C15 Festival Finale – Mulanggari
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Sunday, 5 May 2024
6:30 pm
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Snow Concert Hall
Canberra Grammar School Campus, Red Hill, ACT
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General Admission $varies,
Concession $varies
The Festival and its mulanggari banner come to a close with a celebration of the oldest living culture on earth.
For more than twenty years, the Stiff Gins have sung in language about Indigenous culture and women’s empowerment. Now, in a unique Festival collaboration, Kaleena and Nardi join forces with the Dudok Quartet Amsterdam to perform the Gin’s tender songs like you’ve never heard them before – arranged by jazz legend Jonathan Zwartz. Three percussionists bring Holly Harrison’s new trio to life, while William Barton and Véronique Serret summon a final moment of magic alongside works by Nardi Simpson and Yuin composer Brenda Gifford.
As the curtain falls on Roland’s decade-long tenure at the helm of the Festival, some of his closest musical collaborators join forces to mark the end of an era and to set the tone for the future.
PROGRAM
Simpson/Briggs, Selection of Songs – in new arrangements by Jonathan Zwartz featuring Dudok Quartet Amsterdam
— interval —
Barton/Serret, duet
Holly Harrison, new percussion trio
(commissioned by CIMF’s A Major Lift)
Nardi Simpson, Burruguu (time of creation)
Brenda Gifford, Wardhu (skin)
ARTISTS
Stiff Gins: Kaleena Briggs and Nardi Simpson
William Barton and Véronique Serret
Dudok Quartet Amsterdam
Claire Edwardes, Niki Johnson, Veronica Bailey, percussion
Jason Noble, clarinet
Lamorna Nightingale, flute
Freya Schack-Arnott, cello
Ben Ward, double bass
Luminescence Chamber Singers
Ellery String Quartet
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Sunday, 5 May 2024
6:30 pm
-
Snow Concert Hall
Canberra Grammar School Campus, Red Hill, ACT
-
General Admission $varies,
Concession $varies
ARTIST Learn more about the artist
Artist William Barton - composer, instrumentalist and vocalist
William Barton is Australia’s leading didgeridoo player as well as composer, instrumentalist and vocalist. William started learning the instrument from his first learnt the uncle, Arthur Peterson, an elder of the Wannyi, Lardil and Kalkadunga people and was working from an early age with traditional dance groups and fusion/rock jazz bands, orchestras, string quartets, and mixed ensembles. Throughout his diverse career he has forged a path in the classical musical world, from the London and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras to historic events at Westminster Abbey for Commonwealth Day 2019, at Anzac Cove in Gallipoli and for the Beijing Olympics. His awards include Winner of Best Original Score for a Mainstage Production at the 2018 Sydney Theatre Awards and Winner of Best Classical Album with an ARIA for Birdsong At Dusk in 2012. In 2021 he was the recipient of the prestigious Don Banks Music Award from the Australia Council and in 2022 he was announced as Australian of the Year for Queensland for 2023. With his prodigious musicality and building on his Kalkadunga heritage, William has vastly expanded the horizons of the didgeridoo.
Artist Stiff Gins (Nardi Simpson and Kaleena Briggs)
Stiff Gins – Indigenous artists Nardi Simpson and Kaleena Briggs. After two decades creating visual feasts for the stage, three acclaimed albums and earning a slew of awards, Stiff Gins are entering their most intriguing period of music-making yet. Stretching time with their unique blend of harmonies, stories and soul, let Stiff Gins transport you to a higher and deeper musical plane.
Stiff Gins are generously supported by Pam and Allan O’Neil
Artist Luminescence Chamber Singers
Luminescence gives voice to human experiences of all kinds.
Luminescence Chamber Singers is a vocal ensemble based on Ngunnawal country [Canberra, Australia], and the umbrella organisation for the Luminescence Children’s Choir. Performing music from all times and places, Luminescence champions the unbound expressive potential of our original instrument – the human voice. Both ensembles deliver artistic and educational programs that ignite the imagination of audiences, and give voice to human experiences of all kinds.
Artist Claire Edwardes, percussion
In 2022 Claire Edwardes was awarded the 2022 Medal of the Order of Australia for her commitment to Australian music. She is Australia’s ‘sorceress of percussion’ (City News, Canberra) and the only Australian to win the ‘APRA Art Music Luminary Award’ four times, Claire leaps between her role as Ensemble Offspring’s Artistic Director (Australia’s new music ensemble and winners of the 2022 Classical Next Innovation Award with Ngarra-Burria) and concerto performances with Sydney Symphony at the Sydney Opera House and Radio Chamber Orchestra at the Concertgebouw.
