Soundwalk I

  • April 27, 2022

    3.00pm - 4.30pm

  • Starts at corner of University Avenue and Childers Street

    Finishes at Old Canberra House

Acoustic ecologists have conducted soundwalks since the 1970s. In the classic formula, their aim is to sensitise participants to the wealth and problems of the sonic environment, so that the audience, thus equipped with a new awareness, would change the soundscape for the better: restore the balance of the senses, reduce noise, protect sonic diversity and appreciate acoustic design.

All these ideas were developed in the early 1970s in Vancouver by the interdisciplinary research team of the World Soundscape Project led by the Canadian composer R. Murray Schafer.

Its most famous proponent became Hildegard Westerkamp. Her walks, often armed with recording equipment, became pieces such as A Walk through the City (1981) or Kits Beach Soundwalk (1989).  Hildegard’s main observation was political: if music designed not to be listened to (muzak) had become a commercial tool, then listening itself must be a politically empowering act.

Since then, soundwalks have constantly been evolving. They might now as well involve performance artists, composers, field recording authors, visual artists, even itinerant magicians, and grant hunters.

Yet, the essence of the sound walk remains the listening experience. To that purpose, the walk is led by a guide, in order to encourage active listening, differentiate human voices from other sounds and be open to any type of sound – from rumbling stomachs to sudden car horns, or the sound of birds….

Sound Walk I takes place on the ANU campus.   The walk starts at the corner of University Avenue and Childers Street, and finishes at Old Canberra House (1 Lennox Crossing).

Guided by Kelly Corner with Dante Clavijo.

ARTIST Learn more about the artist

Artist Roland Peelman AM - Festival Artistic Director

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His encyclopaedic understanding of performing and visual arts and his theatrical instinct place him in constant demand as a musician of flair and imagination.” – Antony Jeffrey, Many Faces of Inspiration. At the helm of the Festival since 2015 is Artistic Director Roland Peelman, an acclaimed musician of great versatility who has established a reputation as one of Australia’s most innovative musical directors. Born in Belgium, Roland Peelman has been active in Australia over 30 years as a conductor, pianist, artistic director and mentor to composers, singers and musicians alike. For his commitment to the creative arts in Australia, he has received numerous accolades, including the NSW Award for “the most outstanding contribution to Australian Music by an individual’ in 2005. In 2006 he was named ‘musician of the year’ by the Sydney Morning Herald and he has since featured regularly as one of the most influential people in the Australian arts scene. In 2023 he won the APRA AMCOS Art Music Award "National Luminary - Individual." Over a period of 25 years, he transformed The Song Company into one of Australia’s most outstanding and innovative ensembles. In addition, he instigated and directed an impressive list of new work, orchestral, vocal, and operatic. Roland worked with Opera Australia for seven years (1984-91) before becoming The Song Company’s Artistic Director (1990-2015). During this time, he was also the Music Director of Sydney Metropolitan Opera (1989-94) and the Hunter Orchestra in Newcastle (1990-97).   Roland Peelman is supported by Anna and Bob Prosser

Artist Alma Moodie Quartet

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The Alma Moodie Quartet features four of Australia’s finest string players in an exciting new collaboration. Led by acclaimed violinist Kristian Winther, violinist Anna da Silva Chen, violist Dana Lee and cellist Thomas Marlin bring a fresh and fearless approach to the string quartet repertoire.
Named to honour internationally significant Australian violinist of the 1930s and '40s, the Alma Moodie Quartet is committed to invigorating the classics and exploring new works with their combined virtuosic talents.
Photo credit Brontë Godden

Artist Anna Fraser

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Anna Fraser has gained a reputation as a versatile soprano specialising predominantly in the interpretation of early and contemporary repertoire. Anna is a graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and New England Conservatory (Boston) and furthered her studies in the Britten-Pears Young Artist Program featuring as a soloist at the Aldeburgh Festival (UK) under the direction of Richard Egarr and the late Antony Rolfe-Johnson. As a core ensemble member of the Song Company for over a decade, Anna has had the pleasure of performing in a myriad of traditional and exploratory programming expertly demonstrating the versatility and virtuosity of a cappella singing. Equally at home as a dramatist on the stage presenting opera and historically informed chamber music, Anna is a strong exponent in music education, particularly with Moorambilla Voices and Gondwana Choirs.   Anna Fraser is supported by Peronelle and Jim Windeyer

