New photos up from Homophonic and Moving Scores. Easily accessed through our facebook page!
(And soon to be loaded here when I figure out how to size them properly)
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Here’s a review of Homophonic by Amy Bastow, presenter of “kiss my arts” on Joy 94.9fm.
Also! Click through to hear the podcasts of “Kiss my Arts” on the air. Show six is the review, (segment starts around 3:20) and show three features an interview with 3 Shades Black director Miranda Hill.
Thanks Amy! We can’t wait to work with you again!
3 Shades Black rockin' out on the encore. Photo by Nick Moulton
What a great show! Thanks to the capacity crowd for sweating through the over heated performance with us… Turns out the name “midsumma” festival is not a misnomer.
More pics and reviews to come! Many thanks to the amazing ensemble, fabulous composers and inspiring audience for making it all happen.
Homophonic!
Sparkle Disco Basses. Photo by Nick Moulton
Yesterday I went in and chatted with Ginni and Adam on the Midsumma show about Homophonic, queer artists, the importance of classical music and other fun things!
Laila Engle’s diverse work as a performer, educator, and producer is unified by a commitment to crafting performances that affect, compel and engage with Australia’s heritage.
As Co-Artistic Director of award-winning Australian chamber group, Syzygy Ensemble (First Prize, Australian Concerto and Vocal Competition; Contemporary Masters Award, Melbourne Recital Centre; Helpmann Award Nominee), Engle has curated close to a decade worth of performances at the Melbourne Recital Centre, developed two chamber operas, (The Apology of Bony Anderson by Barry Congyham, Miss Donnithorne’s Maggot by Peter Maxwell Davies), toured internationally, and premiered programs at Melbourne Festival in collaboration with Songmakers, Merlyn Quaife and Ballet Lab. A celebrated collaborator and artistic director, she has also appeared with Arcko Symphonic Ensemble, Orchestra Victoria, and the Consort of Melbourne, and in features performances at Metropolis New Music Festival, White Night, and Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music.
The depth of Laila’s connection to the Australian arts industry cannot be overstated. She is the proud recipient of an Art Start development grant, a graduate of the Auspicious Arts Incubator program, and maintains a busy performance schedule as a flautist with the Royal Australian Air Force including representational tours to Malaysia, Turkey and the Solomon Islands.
A nice review of our show in the Melbourne Fringe Festival last year!
Did you know that America’s greatest love story set to music, West Side Story, was written and choreographed by 4 gay men?
Did you know that letters exist between Tchaikovsky and his brother Modest which include the line “I even went to Bulatov’s country estate, and his house is nothing but a pederastic bordello. As if it were not enough that I had been there, I fell in love as a cat with his coachman !!! “
Did you know Poulenc referred to his “Parisian sexuality” in letters, and openly identified as a gay man?
Have you ever listened to the music of Britten or Barber and seen nothing in the program notes about their long term male partners?
Then Homophonic is the concert for you!
3 Shades Black and the Midsumma Festival is proud to present Homophonic, an evening of new classical music by queer composers. Celebrating sapphic symphonists and homosexual harmonies, and the long and proud tradition of composers being as gay as the day is long.
The gays and the arts have always gone together, and this concert celebrates that long standing tradition, and highlights the contribution made to modern classical music. With a program featuring established composers alongside young Melbourne artists, Homophonic is sure to entertain and enlighten even the most experienced concert goer.
Performed by an ensemble of Melbourne’s most in demand musicians, and featuring Melbourne composers alongside more established names. We’re bringing the disco ball to the concert hall!!
Program includes:
Outline, by Pauline Oliveros.
Breathing through a hole, by Amy Bastow.
Beneath, by Naima Fine.
‘Aquarium’, by John Cage.
Simulcast, by Rick Burkhardt.
There might have been a time, by Wally Gunn.
and some surprise guests.
