BY SOLOMON FRANK, ENSEMBLE ONSOMBL
This week, Ensemble Offspring will host its inaugural Open Mic event as part of the Hatched Academy program for young and emerging musicians.
It’ll feature three exhilarating sets from groups of artists, Naomi Johnson and Henry Liang; Freya Schack-Arnott (accompanied by clarinettist Georgina Oakes, violinist Naom Yaffe, and cellist Jack Ward), and Ensemble Onsombl – the latter of which I’m a part.
Each artist is set to present a vibrant set of new music, exploring alternative performance methods and the ambiguous meanings of authorship.
We asked the Open Mic artists about their upcoming performance, and we tell you how this event gives us a unique platform.
Naomi Johnson (flautist)
We actually have a bit of an interesting story with the Hatched Open Mic night, because Henry Liang [pictured above the article] and I didn’t initially envisage playing together!
Each of us had put in a separate proposal for a solo program, and then Claire Edwardes (Ensemble Offspring) suggested that we combine forces, take some elements of each program, and add Toshio Hosokawa’s Bird Fragments III for sho and flutes into the mix. The result is a set which explores a huge range of colours and sounds but with a strong focus on Japanese influence and aesthetics.
Alongside the twittering whirlwind of Bird Fragments III, Henry will combine old, new and even some electronics in his piece Chasing Bushido, while I dive into a world of subtly shifting sounds in Kaija Saariaho’s Laconisme de l’aile and Kezia Yap’s a structure of silences.
We will also be joined by artist Todd Fuller, whose visual projections render some of our musical colours in light.
We’re really excited about the unique opportunity that Hatched Open Mic gives us: presenting a program of daring music in a supportive and enthusiastic environment!
Freya Schack-Arnott (cellist)
I will be presenting a series of intimate Australian works for cello, ranging from the lyrical melodious tones of Kate Moore’s stunning works, Whoever you are come forth and Broken Rosary, to the otherworldly and texturally expressive sounds of Liza Lim’s classic duo for cello and clarinet Inguz (Viking rune for ‘fertility’).
Binding these works will be improvisations based on two of Alex Pozniak’s Instructions for Improvisation, highlighting the fluid creative exchange between interpreter/performer and composer, and the inherent blurred lines of musical authorship.
The Hatched Open Mic concert is a really special opportunity for young artists like myself, to curate, collaborate, and perform works that reflect the diversity and unique creative identity of the current Australian music scene, with the artistic support and audience base of one of Australia’s premier ensembles such as Ensemble Offspring.
Solomon Frank (clarinettist and composer in Ensemble Onsombl)
Ensemble Onsombl is presenting a set of new and existing pieces where human creative agency is a variable in composed music. These pieces rely on improvisatory intuition, and although one person can be credited with the initial concept or impetus of the works, each performer shares equal creative responsibility.
Many of the works we are performing rely on methods of sound making beyond our usual instruments. The set we’re presenting utilises smoke alarms, stones and cauliflowers as well as our instruments.
It’s really exciting to be billed alongside the other talented artists. It’s nice knowing that the kind of music we are making is not being made in a vacuum and this event is a demonstration of that.
Angus Davison (pianist and composer in Ensemble Onsombl)
101 Things to do with a Cauliflower is a piece I devised, and it’s basically what it says on the tin. Each ensemble member has a cauliflower with them on stage, and we work through a list of suggested interactions with it. Some of these interactions are physical, such as bathing the cauliflower. Some interactions should be vocalised, such as debating with the cauliflower. Others, including doubting the cauliflower’s existence, are more ephemeral.
Onsombl members move through the list at their own pace, and the various items cross over and interact differently in each performance. This leads to juxtapositions which may be humorous, poignant, disturbing, or just plain absurd.
Ensemble Offspring’s Hatched Academy Open Mic is at 5pm July 7, 107 Projects, 107 Redfern Street, Redfern.
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