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.

home sweet home again...

so 2010 is here.. and i'm back home in victoria, australia. the last month in brasil went very quickly as i had imagined, but was the most memorable part of my adventure. i met a number of amazing musicians there during december and had the chance to play with some of them as you see below... it was a shame that i left when i did, as i was just starting to make my little mark, meet the right people, understand more portuguese and learn the things i wanted to. of course, this just means that i must go back and initiate another project! now that i have some perspective on the journey, i can easily say that it changed me. experiencing brazil with your own eyes is the only answer to any questions one may have.. and certainly this blog hardly even scratches the surface. i'm choosing not to write about so many things i experienced, because writing about them doesn't justify anything~ and when you're that close to the bone, there's nothing you can write in this space that explains who, what, when, where, why and how. all i know now, is that my eyes are wider and i'm definitely wiser for having been there. thankyou unesco for that opportunity...

so..... below is a band i saw in the pelourinho~ a hoot of a night out and about in salvador! crazy adventures meeting many musicians, singing in the streets with spontaneous bouts of body percussion... then 'the cortejo afro band', the singer pictured was crowned king of carnaval in salvador this year...
i also played a show at the museum of modern art (on udu/moringa!)... with a group of amazing jazz muso's. every saturday night for the past 10 years, ivan huol has lead this band, with many guests each week from around the world. it was a great experience and my first ever show on udu!
after this show... a small set-back... yikes! the large udu had a crack! ouch! so into the bahian wilderness i went again ~ to maragogipinho ~ to have another one made, just in time for my final show in itaparica. the ceramicist mended the old moringa too, which i gave to a fellow brazilian musician~ another reason to go back!

later in december, i met up with ronaldo borges (bass player with carlinhos brown, whom i met at the cortejo afro band show).. below is pic of us playing together on the steps of the famous bonfim church~ very funky bass played indeed!

and again, later that evening, another musician i met roque vinicius (just incredible voice), ronaldo and i played into the night at a bar near the church... very memorable evening... i had met roque at the museum of modern art gig.. and learned this night that he and ronaldo had known each other for 25 years! i think i must have been in the right place at the right time... and at the end of my residency, instituto sacatar had an open day, where all the artists showed their work in progress. what a day of amazing visual art, a few delightful christmas presents, delicious traditional food and many-a-caipirinha (drink made from cachaca, brazilian rum)! we played well into the evening once again...

so my journey home to australia was long (5 flights!).. my luggage was of course left in chile, but arrived a few days later... miraculously, my moringa (and bottles of brazilian rum) arrived in one piece! yay!

and now onto my next adventure... europe! i'll keep you posted of my plans in the coming weeks as they come to light... in the meantime~ happy new year and see you very soon!