BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
A loyal CutCommon reader, you might know that we’ve covered Dots+Loops a fair bit in the past. After all, the Queensland and Victoria incentive is all about pushing – no, breaking – the boundaries of what we consider “classical” music.
But we admit defeat against Flora Cawte – the violist who is such a fan of Dots+Loops that she’s rocked up to every single event since she moved to Brisbane a few years ago.
Flora, who has studied music at the University of Queensland and performed with the Melbourne, Queensland, and Australian Bishop youth orchestras, is all set for a dream come true this month. She’ll be attending Dots+Loops again, but this time as a featured performer and Glassworks fellow. And it’s well-deserved. Here’s why.
Flora, you’ve been to every Dots+Loops show since you’ve lived in Brisbane. Why are you such a Dots+Loops nerd?
They are great shows! I think the best part about Dots+Loops is how unexpected everything is. [Founder and co-director Kieran Welch] is a curatorial genius. When I go to a show, I never know what I’m going to get, or even if I will like it. It’s quite a special feeling to be confronted with something you’re not sure of yet.
For my friends who haven’t listened to that much classical music, it’s a great environment and performance for them to experience. These shows are typically at pretty trendy venues with a bar, and follow the set-list format with intervals in between each act. Chatting, mingling, and nibbling in between acts is as much a part of the experience as the music.
Not all my friends are classical musicians, so it’s quite a luxury to have an event that caters to a different style of concert experience, yet still plays a unique grade of interesting and thought-provoking music.
It’s a pretty big deal that you’re going to perform in the Brisbane and Melbourne shows for the festival. What will you be doing now that you’ve progressed from audience to stage?
As a fellow, I will have a few mentorship sessions with Kieran to make sure that I am comfortable with the music, then I will join the main rehearsals for Glassworks, and finally perform alongside everyone else. It’s standard, but with a few more moments of invaluable guidance and advice.
I’m really fired up to play in Glassworks; it’s such an unmistakable piece. I’ve never played anything like it before. I’m also really excited to meet and work with all the other musicians taking part in both the Brisbane and Melbourne shows.
Rumour has it that you were Kieran’s first pick as a fellow for this program (in fact, that’s what Kieran has told us himself – shhh!). To put the pressure on: why are you a great fit for Dots+Loops?
How flattering! Kieran has been filling in for my regular viola teacher Patricia Pollett (who also taught Kieran) on a few occasions across my undergraduate degree, so I’m sure he has a pretty good idea of my technical ability on the viola.
Beyond that, I would say it comes down to mutual not-classical musical interests. Kieran has lent me his DPA pickup for a few band-type gigs I’ve done here and there, and we’ve had quite a few chats ranging from microphones and gear to the contemporary contexts and avenues of possibility for the 21st Century violist.
I think I’m a good match for Dots+Loops because we share much of the same ethos and enthusiasm with approaching new music and performance.
You’ve performed across an enormous variety of youth orchestras, but you’re a session musician in rock bands with your friends, too. Have you felt any internal pressures about which musical style you should be aiming towards in your career?
I’ve always had quite broad musical interests. The music I listened to and played with my friends at high school was very different to what I’d be doing in Saturday morning youth orchestras, and at extra-curricular classical music camps. There used to be the feeling of almost leading a double-life in high school.
I think this has manifested into a strength – to be involved with both classical and popular/rock music. I’m particularly interested in the differences of assumed knowledge between each industry. Things such as rehearsal methods, technical terminology, and even basic musical forms usually don’t need explaining to the right people, but can be completely alien to an outsider.
There is a professional need for people who can bridge these gaps, and I think I am well-suited for this. I don’t imagine I’ll be playing concertos with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra once I graduate, nor do I think I’ll write and record an ARIA-winning album any time soon. But I do think I can create a professional name and reputation for myself by being well-versed and equally competent in both the classical and the band industries.
Flora, a belated congrats on your achievement as a Glassworks fellow with Dots+Loops, by the way. What does this even involve, anyway?
Thank you! It involves a lot of practising and score-reading, a little bit of travel, and some rehearsals. Most importantly, I get to perform to my Melbourne and Brisbane friends and family, and share a little bit of what I’ve been working on these past few years.
What are you hoping to get out of your viola fellowship experience?
The proof is in the pudding, really. It’s one big jumble of professional experience, epic music-making, and hang-out sessions with some cool people. Hopefully, I’ll play well-enough that they’ll invite me back to play in another Dots+Loops show!
Experience the Dots+Loops Liminality live music and community workshops this October 5-6 in Abbotsford Convent, Melbourne; and 12-13 in Cupo, Brisbane.
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If you like, you can give thanks to Stephanie for volunteering her time for Australian arts journalism. No amount too much or little.
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