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Mini[ ]Max Biographies
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WILLIAM DUCKWORTHComposer William Duckworth is the composer of over 100 pieces of music, and the author of six books and numerous articles, the most recent of which is “Making Music on the Web” (Leonardo Music Journal, Vol. 9, Dec. 1999). In the mid 1990s he and co-director Nora Farrell began Cathedral, a multi-year work of music and art for the web that went on-line June 10th, 1997. As a composer, Duckworth is considered the founder of Postminimalism, and his hour-long Time Curve Preludes for piano defines the postminimal style. Since their 1979 premiere, these preludes have been heard on five continents, including the Spoleto Festival USA, where they were performed during the first live webcast ever given from the festival; New York’s Merkin Hall, for the 20th-anniversary celebration of their premiere; and the Festival of Havana, where they were broadcast in the streets. Performances in 2001 included Tokyo and Armenia. The Village Voice said Duckworth’s preludes are “likely to be one of the 20th century piano cycles most often performed in the 21st.” Musical America called them “a work of captivating beauty”, and described listening to them as “hearing a kaleidoscope.” William Duckworth’s first European platform was at the 1984 Pro Musica Nova festival in Bremen, Germany. More recently, he has been a member of the composition forum at Darmstadt, has given master classes in Rome, and was a featured composer at the 1995 Ferrara Festival. He has also recorded with the Electric Phoenix in London, and supervised the continental premiere of his Gathering Together/Revolution, for mallet percussion, keyboards, and drums. The Village Voice called the composite “a compositional landmark: the first chance-determined postminimal moment form.” As a performer, Duckworth participated in the 1992 Cagemusicircus, a John Cage memorial concert at New York’s Symphony Space, playing Cage’s Speech on a short-wave radio, while Laurie Anderson read from the daily papers. He also closed the 18-hour marathon performance of Satie’s Vexations, presented by the New York downtown club Roulette in 1993 to honor the 100-year anniversary of the work. The New York Times said Duckworth “played with uncanny steadiness and stillness.” Born in North Carolina in 1943, William Duckworth was educated at East Carolina University and the University of Illinois, where he studied composition with microtonal composer Ben Johnston, himself a student of John Cage and Harry Partch. Duckworth is a past recipient of the Walter Hinrichsen Award, (1984), and has held both an NEA Composer Fellowship (1977) and an NEA Collaborative Fellowship (1983). In December 2001, following the 48-hour webcast, Duckworth spoke about the experience at New York City's Lincoln Center as Cathedral won the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Internet Award. Duckworth holds a position at Bucknell University, teaching computer music composition, and a class in 20th-century American music called Jazz, Rock, and the Avant Garde. A 1992 Rolling Stone magazine profile called him a “hip, bright, innovative” teacher who “opens up worlds” students never knew existed. Duckworth is the author of six books including two textbooks on music theory for Wadsworth Publishing Company (one of which is in 7th edition), plus 20/20: Twenty New Sounds of the Twentieth Century (New York: Schirmer Books, 1999); Sound and Light: La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela (Lewisburg, PA: Bucknell Review, 1996); John Cage at 75 (Lewisburg, PA: Bucknell Review, 1989); and Talking Music, Conversations with John Cage, Philip Glass, Laurie Anderson, and Five Generations of American Experimental Composers (NY: Schirmer Books, 1995). Currently, Duckworth is writing a book about the implications of virtual music and the new technology. In Oct. 2002, he will lecture to an international conference of neurobiologists in Venice on virtual music, new artistic paradigms, and the brain.