Artist Ausdance ACT

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Part of a national network, Ausdance ACT is the peak body for dance in the ACT, headed by Director Dr Cathy Adamek. Ausdance ACT provides high quality, accessible and inclusive dance programs, from across all genres, which engage and inspire dance makers, performers, audiences, and other participants in the ACT and surrounds. Our services include:- support for independent professional dancers; help with career pathways for emerging artists; professional development and performance opportunities; and promotion of dance and dance education.  Ausdance ACT has special interests in the professional sector, youth, dance education and inclusive access to dance opportunities.

Artist Australian Haydn Ensemble

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Under the direction of Artistic Director Skye McIntosh, the Australian Haydn Ensemble  are one of Australia’s leading historically informed orchestras and chamber music groups. The ensemble brings together world-class musicians who excel in both modern and period instrument performance and who are committed to both historical research and performance.  The ensemble's name pays tribute to the great Joseph Haydn, known as 'Papa Haydn', who was a central figure of the late 18th century. The Australian Haydn Ensemble plays on period instruments, meaning instruments that are from the time the music was composed by Haydn, Beethoven and Mozart. Or it can also mean an instrument that is made by a master instrument maker of more modern times, based on older instruments (perhaps now unplayable) as well as scholarship and research.  Formed in 2012, the group burst onto the Australian music scene with passion, ideas and energy and in 2022 they reached the significant milestone of their ten year anniversary. They bring that same unflagging spirit to everything they undertake as they step forward into their second decade in 2023.

Artist Alexander Gavrylyuk

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A stunningly virtuosic pianist, Alexander is internationally recognised for his electrifying and poetic performances. Gavrylyuk launched his 2017/18 season with a BBC Proms performance of Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto described as “revelatory” by The Times and “electrifying” by Limelight. Highlights of the 2021-22 season include debuts with San Diego Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Bergen Philharmonic, Rheinische Philharmonie and Antwerp Symphony Orchestras, as well as return visits to Chicago Symphony, Sydney Symphony, New Mexico Philharmonic and Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestras. Born in Ukraine in 1984 and holding Australian citizenship, Alexander began his piano studies at the age of seven and gave his first concerto performance when he was nine years old. At the age of 13, Alexander moved to Sydney where he lived until 2006. He won First Prize and Gold Medal at the Horowitz International Piano Competition (1999), First Prize at the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition (2000), and Gold Medal at the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Masters Competition (2005). He has since gone on to perform with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including: New York, Los Angeles, Czech, Warsaw, Moscow, Seoul, Israel and Rotterdam Philharmonics; NHK, Chicago, Cincinnati and City of Birmingham Symphony orchestras; Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Philharmonia, Wiener Symphoniker, Orchestre National de Lille and the Stuttgarter Philharmoniker; collaborating with conductors such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Alexandre Bloch, Herbert Blomstedt, Andrey Boreyko, Thomas Dausgaard, Valery Gergiev, Neeme Järvi, Vladimir Jurowski, Sebastian Lang-Lessing, Kirill Karabits, Louis Langrée, Cornelius Meister, Vassily Petrenko, Rafael Payare, Alexander Shelley, Yuri Simonov, Vladimir Spivakov, Markus Stenz, Sir Mark Elder, Thomas Søndergård, Gergely Madaras, Mario Venzago, Enrique Mazzola and Osmo Vänska. Gavrylyuk has appeared at many of the world’s foremost festivals, including the Hollywood Bowl, Bravo! Vail Colorado, Mostly Mozart, the Ruhr Festival, the Kissinger Sommer International Music Festival, the Gergiev Festival in Rotterdam. As a recitalist Alexander has performed at the Musikverein in Vienna, Tonhalle Zurich, Victoria Hall Geneva, Southbank Centre’s International Piano Series, Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw Master Pianists Series, Suntory Hall, Tokyo Opera City Hall, Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory, Cologne Philharmonie, Tokyo City Concert Hall, San Francisco, Sydney Recital Hall and Melbourne Recital Centre. Alexander also performs regularly with his recital partner Janine Jansens throughout Europe. Alexander is Artist in Residence at Chautauqua Institution where he leads the piano program as an artistic advisor. Alexander Gavrylyuk is a Steinway Artist.

