Project diary

2015

13 January Visiting workshop artist, United World College South-East Asia, Singapore

25 January Jam with Gillian Howell and the 70s Stovetop Orchestra, part of the ‘Home’ festival of participatory cultural events at the Arts Centre Melbourne.

7-8 February Open Workshops for young musicians at ArtPlay with musicians from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, as part of the annual MSO ArtPlay Ensemble program.

12-15 March ChoirFest Middle East, fieldwork trip to attend/observe the festival and meet young performers from Afghanistan National Institute of Music for PhD research (funded by SEMPRE’s Gerry Farrell Travelling Scholarship)

28 March Jam with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Federation Square, Melbourne. Improvising with themes from Bartok’s Rumanian Dances.

30-31 March MSO ArtPlay Ensemble 2015 – directing this ensemble of 28 children and 4 Melbourne Symphony Orchestra musicians to compose and perform an original work inspired by Charles Ives’ Three Places of New England

25 April Treetops Music Camp, with Community Music Victoria

4-5 June ACFID (Australian Council for International Development) university network conference, Monash University

29-30 June MSO ArtPlay Ensemble 2015 – directing this ensemble of 28 children and 4 Melbourne Symphony Orchestra musicians to compose and perform an original work inspired by Copland’s Appalachian Spring

16-22 July Presentation at the International Council of Traditional Music biennial conference, Astana, Kazakhstan

24-25 July Presentation at the 2nd Asia-Pacific Community Music Network conference, Tokyo, Japan.

19 September Jam with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Federation Square, Melbourne. Improvising with themes from Gerhwin’s An American in Paris.

21-22 September MSO ArtPlay Ensemble 2015 – directing this ensemble of 28 children and 4 Melbourne Symphony Orchestra musicians to compose and perform an original work inspired by Saint-Saens’ Symphony No. 3 ‘Organ Symphony’

23-28 October Keynote presentation and community music workshop, Third Community Music Education Summit Forum, Beijing (China Conservatory), China.

29 & 31 October Performances with Avenida Sol (Cuba-inspired Salsa band), The Village Festival, Fitzroy.

3-8 November Keynote presentation and panel discussant, Concerts Norway’s Regional Conference on Music Cooperation, Dhaka, Bangladesh

20-21 November Pecha Kucha (20 x 20) presentation, Regional Seminar on Art and Culture in Peace and reconciliation Processes, Jakarta, Indonesia (organised by the Danish Centre for Culture and Development)

25-27 November Arts Education Forum, Australia Council and Footscray Community Arts Centre, Melbourne.

28 November Performance with Kirtan band, Dance of Life yoga, Melbourne

12 December Performance with Avenida Sol, Rupertswood Mansion

2014

18 January Nests workshops at the Melbourne Recital Centre’s ‘MusicPlay’ festival

1-2 February Open Workshops for young musicians at ArtPlay with musicians from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, as part of the annual MSO ArtPlay Ensemble program.

3-4 February Player training project with Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, developing skills in interactive and collaborative performance projects

8 February ‘Music, war, and community’ – talk at Melbourne Recital Centre, part of the 5th Birthday celebrations

15 February ‘Mambo Jambo’ – – massed music making at the Myer Music Bowl with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. The jam is a pre-concert audience participation event for all ages and abilities, and features graduates of the MSO ArtPlay Ensemble program.

1-2 March Composition project and performance commemorating ArtPlay’s 10th Birthday. With young musicians from the MSO ArtPlay Graduate Ensemble

12-13 March City Beats, 1st workshops, a program for students from disadvantaged schools to compose and perform music on a range of instruments, led by Gillian Howell with musicians from the MSO, at ArtPlay.

13 March Presentation and discussion at ArtPlay Learning Exchange – ‘Blogging as a reflective practice’

20 March PhD Confirmation seminar, Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University

7-8 April MSO ArtPlay Ensemble 2014 – directing this ensemble of 28 children and 4 Melbourne Symphony Orchestra musicians to compose and perform an original work inspired by Rachmaninov’s Symphony No. 2

30 April, 1 May City Beats, 2nd workshops, a program for students from disadvantaged schools to compose and perform music on a range of instruments, led by Gillian Howell with musicians from the MSO, at ArtPlay.

4 May Yumeros Cuban Salsa Band (in which I play soprano sax and sing backing vocals) perform at the Breslin Gallery, Carnegie

18 May – 19 June PhD Fieldwork and Cultural Exchange workshops in Timor-Leste

28 June MSO Jam at Federation Square – all instruments, all ages, all abilities welcome! One-hour jam session with musicians from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and members of the public

30 June – 1 July MSO ArtPlay Ensemble workshops – composing original music inspired by Smetana’s ‘Ma Vlast’.

2-3 July Teaching Artist conference, Brisbane

4 July Nests workshop/performances at ArtPlay

5-6 July ‘Engaging with quality’ – Co-Creative Artist conference at ArtPlay (featuring performances of Nests followed up Q & A with artists)

6-7 August City Beats, 3rd workshops

12 August Presentation and workshop for Catholic Education Office Professional Learning Conference – ‘Playing for our own good: How music-making supports student well-being’

22 August Player training and rehearsals, West Australian Symphony Orchestra

23-24 August Family Jam on Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, and 2 performances of ‘Beethoven’s Big Day Out’, a jamming exploration of Beethoven’s 6th Symphony for under 5s. Guest artist with WASO’s Beethoven Festival 2014.

