ex Oceano – we are from the ocean – the ocean sustains us from Nick Roden on Vimeo.

Links to Related Articles
The Making of a Symphony – Visit the project home at the Lynchpin website.
Symphony of Science – An article in the Australian Antarctic Magazine, Issue 25: December 2013
Contemporary Symphony Adds New Depth to Ocean Science – An article in the University of Tasmania Research to Reality Magazine.

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This is the large collaborative science/arts project that I have been alluding to for some time. I have now been working with with PhD candidates Nick Roden and Rob Johnston (Profiles below) for nearly two years in pulling together the science that has informed the composition of this large scale composition.

“A Ring of Promise” © SJ Anderson
watercolour pigment, carbon – in the form of charcoal and liquid graphite – on paper.

Centered around the topic of ‘the other CO2 problem’ – ocean acidification – and linked with the vital role of phytoplankton in planetary metabolism, this is an extensive creative venture in sound and image through which we want to generate a different experience of ocean science.

Please read more about the project and Lynchpin at the Lynchpin website.

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It’s a lyrical, diverse program. Dewey has delighted American and Russian audiences with his fresh, yet appealing musical voice. Just as Dewey is a composer who creates tuneful music exploring a variety of styles, Morrison is an exceptional trumpeter and acclaimed multi-instrumentalist who has performed on the saxophone, trombone, tuba and double bass. Bliss is also feted for his versatility. He recently launched A Tribute to Benny Goodman celebrating the life of this ‘King Of Swing’.

Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story Symphonic Dances and Ives’ rich Symphony No.2 infused with borrowed fragments from hymns, folk music, other composers’ repertoire and the pop songs of his day, are an excellent fit in this adventurous, accessible concert. A concert that premieres Dewey’s classical yet jazz-fired language; tailor-made for two extraordinary musicians.

Find out more about the event on the Queensland Symphony Orchestra website.

To purchase tickets, visit the Queensland Performing Arts Centre website.

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The Hunter River is one of Australia’s great rivers. Almost 500 kilometres long, the Hunter has flowed through the lives of Australians since the earliest days of British settlement – and for thousands of years before that, defining the rituals and inspiring the legends of Aboriginal tribes.

ABC journalist Scott Bevan explores the river, from the headwaters high in the Barrington Tops to the sea at Newcastle. And the best way to see the river is on the water itself, so Scott paddles some of the Hunter in his curiously named kayak, Pulbah Raider.

During his journey, he spends time with the people who live and work on its banks and rely on its water – some are doing it tough, others enjoying the good life.

As he learns, the Hunter has helped shape not just a region but also the nation, from the food and wine we consume to the electricity in our homes. The river itself has inspired storytellers, it has helped realise dreams and make fortunes, such as in mining and the thoroughbred industry. And during floods, the river has washed away livelihoods – and lives. Now, as the competition for resources intensifies, the river’s health — and the region’s lifeblood – are under increasing pressure.

Scott Bevan grew up within earshot of the sea in Newcastle and began his journalism career at the Newcastle Herald. He has worked as a reporter, presenter and producer for television, including as a senior reporter and relief host for The 7.30 Report. He was the ABC’s Moscow Correspondent for two years. Since 2010, Scott has been the presenter of The World, a nightly international affairs program on ABC News 24.

The “sublime music” used throughout this documentary is by Australian Composer Matthew Dewey.

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“A Ring of Promise” © SJ Anderson
watercolour pigment, carbon – in the form of charcoal and liquid graphite – on paper.

Centered around the topic of ‘the other CO2 problem’ – ocean acidification – and linked with the vital role of phytoplankton in planetary metabolism, this is an extensive creative venture in sound and image through which we want to generate a different experience of ocean science.

Please read more about the project and Lynchpin at the Lynchpin website.

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Here are the texts I used:

Four Shakespeare Songs

Over Hill, Over Dale
Over hill, over dale,
Through bush, through briar,
Over park, over pale,
Through flood, through fire`
I do wander everywhere.