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STUART DEMPSTERTrombonist, didgeridoo player, composer, sound-gatherer and sonic healer Stuart Dempster, born in Berkeley, California in 1936, studied performance and composition at San Francisco State College. From 1962-66 he was principal trombone in the Oakland Symphony under Gerhard Samuel. From 1968 to 1999, he was on the faculty of University of Washington in Seattle, where, amongst other things, he conducted workshops in didjeridoo techniques. His book The Modern Trombone: A Definition of Its Idioms was first published in 1979 and he has recorded on several labels including New Albion, which produced his "Abbey" recording (NA 013) now, in the words of one reviewer, "...a cult classic." Stuart first visited Australia in 1973, as a Fulbright Scholar investigating didjeridoo playing techniques. This is Stuart Dempster’s third visit to Australia. With his wife Renko Ishida, Stuart last visited us in July 1999 when he appeared at the first Queensland Biennial at the invitation of Simone de Haan. Dempster tours regularly as a solo recitalist performing his own works and also with the Deep Listening Band. His work is exemplified by Sound Massage Parlor, and environmental site specific works such as SWAMI (State of Washington As a Musical Instrument). These have earned him a reputation as a composer- performer whose work is at once amusing, deep and meditative. Deep Listening Band recordings include: Deep Listening, with Pauline Oliveros and Panaiotis, recorded in the old Fort Worden cistern with 45" reverb.,on New Albion Records (NA 022); Troglodyte's Delight, recorded in an old limestone quary in upstate New York, on ¿What Next? Records (WN 0003); and The Ready Made Boomerang, recorded in the above mentioned "Cistern Chapel" and released by New Albion Records (NA 044). Dempster produced all three of these CDs. In 1993-94 he was composer-in-residence with Seattle's New Performance Group as part of the *Music in Motion* project. In 1993 Dempster was commissioned by Meet The Composers Composer Choreographer Project for a collaboration with Merce Cunningham for highly acclaimed performances in the US and Europe. That music was released on the New Albion CD Underground Overlays from the Cistern Chapel (NA 076).
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A.J. SABATINIWriter, performer and semiotician Arthur J. Sabatini is an Associate Professor of Performance Studies in the Department of Interdisciplinary Arts and Performance at Arizona State University West. Sabatini holds a PhD from the Department of Performance Studies, New York University and Bachelor & Masters degrees from Ohio University. Sabatini has taught at New York University, Drexel University, and The University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Courses in his areas include: Verbal Art and Performance, Performance and the Avant-Garde, 20th Century Theory and Studies. He has received two NEH Fellowships: Performance Theory, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Latin American Fiction, Princeton University. He also received a Visual Arts Critics Fellowship from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. He has published extensively on the arts, performance, literature, and culture. Essays have appeared in The Bucknell Review, Talisman, High Performance, Latin American Fiction Today, the Journal of Modern Literature, and other publications. His research is in the area of experimental art, poetry, technology and performance. He is also currently writing a study of the American composer, Robert Ashley.
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NORA FARRELLProducer, graphic artist Nora Farrell is is the Principal of Out of Hand, a print and multimedia design firm in New York. She also founded Monroe Street Music, a recording and publishing company specializing in contemporary music. Before starting her own company, Farrell worked in the record industry for ten years, serving as executive assistant to the President of RCA, consultant to Polygram, and Director of A&R for TriStar/Sony. At Sony, Farrell was part of the team that oversaw the development of Sony Music's first presence on the Web. Farrell's client projects have included CD packages for The Hollies, Deep Purple, and MSN's On Air; a Clio-award winning web project for Pringles; websites for CineMuse and C.F. Peters; web projects of Pantene, Lucent, Microsoft, and Avaya; and CD-ROMs for ITP, IBM, Bayer, and AT&T. Her work has appeared at Streaming Media West.