2-3 October MSO ArtPlay Ensemble – where I lead 28 young musicians, collaborating with 4 MSO musicians, to compose and perform original music

2013

2-3 February Open Workshops for young musicians at ArtPlay with musicians from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, as part of the annual MSO ArtPlay Ensemble program.

8 February ‘Nests’, a theatrical music installation for children aged 3-5 years. ArtPlay, Melbourne.

16 February ‘Gypsy Jam’ – massed music making at the Myer Music Bowl with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. The jam is a pre-concert audience participation event for all ages and abilities, and features graduates of the MSO ArtPlay Ensemble program.

24 February ‘Shala Ensemble’ (performing the music of Kate Adam and featuring Gillian Howell and Tony Hicks in the wind line-up) performing at Big Fun Sunday festival.

13-14 March City Beats, a program for students from disadvantaged schools to compose and perform music on a range of instruments, led by Gillian Howell with musicians from the MSO, at ArtPlay. This workshop will explore ‘Desert Music’.

16 March ‘Nests’, the second phase of this theatrical music installation for children aged 3-5 years created by Gillian Howell, Rebecca Russell and Ken Evans.

8-9 April ‘ Exploring the music of Thomas Ades’, MSO ArtPlay Ensemble, ABC Southbank Centre and ArtPlay.

1-2 May City Beats, a program for students from disadvantaged schools to compose and perform music on a range of instruments, led by Gillian Howell with musicians from the MSO, at ArtPlay. This workshop will explore ‘Rainforest Music’.

10-11 May ‘Nests’, the third and final phase of this theatrical music installation for children aged 3-5 years at ArtPlay. ‘Nests’ was funded through the ArtPlay/City of Melbourne ‘New Ideas Lab’ initiative and has been developed for further touring throughout Australia and beyond.

1-27 June Artist Residency (Gillian Howell and Tony Hicks) in Broome, Western Australia and remote communities in the Dampier Peninsula, presented by Tura New Music

29 June Family Jam with Gillian Howell and musicians from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. BMW Edge, Federation Square, 10am and 11.30am. Free to participate, registrations essential.

1-2 July ‘Exploring Stravinsky’s Petroushka’, MSO ArtPlay Ensemble, ABC Southbank Centre and ArtPlay.

4 July ‘Wet Watery Soundworld’ – a workshop exploring sounds created by and inspired by water. Roola Boola Children’s Festival, City of Stonnington, Melbourne.

5 July ‘Nests’, Roola Boola Children’s Festival, City of Stonnington, Melbourne

9-10 August MSO ArtPlay Ensemble performance as part of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s Stravinsky Festival, Hamer Hall, the Arts Centre Melbourne.

21-22 August City Beats, a program for students from disadvantaged schools to compose and perform music on a range of instruments, led by Gillian Howell with musicians from the MSO, at ArtPlay. This workshop will explore ‘City-scape – the beats of the city’.

22 September ‘Jump on the Bandwagon’ – a music jam for families, ArtPlay.

26-27 September ‘Hidden Music’, music creation and performance installations created by young players aged 9-13. Created and directed by Gillian Howell.

30 Sept-1 October ‘Reimagining Beethoven’s First Symphony’, MSO ArtPlay Ensemble, ABC Southbank Centre and ArtPlay.

18 October Guest speaker, ‘Music in response to war’, Scotch College Music Auxiliary Gala Lunch.

25 October Presenter, Music Learning Live Singapore – fringe event, Yong Siew Toh Conservatorium, Singapore

27 October – 15 November PhD fieldwork, Bosnia-Herzegovina

30 November ‘Music Construction Site’ – creative music workshops with a composition and graphic score focus, ArtPlay

22 December Annual carol-singing party with friends and family

2012

4-6 January Cultural Diversity in Music Education conference, presenting the paper “The practitioner as foreigner: Challenges and dilemmas in cross-cultural music projects”, Singapore

18 February MSO Jam at the Myer Music Bowl – leading the audience in music-making and improvisation on Mexican themes and Copland’s El Salon Mexico

25-26 February MSO/ArtPlay Open Workshops – free composing workshops for young musicians aged 9-13 years

8 March Presentation “Inspiring young people at ArtPlay”, for the ArtPlay Learning program

14-15 March City Beats – workshops at ArtPlay with students from four Melbourne schools, creating music inspired by the idea of ‘Earth’

2-3 April ‘Inspired by… John Cage’ – 2-day composing project with the 2012 MSO Artplay Ensemble.

