Future Retro 20 Years of Ensemble Offspring
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FUTURE RETRO 20 YEARS OF ENSEMBLE OFFSPRING 25 th October 2015, Sydney Conservatorium of Music Introduction from the Chair of Ensemble Offspring Welcome to Future Retro — a celebration of Ensemble Offspring’s exciting future ahead and legacy of the past. Twenty years young, as one of Australia’s leading new music ensembles, we commission diverse Australian and international work and mentor the next generation of musicians and composers to present the music of Introduction from the Dean of the today and create the work of tomorrow. Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Welcome from the Artistic Directors University of Sydney Over time, our great art and artists have tested the of Ensemble Offspring realms of possibility and produced adventurous, fresh Ensemble Offspring is an exotic, eclectic and works—collaborating with creative disciplines like Welcome to Ensemble Offspring’s official 20th extraordinary group of composers and musicians. dance, theatre, film and installation, and creating Birthday celebrations! This time, just over 20 years 20 years ago an enthusiastic group of Sydney unconventional sounds and instruments along the way. ago a group of bright eyed young composers and Conservatorium of Music (SCM) students led by performers got together as the Spring Ensemble and On the precipice of change in the Australian arts Matthew Shlomowitz and Damien Ricketson, formed caused a stir in the Sydney new music scene. We sector, it is an honour to be part of an organisation this ensemble to play new work and their experimental weren’t to know at the time that the group would still that continues to give a voice to bold Australian artists approach to music-making has ensured their place be going strong 20 years later – still championing and engages audiences with completely new ways of as Australia’s premier new music group. During their music by emerging and established living composers; experiencing music and sound. 20 years they have commissioned works that include adventurous music; innovative music; weird and other prominent SCM composers such as Bozidar Kos, We thank our key funding partners—including the wonderful music. Our perennial search for fresh Michael Smetanin and Ivan Zavada. In this year of Australia Council for the Arts and Arts NSW—our artistic experiences has kept us stimulated and, as the SCM’s 100th birthday, they continue their tradition philanthropic sponsors and donors for their generous we look to the future, we wouldn’t have it any other of commissioning new works. Today’s concert will assistance and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music way. We have to give our heartfelt thanks to the awe include new compositions by final year SCM students for hosting this event. inspiring core musicians of Ensemble Offspring – their Cassie To and Kezia Yap. dedication is fautless. Likewise our wonderful General And we are absolutely delighted to welcome Kim On the eve of our joint birthday celebrations, the Manager Janine Marshman and our ever nurturing Williams as our patron. Indebted to his commitment, SCM applauds the work of Ensemble Offspring, the board, our steadfast industry support network and we look forward to joining forces to together efforts of their incredible players and composers and last but not least our loyal audience. We hope that champion new music composition and appreciation. hope that for the next 20 years they continue to play you have as much fun as we will, celebrating this On behalf of the Board, we certainly hope that you on the edge. remarkable milestone through music. TO FUTURE RETRO enjoy our Future Retro celebration. Professor Anna Reid, Dean and Principal (Acting) Claire Edwardes & Damien Ricketson, Elizabeth Hristoforidis, Chair of the Board of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music Co-Artistic Directors WELCOME 2 3 Jacob Abela | piano/keyboards Ben Carey | live electronics/saxophone 3PM CONCERT 1: FUTURE Claire Edwardes | percussion Dan Thorpe – Mercury Vapour Seismology (WP) Geoffrey Gartner | cello Samuel Smith – threaded through meridians (WP) Zubin Kanga | piano/keyboards Kezia Yap – Coalesce (WP) Martin Kay | saxophone Cassie To – Avialae (WP) Peter Kossen | bass guitar Kate Moore – Fern Tristan Coelho – read/write error (WP) Martin Ng | turntables Lamorna Nightingale | flutes/panpipes DRINKS & TALKS 4:45PM Jason Noble | clarinets Enjoy complimentary drinks, the launch of our CD Roland Peelman | conductor ‘Cycles and Circles’, and a panel discussion about how new music has changed over the past 20 years and where it is headed: Mary Rapp | cello/bass guitar John Davis (chair), Rachel Campbell, Claire Edwardes, Roland Peelman, Damien Ricketson & Kim Williams Bree van Reyk | percussion Jodie Rottle | flutes/panpipes 6PM CONCERT 2: RETRO Veronique Serret | violin Gerard Grisey – Talea Diana Springford | clarinets György Ligeti (arr. Ensemble