Artist Freya Schack-Arnott, cello
Freya Schack-Arnott is an Australian/Danish cellist dedicated to pursuing a unique language of cello playing, encompassing improvisation and original composition, combined with informed and creative interpretation of classical and contemporary works within solo, chamber and cross-disciplinary art forms.
Artist Dudok Quartet Amsterdam
Dudok Quartet Amsterdam is forging a reputation as one of the most creative and versatile quartets of its generation. With its ethos of “sharing the heart of music”, the quartet is committed to crafting unique and eclectic programmes in order to engage with its audiences in new and imaginative ways. In repertoire ranging from Ligeti, Shostakovich and Bacewicz through to Mendelssohn, Mozart and Beethoven, the Dudok Quartet constantly strives to forge new pathways and connections in music. Their intelligent approach and flair for programming also sees them regularly perform their own arrangements of pieces and they have so far produced arrangements of composers including Gesualdo, Desprez, Shostakovich, Brahms and Messiaen. The Quartet is also committed to commissioning new works and have collaborated with composers including Joey Roukens, Peter Vigh and Theo Loevendie . Future commissioning projects include a new piece from British-Lebanese composer Bushra El-Turk.
Artist Véronique Serret, violin
One of Australias most versatile musicians, Véronique is equally at home on the concert hall platform and the rock n roll stage. The ‘Girl from Guildford’ carving a niche for herself directing string sections for rock bands, indie artists, feature films and studio sessions. A soloist and collaborative artist, Véronique has deep gratitude for her early rigorous classical training and her many teachers and mentors along the way. Over many decades she has been fortunate to work extensively with Bangarra Dance Theatre, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Sydney Dance Company and as concertmaster of the Darwin Symphony She has directed live string sections for the likes of…
Gurrumul — Jonsi — Fleet Foxes — Neil Finn — Sarah Blasko — Amanda Palmer — Cinematic Orchestra — Neil Gaiman — Damon Albarn – Kate Miller Heidke — Ed Kuepper — Martha Marlow — Mike Patton — TIM MINCHIN.
Artist Ellery String Quartet
The Ellery String Quartet are a dynamic group of young musicians, formed at the end of 2021 and based on Ngunnawal/Ngambri land (Canberra). They are based at the ANU School of Music and supported by the Wesley Scholars program. They aim to push the boundaries of a ‘classical string quartet’, performing a wide range of repertoire in diverse venues across Canberra. Highlights include an astronomy-themed concert in the Yale-Columbia dome at Mt. Stromlo in October 2022, performing Scandinavian folk songs at Canberra’s Floriade festival, and hosting programs of classical and contemporary music in venues ranging from Wesley Uniting Church to Gang Gang Cafe. They have collaborated with various notable artists including William Barton (10th Anniversary of the National Arborteum), John Schumann (“Do We Still Have Time For Henry Lawson” at Canberra Writers Festival) and Ronan Apcar and Lynden Bassett (“Apcar’s Holland” and “This is What We Have Today”). They especially enjoy the opportunity to collaborate with local Canberran composers and musicians.
Artist Niki Johnson, percussionist-composer
Niki Johnson is a percussionist and composer-performer whose musical practice incorporates contemporary classical repertoire, improvisation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and performance art. She is a current PhD Candidate at Monash University, where her research explores percussionists’ collaborations with sculptors and designers, and the process of co-creating, and composing for new sculptural instruments. Her main research project is Shock Lines, a collaboration involving Niki as percussionist-composer, glass artist Caitlin Dubler, and sound designer Natasha Dubler. Niki also works with clarinettist and composer Solomon Frank in the experimental music and theatre duo Throat Pleats. This collaboration explores shifting animalistic power dynamics, balloons, hoses, and vacuum cleaners.
Artist Jason Noble, clarinet
Jason Noble is one of Australia’s most versatile clarinettists – experimental to classical – a soloist and core member of Ensemble Offspring. Jason has performed at festivals locally and internationally, from Warsaw to London, Shanghai to Kabul, and all major cities across Australia. “His expertise and virtuosic playing give new insights into the versatility of the bass clarinet” (Sounds Like Sydney)