Ensemble: The Atticus String Quartet, Miranda Hill, Leila Engle, Joshua de Graaf, Dan Richardson, Oscar Garrido de la Rosa, Ruby Paskas, Phoebe Green, Ed Ferris, Stephanie Kabanyana, Bettina Crimmins, and Emma Sullivan.
Thursday the 2nd of February, 2012. 7:30pm.
Old Council Chambers, Trades Hall. Melbourne. $20/15
Tickets can be purchased at http://www.midsumma.org.au or at the door. (But
buy in advance! It’s good for my stress levels)
We look forward to seeing you there!
Wally Gunn
Wally spent his early years in Melbourne, Australia, playing in rock bands, then completing an Honours degree in Composition at the Victorian College of the Arts. After graduating, he worked with fellow composers Kate Neal and Biddy Connor in Dead Horse Productions to stage concerts of new music in unusual venues. He also provided original music for several Melbourne theatre companies, including The Eleventh Hour, The Shrimp Company and ITCH Productions (Catalpa, Green Room nomination for Best Composition); co-wrote a musical with Wes Snelling for Platform Youth Theatre; and contributed songs to Snelling’s cabaret (Kiosk, Green Room nomination for Best Original Songs). He moved to New York in 2008 to undertake a Masters in Composition at the Manhattan School of Music. Since relocating, he has created original music for three productions by New York’s The Actors Company Theatre, and recently provided the soundtrack for a video installation by artist Matthew Sleeth. Wally is currently a Graduate Fellow at Princeton University.
3 Shades Black is excited to premiere Wallys new work: “There might have been a time”.
Atticus, a string quartet for the 21st century.
3 Shades Black is thrilled to announce that Atticus will be performing “Breathing through a hole” by Amy Bastow.
Atticus has drawn players from Melbourne’s leading and emerging new music ensembles to create a string quartet dedicated to the highest quality performance of the world’s finest new music.
Since meeting at the Victorian College of the Arts, Zac, Lizzy, Phoebe and Judy have been playing together for the past eight years. Individually and in various combinations, the members of Atticus have appeared with with Golden Fur, Quiver, Silo String Quartet, Dead Horse Ensemble, the Arcko Symphonic Project, Sunwrae Ensemble, the BOLT ensemble and the Gilmour Ensemble to name a few.
Members of Atticus have appeared and been involved with the Melbourne International Arts Festival (2005 – 2011), The Brisbane International Arts Festival (2009), Melbourne International Jazz Festival (2010-11), Stonnington Jazz Festival (2008), Eltham Jazz Festival (2010), The Famous Spiegeltent (2006, 2008, 2009), Bangalow Music Festival (2007), Castlemaine State Festival (2001 – 2011), Liquid Architecture (2010), New Music Network Mini Series (2009), Woodford Folk Festival (2009), Port Fairy Folk Festival (2001), Apollo Bay Folk Festival (2001, 2011), and Cygnet Folk Festival (1998, 2001, 2004, 2008 – 2011).
Individual members have performed world premieres of; David Chisholm, Wally Gunn, James Rushford, Alexander Garsden, Kate Neal, Mark Pollard, Natasha Anderson, Luke Paulding, Cat Hope, Robert Dahm, James Hullick, Eve Duncan, Brenton Broadstock and Marco Fusinato.
Atticus successfully debuted at fortyfivedownstairs to a capacity crowd in March 2011.
This wealth of experience, both in Australia and overseas, has given Atticus an unparalleled foundation in global contemporary music.
For more information on Atticus, please visit their website: http://www.atticusquartet.com/Atticus/Atticus.html
3 Shades Black is excited to announce our next performance as part of the Midsumma Festival in 2012.
Homophonic: New music by Queer composers. Featuring local Melbourne composers as well as more established names from the 21st Century with a few surprise visits from the long and proud history of classical musicians being gay as the day is long.
Tickets now on sale! One night only, and limited seating.
http://www.midsumma.org.au/component/jevents/icalrepeat.detail/2011/11/21/1730/-/–
3 Shades Black 