Offspring) – Beyond Atmospheres Elizabeth Welsh | violin Louis Andriessen – Hoketus PERFORMERS PROGRAM 4 5 money through cultural attachés, for example ‘Sounds In today’s risk-averse climate I doubt any festival French’ with the Alliance Française, or ‘Transfigured director would take on a program of yet-to-be written Nights’ under the direction of Michael Finnissy’s as part works composed and performed by students. And for of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras (1997). that reason, a lot of budding young careers stop right In these days, the ensemble was led by Matthew there. Astonishingly, however, Woodward took us on. Shlomowitz. I was studying in The Netherlands with Louis by Damien Ricketson With one condition. We had to include a performance Andriessen: a composer who believed musical renewal of Xenakis’s formidable Eonta. In hindsight, the I am on the record stating that anniversary was intrinsically tied up with the formation of artist-led addition of a ‘name’ composer set us off in a programming is what classical music types turn to outfits. He helped instill a strong DIY ethos that I was to particular programming direction. This was not going when they run out of ideas. Therefore, I hope you bring home with me in 1998 at the same time Matthew to become a Philip Glass Ensemble or Michael Nyman will excuse me the indulgence of presenting you with went overseas permanently. Band that played only the music of its founding exactly that: a multi-concert extravaganza celebrating composers, but an ensemble that contextualised new And DIY it was. We still didn’t really have any our 20th birthday. As a group that has staked its works together with seminal existing work from the idea what we were doing. These were the days identity on looking forwards, I hope you will permit 20th century. On the 9th of September 1995, we took before business plans, risk assessments and budget- me a brief moment to look back and reminisce on the to the stage with Xenakis, two works by me, Lamina bottom-lines. We had ideas and acted on them. We history of what is, for me, an all-consuming project and Blech, and two works by Matthew Shlomowitz, stumbled enthusiastically if recklessly from one gig that has spanned my entire professional life. his Piano Concerto and String Quartet. to another. Hopefully learning along the way. By the end of the 90s, our relationship with the Sydney When compiling the festival program, we were told Spring was coming to an end. In an attempt to assert Origins the group of musicians needed a name. How about an independent identity, we changed our name to ‘Spring Ensemble’ came our pedestrian response. Ensemble Offspring in a concert celebrating the Ensemble Offspring began in 1995 when I was Of course, at the time we had no idea this was to opening of The Studio at the Sydney Opera House a final year composition student at the Sydney become an ensemble. We thought it was a one-off in 1999. At the time it was to be Sydney’s dedicated Conservatorium. A fellow student, Matthew event. In the end, the concert featured 31 student new music venue. It was short lived. Shlomowitz, and I wanted to conclude our studies with performers from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music a bang. Rather than finish in silence with an orchestral including Corrado Palleschi (trumpet), Loretta Palmeiro Staying viable was not easy. Although there were work that would never get performed, we agreed to (sax), Tonya Lemoh (piano) and Roger Woodward some great gigs – a tour to Perth as part of TURA’s compose for the same large ensemble and put on as soloists. With that many people involved, the ABC Totally Huge Festival (2000), Cage’s Concert for Piano a show. We wrote down every performer-friend we Goosens Hall easily sold out. We were on a high. and Orchestra with Richard Toop (2001), and an could think of who had shown any interest in playing We had to do more. Spring Ensemble was born. early concert of ‘spectral’ music (2002) – the reality of new music and then looked at the line-up. It was a paying performers was difficult and dragging along strange and unbalanced ensemble, but a predictive our friends for an audience was reaching its shelf-life. indicator of how the group would evolve in the future: The early years Nonetheless, performance standards during these an organisation built around personalities rather than times were advancing fast with a crystalised core instruments. We mailed a tentative pitch to Roger The pattern of the early years involved a series of of musicians including Carl Rosman (clarinet), Woodward to see if he would include our concert as performances as part of the Sydney Spring Festival – we Mark Knoop (piano), Kathleen Gallagher (flute), part of the then Sydney Spring Festival. He called had become the de facto ensemble-in-residence – and Thomas Talmacs (violin), James Eccles (viola) and the next day. the occasional gig outside. Sometimes we scrounged Geoffrey Gartner (cello).