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WARREN BURTComposer A resident of Australia since 1975, Warren Burt has taught at La Trobe University, the NSW Con, VCA and ANU. He is also a Visiting Professor at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana. He has had a sustained involvement in radio as both a freelance and commissioned producer, and is a composer, film maker, video artist, and community arts organizer. His works have been performed and shown in the USA, Australia, Europe and Japan, and he has been awarded grants from the Australia Council, Victorian Ministry for the Arts, and McKnight Foundation (USA). He has been artist-in-residence with a number of organizations, such as the CSIRO, the Los Angeles based art-science think tank, International Synergy, ABC Radio, MonashUniversity, RMIT Department of Fine Arts, and the American Composers’ Forum. His work with electronic and computer music is recognized internationally, including performances and installations in New Zealand, Australia, the US, and Germany. In 1998 he was an artist-in-residence at the Djerassi Artists Program, California, and he was awarded a 1998-2000 Australia Council Composer's Fellowship. Currently, he is a freelance composer, and has recently founded the Centre for Studies in Experimental Music, a non-academic institution in Melbourne organizing classes, lectures, and performances.  |
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KYLE GANNComposer Composer and writer Kyle Gann was born in Dallas, Texas, in 1955. He studied composition with Ben Johnston, Morton Feldman and Peter Gena at Northwestern University in Chicago. He assisted Gena in organizing the New Music America Festival in Chicago in July 1982. Kyle Gann’s music is often microtonal, using up to 37 pitches to the octave, and his rhythmic language, based on contrasting tempos in quick succession and at the same time, was developed from study of the Hopi, Zuni and Pueblo Native American musics. He himself is of Sioux heritage. Since 1986 he was been new-music writer for the New York newspaper The Village Voice. A collection of his Voice columns, entitled It’s Only As Good As It Sounds, was published by the University of California Press in 2001. He is also the author of The Music of Conlon Nancarrow [Cambridge University Press, 1995] and American Music in the 20th Century [Schirmer Books, 1997]. His principle research interests relate to the music of the American microtonalists, notably Harry Partch, and he has recently completed a piano of Ives’s 3rd Symphony. Since 1997 he has been Assistant Professor of Music at Bard College,
New York. In 1996-97 he received an NEA Individual Artists’ Fellowship.
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DJ TamaraSound Manipulation With a music degree from the Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, DJ Tamara’s background and upbringing might suggest a conventional career in classical music. Instead, the past seven years have seen this free spirit forge her own path as a multimedia artist. Most know her now as a DJ – crowds in Seattle and on dancefloors worldwide appreciate her eclectic sets which blend intricate drum&bass, jagged-metal hardcore/jungle, and thick, moody downtempo. As a drum&bass DJ, Tamara has appeared at clubs, events, festivals, parties and on the radio all over the world – from Prague to Paris, London to Las Vegas, and now: BrizVegas! While she loves to travel, there’s plenty to keep her busy at her home base, Seattle. As a resident of Uniting Souls, Tamara participates in events up and down the US West Coast and Mexico. She also appears regularly on the Web, gaining a huge international following. When the notorious Groovetech launched its first internet station in Seattle, Tamara’s weekly show HEADSTRONG hit the airwaves. It had played from Groovetech bases in London, San Francisco and New York City and had over one thousand loyal subscribers. In February 2002, she hosted a schools workshop for the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and that experience has inspired her to closer involvement in teaching, especially with the mentally disabled and at-risk youth. In 2000 Tamara was voted Best Jungle DJ in Seattle. She has performed in contemporary chamber opera and created her own full-evening performance piece called Semantics. She is now focussing on her own composition, working in both computer and symphonic forms, and improvising in a free jazz context with the monktail creative music concern. The subject of many features in DJ magazines the world over, Tamara also has a kitten named Dolphy. All this, and much more on : www.djtamara.com
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DONNA COLEMANPianist The recipient of numerous international prizes and fellowships, pianist Donna Coleman is universally recognized as one of the world’s preëminent interpreters of 20th century music. Her recordings for Etcetera Records of the piano music of Charles Ives have received awards and accolades from around the world, and she has given many Australian premieres of Ives, notably the Fourth Symphony with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra directed by Gunther Schuller. Her compact disc on ABC Classics entitled Rags to Riches: A Syncopated Century was an Editor’s Choice in Soundscapes magazine. Concert tours featuring her eclectic repertory ranging from Domenico Scarlatti and Robert Schumann to Scott Joplin and Bill Evans to compositions written yesterday have transported audiences in thirty-eight of the fifty United States of America and in Canada, Europe and throughout Australia. Born in Philadelphia, Dr Coleman now makes her home in Melbourne, where she serves as Head of Keyboard in The School of Music of The Victorian College of the Arts. Her recent "Celestial Railroad" tour featuring works by Grainger and American composers took her to Amsterdam, a dozen cities in Italy and from Denver to New York in the USA.
