BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
Imagine:
You can hear the abstract sounds of melodies from a nearby space. Wine glass in hand, you stride past an office – but it’s night time, and live music emerges from the space. After leaning into the entrance to absorb the scene, you follow your ear’s original path and find yourself in another room. This time, a board room with contemporary art donning on the walls, and a chamber group performing in the centre. You step right into the space, take a sip of your wine, and watch the talent of the Sydney Youth Orchestra presenting works in a new atmosphere.
This is Live at Level 28, the Sydney Youth Orchestra’s exclusive fundraising event that brings young performers into new spaces, surrounded by Australian artworks. Curator Kirsty McCahon describes this as a perfect “symbiosis of music, art, and youth”.
“It’s beautiful that in our modern lives, we’ve come back to a renaissance of all of these things – art, music, light – all coming back together,” Kirsty says.
“In actual fact, it is everything I could ever dream to do – at the same time.”
The event takes place on the 28th floor of Allens, a law firm featuring what Kirsty dubs “one of the finest contemporary Australian art collections in the country”.
Small groups of SYO musicians will perform in about five rooms, many at the same time to cause sounds to merge into the spaces between.
“The idea is that people can walk around a bit in a ‘night lounge’ style: you have your drink, something delicious to eat, and you hear all sorts of different bits and pieces and styles of music that you may not necessarily know.”
While the program is still exclusive, Kirsty (former principal double bass with the Australian Brandenberg Orchestra) hints at lesser-heard pairings of instruments and songs: trombones playing Monteverdi chorales, saxophone and bass uniting in Telemann, string quartets playing Vasks.
“All the time, we’re listening to different sound colours.”
Kirsty also chose to pair works with the art pieces inside building – music from women composers offset by fine art created by women. But the biggest aim is to share the spirit of the musicians themselves.
“The whole idea of having young Australian musicians standing there and playing something they think represents them, to me, is really important,” she says.
“We celebrate youth doing what they are really good at. It’s not just me saying: ‘Here, play this’. It’s a lot about individual input, with the musicians saying: ‘Actually, you know what, I’d really love this piece of music I’m working on now, and would like to play this’.
“I think that’s quintessentially important. If you want to showcase anybody or anything, then you have to ask them what their strengths are. It respects the process, and it respects where young musicians are in the process.”
There will be about 30-40 musicians performing across the spaces, some yet to reach high school and others studying at university level. But it’s not all about the music, and Kirsty says that students who work to perfect their own craft often don’t have the opportunity to explore other artistic practices in depth.
“While trying very hard to become good at what we do when we’re in our youth, we don’t necessarily recognise all the other artforms that are going around at the same time. I think it’s great for young musicians to be exposed to fantastic Australian art. Young musicians can think: ‘Wow, the person who painted that is the same age I am now!’, or: ‘What was their process, what were they thinking, how did they see things?’.”
The show is also set to enlighten guests, who will have access to “21st Century young Australians who are inspired to spend countless hours doing this with their lives”.
“We’re not just here to hear this repertoire. We’re here to hear what youth are doing with this music.”
See musicians of the Sydney Youth Orchestra in this exclusive event at 6.30pm June 8, Level 28, Deutsche Bank Place, 126 Phillip St, Sydney. Dress up in your finest cocktail/evening suit. Tickets $150, available until 1 June on the website.
Images supplied.