Swifter than the moon’s sphere;
And I serve the fairy queen,
To dew her orbs upon the green.
The cowslips tall her pensioners be;
In their gold coats spots you see;
Those be rubies, fairy favours,
In those freckles live their savours:
I must go seek some dew-drops here,
And hang a pearl in every cowslip’s ear.

Come unto these yellow sands
Come unto these yellow sands,
Then take hands:
Curtsied when you have and kissed,
The wild waves whist:
Foot it featly here and there;
And, sweet sprites, the burthen bear.

Hark, hark!
Bow-wow.
The watch dogs bark;
Bow-wow.
Hark, hark!
I hear the strain of strutting chanticleer
Cry, Cock-a-diddle dow.

Take, O Take Those Lips Away
Take, o take those lips away,
That so sweetly were forsworn;
And those eyes, the break of day,
Lights that do mislead the morn:
But my kisses bring again;
Seals of love, but seal’d in vain, sealed in vain.

Hide, o hide those hills of snow
that thy frozen bosom wears,
On whose tops the pinks that grow
are yet of those that April wears;
But first set my poor heart free,
Bound in those icy chains by thee.

Come Away Death
Come away, come away, death,
And in sad cypress let me be laid;
Fly away, fly away, breath;
I am slain by a fair cruel maid.
My shroud of white, stuck all with yew,
O prepare it!
My part of death, no one so true
Did share it.

Not a flower, not a flower sweet,
On my black coffin let there be strown;
Not a friend, not a friend greet
My poor corpse, where my bones shall be thrown:
A thousand, thousand sighs to save,
Lay me, O where
Sad true lover never find my grave,
To weep there!

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You can purchase a single from the album by following the link below:

The album is based on the previously released single, Liminal I-IV, which was written for an installation created in collaboration with artist and graphic designer Tonya Meyrick that premiered at the Salamanca Arts Centre in Hobart during late 2011.

Liminality the album is a cathartic exploration of the themes laid out in Liminal I-IV.

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Two works by Tasmanian composers received their premiere performances at this concert. The Elanée Ensemble is certainly to be commended for commissioning these and other new compositions over the last 2 years.

Angus Davison has just completed his first year of study at the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music. He has already a considerable body of work to his credit. “Triptych” consists of three short “Sound Panels” titled “Announcement”, “Reverie” and “Curio”. Energetic and sometimes humorous, the music is always rhythmically inventive and engaging. The middle movement is reflective, suggesting a depth of emotional response rare in such a young composer.

Matthew Dewey’s “Suite Elanée”, in 4 movements, conveys a real sense of the possibilities for textural blend with these dark-hued instruments. The outer movements buzz with energy at cracking tempi. The second movement Presto provides the fullest contrast with dance-like music. The heart of the piece, though, is the “Elegy” where initially a flowing lyrical theme is presented by the viola to pizzicato from the bass. The position is then reversed with the double bass taking over, as the music becomes more intense. Jo St. Leon and Stuart Thomson played these impressive new pieces with commitment and conviction.

Peter Donnelly

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More details will follow soon, but in the meantime you can purchase a single from the album by following the link below.

The single, Liminal I-IV, was written for an installation created in collaboration with artist and graphic designer Tonya Meyrick that premiered at the Salamanca Arts Centre in Hobart during late 2011.

Liminality the album is a cathartic exploration of the themes laid out in Liminal I-IV.

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Suite Elanee was commissioned by Jo and Stuart for the ensemble and funded by a grant from Tasmanian Regional Arts.

About the Elanée Ensemble
Stuart Thomson and Jo St.Leon formed the Elanée Ensemble to explore the rich sonorities of the double bass/viola duo. Their inaugural concert opened the Collegiate Chamber Music Series in May 2009.

Repertoire for this unlikely but effective combination of double bass and viola is currently somewhat limited. There is a core of little known repertoire from the early Classical era, and then little original work until relatively recent times, although there is a small body of arranged material. Elanée regards redressing this balance as an important part of their mission.

Find out more about the Elanée Ensemble on their website www.elaneeensemble.com.

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