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STEPHEN WHITTINGTONComposer, pianist, writer, music critic Stephen Whittington is a Senior Lecturer of the faculty at the Elder School of Music at Adelaide University where he directs the Performing Arts Technology Unit. He teaches composition, music theory, acoustics and electronic music. Born in Adelaide in 1953, he studied piano with Clemens Leske Sr. at the Elder Conservatorium, graduating with Honours in piano in 1974. He also attended the classes of composers Richard Meale, Peter Tahourdin, and Tristram Cary. His compositions range from works for solo piano to chamber, choral, and orchestral music, and works involving electronics. Most recently in April 2002, Red Dust, a work for solo flute and flute orchestra, was premiered in Paris by Pierre-Yves Artaud and the Orchestre Français des Flutes. His works have been recorded on a number of CDs, including ABC Classics (Aust.) and Galun Records (France). As a pianist, he is renowned as an interpreter of contemporary music, notably of Australian music from Percy Grainger to the present day (especially the works of Adelaide composers, many of which were written for him), and also of the music of composers of the past century. He was a member of the board of the Australian Music Centre for four years (1990-94), and has served on the music panel of the SA Department for the Arts. He has been a music critic for the Adelaide Advertiser since 1980.
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SIMONE DE HAANTrombonist, conductor Recognised as one of Australia's leading contemporary music specialists and music educators, Simone de Haan is the founder of several notable contemporary music projects here: Flederman, Pipeline and, now, Furnace. He was Artistic Director of the 1999 Queensland Biennial Festival of Music and Contemporary Music Consultant to the Brisbane Festival 1998. He holds the degrees of Master of Music (Univ. of Western Australia) and the Graduate Diploma in Performance (Canberra School of Music). Prior to his appointment as Provost and Director of the Queensland Conservatorium of Griffith University in 1996, he was Professor at the Tasmanian Conservatorium. In April, he hosted international visitors to Brisbane with the inaugural CONNECTIN’ forum, ‘twinning’ the Qld Con with similar institutions in Denmark, France and the Guildhall in London, part of his commitment to community music development throughout his country. A fearless and tireless advocate for composers and new music, Simone de Haan has expanded the repertoire by commissioning and extracting new pieces from every composer he meets.
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JENNI FLEMMINGPianist Jenni Flemming enjoys a busy professional career as soloist; chamber player, teacher, adjudicator and examiner. A student of Max Olding at the Queensland Conservatorium, Jenni also studied in the United States with Bela Siki and in the UK with Kendall Taylor. A national winner of the ABC Instrumental and Vocal Competition, she has performed as soloist with the Queensland, Melbourne and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras, the Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Queensland Univ. Symphony Orchestra. Jenni performs as a duo recitalist with pianist Brachi Tilles, and cellist/husband Gwyn Roberts. She has given concerts and broadcasts throughout Australia, in Scandinavia, South East Asia, United States and the United Kingdom, making a London Festival Hall debut in 1986. As a former member of the contemporary music ensemble Perihelion, Jenni was involved in a subscription concert series in Brisbane, five CDs of Australian music, and international and interstate touring. Jenni has also performed and broadcast recitals of music by Australian women composers for 4MBS-FM.
