Palestinian musicians & Arabic music inspiration, London Tap Jam and Strindberg..

OK, so it seems inevitable that this blog will be a monthly one.. which funnily enough has been happening anyways. i'll keep this post writing short, because there'll be more pics and videos to come, so this is just a taster.. and please check out my previous posts if you haven't before. there's loads of stories!

So this past month, however craazily busy, has been fabulous on all fronts creative and inspirational. and despite the weather settling into winter mode (hats, scarves and gloves all round) and the clocks changing so it's dark by 5pm, i think it'll be a month to remember.

The first three weeks of October saw me writing for a small theatre production by Foreign Affairs, a new theatre company based in London. The play was a new translation of 'simoom', written by the most famous Swedish playwright Strindberg, produced alongside the Scandinavian department at University College London (UCL) to celebrate his centenary.

the actors.. Junior Laniyan, Erica Chestnut and Jamie Pigott

In the third week of October, as part of my masters course, we had a residency off-campus in Hackney, hosting a group of Palestinian musicians, from Beit AlMusica Conservatoire in Shefa’amr and The Edward Said National Conservatory of Music in Ramallah (Palestine). 

Titled Narrow the Distance, the week long project was a cultural, collaborative and creative exchange project that brought together the Palestinian musicians as well as the various musicians from my Masters course at Guildhall (from the UK, The Netherlands, Greece, America and Australia of course, that's me). It was an intense week of music making, loong hours from morning til night, but very inspiring, creating music collaboratively from the smallest of ideas, rhythms and melodies, culminating in a gig at the Hackney Cut in Hackney Wick, a new live music venue on the London map. 

It was a very special week, creating some great music and magical moments.. here are a few pics from the week (i was a bit slack in taking too many photos, but hopefully some more will be passed on to me!).. 

in rehearsal..

Maya, Nizar and Amer

Akram Haddad

Nizar Kabbany

Mid week we were blessed by the company of Youssef Hbeisch on percussion and Ahmad Al-Khatib on oud, for a workshop on Arabic music and rhythms, after seeing them perform the night prior with the one and only John Williams on guitar, at Cadogan Hall in Chelsea. 

Here's a few pics from the workshop, the first explaining the basics behind Arabic scales, made up of a series of tetra-chords.. the second of Youssef Hbeisch explaining his use of Arabic rhythms in performance.. and the third of them playing together.. i have a video of this, however it's too big for the blog upload.. sorry!

Arabic scales in motion..

Youssef Hbeisch and Arabic rhythms..

Ahmed Al-Khatib and Youssef Hbeisch

and a couple of quick videos behind the scenes...

and a few pics from the gig itself...

On the following Sunday after the gig, I went to a tap dancing masterclass by Guillem Alonso, from Barcelona (yes that's right, with my new tap shoes, I'm reminiscing my dancing days as a youngster.. primarily to draw inspiration from the incredibly complex rhythms that come out!). That evening, October 28, I went along to the 6th birthday of the London Tap Jam, hosted by Junior Laniyan, one of London's finest tap dancers. The London Tap Jam is held at Ronnie Scott's jazz club once a month, featuring a live jazz trio & guests instrumentalists, alongside a myriad of improvising tap dancers.. it was a great evening all round.. 

I'll sign off this blog with a few short videos from the evening.. 
junior...

michael...

guillem...

there were some fab female tappers too and an amazing sand dance by Guillem Alonso, however once again the videos were too big to upload :-(

over and out for now.. more news to come soon!! 
on the horizon.. argentina!! whoop!

One more Sunwrae show for 2011..

Since the tour.. A theatre show, mixing some new DVD tracks, the packing up, the selling off (including my amazing grand piano) and the announcements of ONE MORE SUNWRAE ENSEMBLE EXTRAVAGANZA SHOW FOR 2011!!! 

The days and weeks have flown since the tour. After a quick break in Hong Kong in June, I came back to prepare and perform a live original score for a wonderful theatre show 'The Lost Girl' at St Martins Youth Arts Centre. It was a show devised and performed by a group of nine 13-17 year olds, developed through a series of workshops in improvisation, storytelling and physical theatre, from their own personal experiences. Loads of fun, inspiring and challenging all at the same time! There were 4 performances between July 7-9, including an Auslan and audio described performance. So great to work on a theatre show again and be challenged by creating all sorts of different music for the various scenes in the show.

Now it has come to a close, I have only one creative project left before my venture to the UK starts.. an orchestral piece! Phew, what a task! Before I rabbit on about that however, I am off for a few weeks to say ciao to friends and family interstate.

I've also begun the daunting task of packing up for the UK.. I've sold my van already! Sad to see it go, but it had to be done so I don't get stuck at the last minute with too many loose ends to tie! The pile of clothes and knick-knacks for the Salvation Army has grown to a mountain in the middle of my living room.. I've rummaged through piles of paperwork in my filing cabinet to be shredded... And the list of things-to-do on the whiteboard in my studio stares back at me every time I go past...

Last week in Melbourne we completed the mixing from the ABC Iwaki Auditorium final tour performance on June 9. Over the next few months, be prepared for some new audio and visual tracks up online!

AND.. in August, I'm happy to say that there will be one more Sunwrae Ensemble performance... an extravaganza! A performance of, at last count, 12 musicians from the past 7 or so years to see me off in style. It's a fundraiser for my studies, to make sure I really leave the country!!!

So, if you're in Melbourne on Thursday August 18th, please come to our show and support my departure into the unknown! It may well be the last big performance for two years in Australia... 8pm start, at Richmond Uniting Church, 310 Church Street in Richmond Victoria. Tickets can be purchased online at http://www.trybooking.com/RWT

One more thing... I'm selling my amazing antique grand piano.. it's a English beauty, a Chappell. If there's anyone out there that's interested, let me know!!!!

I'll leave you with a few photos from our recent performance at ABC Iwaki Auditorium... Photos by Dean Jones.