Artist Andrew Goodwin

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Andrew Goodwin has appeared with opera companies and orchestras in Europe, Asia and Australia including the Bolshoi Opera, Gran Theatre Liceu Barcelona, Teatro Real Madrid, La Scala Milan, Opera Australia, Pinchgut Opera, Sydney Chamber Opera, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Auckland Philharmonia, New Zealand, Sydney, Melbourne, Queensland, Adelaide and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras, Moscow and Melbourne Chamber Orchestras, and in recital with pianist Daniel de Borah at Wigmore Hall, the Oxford Lieder, Port Fairy and Canberra International Music Festivals. In 2022, Andrew returned to the Canberra International Music Festival and Australian Haydn Ensemble in Haydn’s The Creation, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra for Mozart’s Requiem, and the Canberra Symphony Orchestra for Messiah. Still to come this year, Andrew will perform Messiah with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Mozart’s Requiem with Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, feature at the Tyalgum, Albury Chamber Music and Sanguine Estate festivals, and tour with the new vocal ensemble, AVÉ. Recent engagements include Lysander, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Adelaide Festival); Jacquino, Fidelio (West Australian Symphony Orchestra); Nadir, The Pearlfishers (State Opera South Australia); Diary of one who disappeared and Rape of Lucretia (Sydney Chamber Opera); Artaxerxes title role (Pinchgut Opera); Mozart Requiem (MSO); Brett Dean’s The Last Days of Socrates (SSO); Messiah (NZSO, QSO and MSO); and performances at the Australian Festival of Chamber Music, Townsville.   Andrew Goodwin is supported by Peronelle and Jim Windeyer

Artist Aron Ottignon

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Mixing jazz, roots, Caribbean, Afro-beats and more, his world of music defies a Universal label. Re-gaining artistic independence in 2008, the prodigious pianist has found time for a prolific work load producing, composing and engineering an EP every six months (or thatʼs his plan) from his Berlin studio, in between collaborations with World Music and Afro-beat superstars. These include celebrated Senegalese percussionist Bakane Seck (featuring Grammy nominee Baaba Maal from Black Panther), and Puerto Rico based ÌFÉ – with a single to be released this spring, FYI. From his native New Zealand to Kreuzberg, Aron has made waves in Europe, touring with WoodKid, writing with Stromae, and also literally making an EP called Waves, which was picked up by Blue Note (along with other releases The Nile and Team Aquatic).

Artist Australian Dance Party

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Australian Dance Party is a collective of contemporary dance artists creating joyous, bold and urgent site-specific dance work in Canberra and beyond. We harness the universality, power and playfulness of the human body to connect to the ordinary and extraordinary spaces around us, inspiring thinking, feeling and action in today’s world. Through a focus on creative practice, we are creating and presenting new work, developing and sustaining careers for dance artists in our region. And we have fun….it’s a Party!

Artist Ben Hoadley

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Ben Hoadley is principal bassoonist with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra since 2021. He has previously held contracts with the Sydney and Queensland Symphonies, Auckland Philharmonia and Opera Australia Orchestras, Orchestra Victoria and the Trondheim Symphony in Norway. Ben was based in USA for nine years where he completed studies at the New England Conservatory in Boston, also serving as principal bassoonist with the Hartford Symphony, the Rhode Island Philharmonic and as an extra in the Boston Symphony and Boston Pops Orchestras, among others. He has held fellowships to the Tanglewood Music Centre, Weill Music Institute at Carnegie Hall and ANAM. Ben studied historical bassoons in Italy and Switzerland over several summers, and also holds a Masters degree in composition. Ben has appeared as guest principal with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Adelaide, Tasmanian and NZ Symphonies, the Hong Kong Philharmonic and the Halle Orchestra (UK). He performs on historical bassoons with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra, and Bach Akademie Australia. Ben taught at the University of Auckland for 15 years, including several terms as coordinator of woodwind. Currently he teaches at the Australian National University School of Music and the Sydney Conservatorium, and has recently tutored at ANAM, the AYO and the ARCO “Young Mannheim Symphonists”.