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ISORHYTHMOSPercussion group Literally meaning “same rhythm”, the name Isorhythmos implies a like-mindedness in spirit and performance of this newly formed percussion group. The group is comprised of full-time and casual members of the Queensland Orchestra percussion section. The first professional percussion group of its kind in Brisbane, it brings together musicians who combine the knowledge of the classical tradition with the inherent urge to experience the music of other cultures, so essential to the wide grounding of contemporary percussion. Firmly placed within the new vision of The Queensland Orchestra, Isorhythmos perform as part of TQO’s annual season. Their first concerts in April 2002 played to packed houses in Toowoomba and the Brisbane Powerhouse. Collectively, the players assemble skills in composition, arrangement, singing and bass guitar playing, a love for Latin American music, with a bent towards the theatrical. Their repertoire in their inaugural year, has ranged from Cage to contemporary Australian composers. David Montgomery, the director of the group, is also TQO’s Principal Percussionist, appearing regularly as a soloist in concertos by Schwantner, Rosauro and, in June 2002, giving the premiere performance of Gerard Brophy’s Trance…Dakar. The group’s debut performances last April included the premiere of Life According to Gog and other premieres this year include a new work for the Sydney Mozart Players to open their 2002 Season in June. His children’s opera The Sound Garden has now moved into its third season in Queensland and is also being performed by the West Australian Opera, and next year by OzOpera in Victoria. In December, David will study traditional drumming in Senegal, on a scholarship provided by The Queensland Orchestra. Andrew Knox is Co-Principal Timpanist with TQO. While still in high school, Andrew formed his own barbershop quartet, a predilection that surfaces in his singing spots with Isorhythmos. John Parker divided his training between Classical Percussion and Jazz Studies during his undergraduate years at the Queensland Conservatorium. His occasional forays into the electric bass guitar will surface in future Isorhythmos concerts. Leah Scholes, the youngest member of Isorhythmos, studied harp, piano and violin at the Queensland Conservatorium, before deciding, in her mid-teens to concentrate on Percussion. She continues her studies in hand percussion, with a particular feel for the congas. John, Blair and Leah all join David and Andrew on a regular basis in the Percussion section of TQO.
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TOPOLOGYBernard Hoey viola Topology is increasingly recognised as one of Australia's leading new music ensembles. Their energetic, full-blooded sound belies their compact instrumentation. Since forming in 1997, Topology has built a solid audience, and regularly perform to sold-out houses around Australia. Their concerts are broadcast nationally by the ABC. Nothing if not flexible, Topology is often found in the theatre, in art galleries, clubs, even supporting pop groups such as Savage Garden in 10000-seat arenas. But their typical home is in the concert hall; in addition to their annual concert series, they are frequently featured in festivals. The group has given a wide range of performances, from experimental Fluxu at the Queensland Art Gallery to the Sydney Olympic Arts Festival, playing nightly The Marriage of Figaro, directed by Neil Armfield and starring Geoffrey Rush. In between shows, they performed the opening concert for the Sydney Spring Festival (where they received Best Ensemble Award in 1999), and were resident ensemble at the Univ. of Western Sydney, and undertook a tour including concerts at the Canberra School of Music and the Orange Festival, funded by Playing Australia. In addition to organising their own Powerhouse concert series, Topology has been engaged by such organisations as the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, the ABC, the Brisbane Festival, Composers Week, the University of Queensland, the Queensland University of Technology, Festival Integrales, and Brisbane nightclub venues. The 1998 Brisbane International Film Festival featured music by Kent Farbach composed for an extended Topology, playing live for the silent classic Kid Stakes. In 1999 the Queensland Arts Council employed Topology for a tour of high schools. 1999 also saw performances in the Queensland Biennial, for a capacity Sydney Opera House Concert Hall performance (for an East Timor Benefit concert with Synergy and the Song Company, Roger Woodward and others) and the release of their first CD. Topology continues to work with and consult with many international composers, including those from Canada (Tim Brady), the UK (Andrew Poppy, Michael Nyman, Andrew Peyton Jones), the US (William Duckworth, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, Carl Stone, Paul Dresher) and with many Australian composers. They have premiered several dozen works by thee composers. Kyle Davidson studied piano with Max Olding and Yefim Stesin at the Qld Con (B.Mus 1988), winning the Brisbane Eisteddfodd, and with William Corbett-Jones at the San Francisco State University (1995). She has studied vocal music in Kerala, South India, with Kavalam Narayana Pannicker. A lecturer in theory and aural training at the Qld Con, she is active as an accompanist, and as a soloist and ensemble player.
