3 Shades Black

We are thrilled to announce that Stephen de Filippo is the inaugural winner of the Homophonic! pride prize!

Stephen de Filippo is a new music composer from the regional South West of Western Australia. Now based in California, Stephen is currently undertaking graduate studies at The University of California – San Diego.

Stephen’s research explores the ideas of control and density in time-banned notation forms — exploring these interactions though a variety of chamber works that focus on unique instrumental pairings, contemporary performance practice as a central device.

“I am very excited to be accepted as the recipient of the inaugural Homophonic! Pride Prize, and to be working with Laila Engle to create a new work that will be premiered at the Midsumma Festival 2020.

In the past, I have had some difficulty reconciling what it means to be a queer artist. The movement itself is so multi-faceted, diverse, and intersectional. So, I am aware that perhaps I present a limited scope, directly related to my lived experience. Nonetheless, I hope that through this commission that I can create a work that explores some themes of ‘queerness’ in an art music context.

Most recently, I have been tutoring a course in punk music history at UC San Diego, in California – discussing punk’s influence on the queer and feminist movements, and vice versa. Not only has this given me a historical appreciation of the wider queer movement, but it has also helped me in honing in on aspects of queerness that I find personally important. Notably, its transgressive qualities, and the sense of otherness, which is diminishing with the mainstreaming of queer culture (a double-edge sword of awareness, but also appropriation and assimilation).

This prize provides me with the opportunity to explore identity through creative practice, to which I am so thankful for, and am very proud to be part of this opportunity.”

Stephen de Filippo, 2019.

What a season! 3 shows sold out before opening night, and a rapturous crowd every night. Thanks again to all the amazing performers, our phenomenal tech team, and the always supportive and acoustically fabulous La Mama Courthouse Theatre.

All photos below taken on opening night by Agatha Yim at Polyphonic Pictures.

Stay tuned for news of Homophonic! 2020! We have big plans!

Please find my 

Team “Neon” getting into the spirit of this “urban and muscular” music by Tansy Davies!

Zac Johnston, Robin Henry, Emily Clarke, Thea Rossen, Jacob Abela, Katherine Philp, and Miranda Hill braving the heat, while raising the temperature in the rehearsal room!

Peter Wilson is an ex-dancer turned composer, based in London. After graduating from The Australian Ballet School with distinction in 2010, he made a sideways shuffle into music: eventually winning a full scholarship to the Royal College of Music. He now works in a variety of mediums, primarily composing music for concert hall, theatre, film, and dance.

As a composer for concert hall, Peter has worked with the Royal Northern Sinfonia, Loré Lixenberg, Ligeti Quartet, Norrbotten NEO, Tom Paewels, and Gildas Quartet. His music has been recorded and released by NMC Recordings.He was described recently as “having a willingness to engage in small, strange details” – a diagnosis Peter quite enjoyed.

As a composer for theatre, his work has been heard in many of London’s major theatres, including Soho Theatre, RADA, The Bunker, and VAULT Theatre. In 2017, he was nominated for an Off-West End Award (‘Offie’) for his work on ‘FCUK’D’. More recently, he has worked at The National Theatre and Donmar Warehouse, assisting composer Michael Bruce.

A few months ago, Peter’s world exploded when he plunged into the infinite whirlpool of electronic music. This is a new area of interest for Peter, and he intends to explore it more thoroughly over the coming months and years.

Sneak peek into the rehearsal room!

Double trouble is the theme of the day! Double Bass Clarinets, Double Violas, and of course, Double Bass. 😉

Karen Heath, Judith Dodsworth, Robin Henry, and Miranda Hill, getting into the bad habits of ”Life Story” by Ades.

Phoebe Green, Merewyn Bramble, and Matthew Horsley, rehearsing a gorgeous new work by Naima Fine Fine.

Emily is a woodwind musician and music educator based in Melbourne. As a graduate of Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and Melbourne Graduate School of Education she teaches and performs on saxophone, clarinet, and flute, passionate about sharing excellent music experiences with diverse audiences.
As a saxophone specialist Emily performs with the Melbourne Saxophone Ensemble and The Green Reeds, and in various styles from big bands to orchestra settings as a freelance musician. Most recently Emily has been collaborating with composers for chamber music premiers, with Melbourne Saxophone and in various saxophone quartets. Emily is a passionate woodwind doubler, performing in music theatre productions locally in Melbourne, has travelled Victoria with Sondheim company Watch This and extensively through China touring the production of Phantom Unmasked.

An exciting and dynamic performer, Thea Rossen is a percussionist, creator and educator based in Melbourne. She is director of the Ad Lib Collective, an ensemble focused on concert curation, commissioning new Australian works and community engagement. Her work with the group has taken her to a residency at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Canada where she developed a program of works exploring issues surrounding climate change through performance called Music for Our Changing Climate which was presented at the Metropolis Festival in 2018.

As a soloist and chamber musician, Thea was a fellow at the Bang on a Can Summer Festival and finalist for the Freedman Classical Music Fellowship in 2018. She has performed with a range of international artists including Vicky Chow, David Cossin and Lisa Moore and been a casual member of the percussion sections in the Melbourne and West Australian Symphony Orchestras and Orchestra Victoria. She has also presented works at the Perth and Melbourne International Arts Festivals.

As an educator Thea has designed and facilitated music workshops in regional, remote and metropolitan Australia for Musica Viva in Schools, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Recital Centre and Art Play. During her time at the Australian National Academy of Music,Thea was awarded prizes for all of her solo recitals including Most Outstanding Performance and Best Program. Thea received her Bachelor of Music Degree with honours at the University of Western Australia studying with Dr Louise Devenish and Tim White.