5 April Music Construction Site – composition workshops exploring graphic scores, found sounds, exotice percussion, and musical structures. At ArtPlay, 5-8 year olds and 9-12 year olds.

5 May Director, performance by 2012 MSO ArtPlay Ensemble, part of the Metropolis Festival of New Music, Melbourne Recital Centre

9-10 May City Beats – workshops at ArtPlay with students from four Melbourne schools, creating music inspired by the idea of ‘Water’, and exploring resonant sounds and graphic scores.

15-18 May Devisor and leader of Community component of The Reef Project, Australian Chamber Orchestra. Carnarvon, Western Australia, composing music inspired by Gnaraloo Reef and the ACO’s Reef Residency.

23 May, Presenter, “Dancing the Alphabet”, 2 x 1-hour performance events presented by The Song Room at Federation Square for Education Week and the National Year of Reading. 300 children creating and performing original ‘alphabet dances’!

1 June ‘Culture Jamming’ – Artist-in-residence project (Fridays in terms 2, 3 and 4), Elsternwick Primary School, creating music inspired by Mandarin language and culture.

2 June Leader, With One Voice – opening event for the Melbourne International Jazz Festival, with artists Katie Noonan, Lamine Sonko, Lisa Young and the SKIN choir.

3 June radio feature, Music Makers, ABC Classic FM, 1205pm

13 June, Presenter ‘Amanaska’ professional learning event, Musica Viva in Schools

17 June, New Music Express – the second in my 2012 workshop series at ArtPlay. Composition workshops for children that transform stories into music.

2-3 July ‘Inspired by… Resphighi’. 2-day composition project with the MSO ArtPlay Ensemble, creating music inspired by Resphighi’s The Pines of Rome.

9-13 July, Community Music Activity Commission conference, Corfu, presenting the paper “Outside in: Finding my musical community in rural East Timor”

15-20 July, International Society of Music Educators World Conference, Thessaloniki, Greece. Presenting the paper “The Right to Play: A children’s composition project in Timor-Leste (East Timor)”, and chairing/participating in the symposium “Sound beginnings, strong connections: Music in the lives of young refugees and immigrants”

5-6 September ‘City Beats’ – workshops at ArtPlay with students from four Melbourne schools, creating music inspired by the idea of ‘Air’

9 September, Workshops for community members, in preparation for the Manningham Civic Square (MC²) Community Jam

12 September, Workshops for community members, in preparation for the Manningham Civic Square (MC²) Community Jam

16 September, The Manningham Community Jam, celebrating the opening of Manningham Civic Square (MC²)

24-25 September ‘Inspired by …Tchaikovsky’. 2-day composition project with the 2012 MSO ArtPlay Ensemble, creating music inspired by Tchaikovsky’s 6^th Symphony.

28-30 September ‘Instant Orchestra’ with Martin Brunsden (Ireland). Workshops for children and adults using angklungs, part of the Arts Centre Melbourne’s school holiday program.

5 October ‘Hidden Music’. The third in my 2012 series of workshops at ArtPlay, this workshop will take inspiration from the ArtPlay building and surroundings to create a site-specific music performance. For children aged 9-12 years.

11 November ‘Jump on the Bandwagon’ – music-making and jamming for the whole family at ArtPlay, and the fourth event in my 2012 workshop series at ArtPlay. A team of 8 musicians will help make this event the largest gathering of music-makers and instruments ever seen or heard in ArtPlay.

14-15 November ‘City Beats’- workshops at ArtPlay with students from four Melbourne schools, creating music inspired by the idea of ‘Fire’. This is the final ArtPlay workshop for the 2012 City Beats series and will be followed by in-school performances by the students to their peers.

16 November ‘Culture Jamming’ – the final day of my artist residency at Elsternwick Primary School and the day we launch our recorded music outcomes.

2 December ‘Musicians’ Toolkit’. First of a series of this workshop program featuring musicians from the Australian Art Orchestra, sharing secrets and tricks of the improvisation trade. Hosted by the State Library of Victoria.

3-4 December ‘BandCamp’. 2-day composition project with musicians from the Australian Art Orchestra with students from Melbourne secondary schools. Hosted by Wesley College.

7-8 December ‘BandCamp’. 2-day composition project with musicians from the Australian Art Orchestra with students from Melbourne secondary schools. Hosted by Macleod College.

9 December ‘Musicians’ Toolkit’. First of a series of this workshop program featuring musicians from the Australian Art Orchestra, sharing secrets and tricks of the improvisation trade. Hosted by the State Library of Victoria.

19-21 December ‘Nests – creative development’. Intensive creative development phase of the Nests music installation, starting at ArtPlay in February 2013.