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SULAGNA BASUHindustani singer Born in Calcutta, Sulagna Basu is from a very traditional Bengali family. She inherited a fervent inclination towards art and music - especially from her mother. She has had formal training in both Indian vocal classical music and the north Indian classical dance, Kathak, and has completed a Masters degree in both. Sulagna migrated to Australia in 1992 and ever since has been performing widely in and around Brisbane, as well as teaching her art to others. She is a distinguished choreographer and is admired for her experimental and innovative work within the traditional framework. In 1994, she participated in a cross-cultural workshop with Linsey Pollack and fused her music with Aboriginal, Columbian and Macedonian music, and the result was a stunning track called Moitree (friendship) in the CD - Echoes under the Bridge. She has also contributed to other CDs: Bom (Memory Loss); Many Beads on a String—Devotional Songs (Woodford Folk Festival Production); Jay Asu Babu (EthnoSuperLounge Live Recordings) and Worldly Women (Compiled by Donna Miller).
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WILLIAM BARTONDidjeridu From an early age William Barton has shared his musical talent world wide working with styles from traditional, pop, rock, world music and coming to the height of his career blending the didgeridoo with classical music. William’s debut as soloist with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra was in 1998 which led to a special appearance at the Townsville Civic centre on the QSO Regional tour and a standing ovation. In July 2001 William was invited to the Australian Festival of Chamber Music in Townsville through the recommendation of BHP-Cannington, becoming the first didgeridoo soloist to ever attend that festival. On that occasion, as a featured artist combining the didgeridoo with classical music, William performed with the Goldner String Quartet in Peter Sculthorpe’s From Ubirr, String Quartet No.12. William’s success has led to an invitation to perform in The Queensland Orchestra’s Maestro series in Brisbane at the Queensland Performing Arts Complex on August 31. He will also perform throughout the year with other classical ensembles, experimental groups, also workshops at schools and the presentation of newly developed material for a variety of musical styles and genres. Currently William is producing his own album and working on future engagements in the classical, alternative and world music domain presenting the true virtuosity of the instrument to audiences throughout Australia and the world.
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TENZIN CHOEGYALTibetan Musician Tenzin is one of a handful of Tibetans keeping his musical traditions alive in the freedom of exile. His powerful vocal style, playful lute-based folk songs, thoughtful flute pieces and his way of connecting with audiences has made Tenzin a favourite around Australia and New Zealand. Tenzin was born in the remote Himalayas as his parents were fleeing Tibet in the early 1970s. He grew up in the Tibetan refugee community in Dharamsala, northern India—home of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama. Tenzin has a particular affinity with the musical styles of the Tibetan nomads and late last year returned from a research tour of refugee settlements where he recorded many of these songs. Tenzin Choegyal has lived in Australia since 1997.
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LUKE JAANISTEComposer and interdisciplinary artist A student of composition and musicology at the Queensland Conservatorium, Luke Jaaniste is now creating works for the concert hall, radio, CD gallery and public sites. He composes for a range of range of instruments – acoustic, electronic and digital – as well as works with text, video, sculpture, bodies and spaces. Luke is a member of the composers’ collective COMPOST and, with Julian Day, the sound-and-performance duo juaanelli, and performs with various improvising musicians.
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JUAANELLIJuaanelli is the ongoing collaboration between Brisbane-based sound-artist Luke Jaaniste and Canberra-based artist and ABC radio presenter Julian Day. They began working together in 1997 while both were composition students at the Queensland Conservatorium. Since that time, they have investigated non-narrative processes for bodies [human and inanimate] in space and time. Their resonant ‘actions’ tend to be sparse, reserved and meditative, and can be grouped into two modes – sound-art or trans-disciplinary performance. Juaanelli has appeared at the Queensland Art Gallery, Metro Arts, ADAPT, the Qld Biennial Festival of Music, the Woodford Folk Festival and at various public sites around Brisbane. Their next project binaura{L} co{R}respondence is an interstate email collaboration exploring auditory illusions.
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Brisbane Powerhouse is an initiative of Brisbane City Council with principal sponsors
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