for various ABC Radio programs and has appeared in some of the most respected Australian and international music festivals and venues. She has become a finalist for Art 2020 Music Awards for Excellence in Experimental Music and nominated for industry voted Music Victoria Awards 2020 & 2021 for the Best Intercultural Music Act.
Artist Jacob Abela
Australian keyboardist and composer Jacob Abela is a soloist and chamber musician specialising in the new music field. Jacob is Australia’s leading voice for the Ondes Martenot, a French keyboard instrument which predates the synthesiser. Jacob is a founding member and co-director of new music outfit Rubiks, who have enjoyed critical acclaim for their contribution to Melbourne’s contemporary music scene.
Jacob also performs regularly with the Melbourne and Sydney Symphony Orchestras, and has appeared with renowned ensembles such as Ensemble Offspring, Argonaut Ensemble (BIFEM), Speak Percussion, and Synergy Percussion. Festival credits include the Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival (USA), Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music, Metropolis New Music Festival, ISCM World New Music Days, Sydney Festival, and Mathemusical Conversations (Singapore).