2014 Artists
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Adam Simmons Adam is a sought after woodwind multi-instrumentalist, Well known for creating the Adam Simmons Toy Band, he is currently performing with Nick Tsiavos Ensemble, BOLT Ensemble, The Pearly Shells, Collider and Origami and has worked with international and major artists such as Ernest Ranglin, Nigel Kennedy, Peter Brotzmann, Odean Pope, The Mavis’s, You Am I, Spiderbait, Australian Art Orchestra, Kutcha Edwards, Legends of Motorsport & Gotye. |
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Alessandra Garosi Italian born Alessandra Garosi is known for her versatility as a contemporary pianist. Despite her classical training, Alessandra has always been interested in popular, folk and crossover music. She has performed at numerous international festivals as a soloist and as part of Harmonia Ensemble, one of the first Italian crossover chamber music groups, performing original music as well as by Frank Zappa and Nino Rota. |
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Al Wunder Al is an untrained musician playing on self-made unique instruments called Hum Drums. For over forty years he has taught a special brand of improvised movement theatre accompanying classes on this unusual instrument. A distinctive percussive style emerged from exclusively relating my music to movement and the spoken word. It is only in the past few years that he now jams with other musicians, Hum Drumming, telling stories and singing in tongues. |
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Amie Brûlée Amie Brûlée sings French songs and old jazz tunes and any other tunes that take her fancy. With enchanting stories and humorous anecdotes between songs, she takes you on a journey to other places, times and worlds. Her musical adventures and influences range from classical to jazz, cabaret to blues, flamenco to funk (just to name a few), and she loves nothing more than finding a new way to interpret an old song. |
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Andrea Keeble Andrea is a violinist, composer, educator and artist. She has extensive performing and recording experience in orchestral, small ensembles and solo playing of a diverse array of musical genres, touring nationally and internationally. Andrea is a member of Cosmo Cosmolino, Collider, director of Ad Hoc Music Collective and plays with The David Chesworth Ensemble and BOLT Ensemble. She released “Teeter”, a CD of her original compositions (2011). Andrea is a teaching artist with MSO, Monash University and an AMEB examiner. |
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Andrew Ogburn Andrew is a pianist and composer. He has performed across Australia, and on stages in many countries around the world, including at the iconic New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. |
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Ballarat Arts Alive Ballarat Arts Alive (BAA) is a fabulous arts based organisation with a vision to support local artists in Ballarat and surrounding areas. It is a flexible forum for discussion, development and action around arts, helping the arts community in the Ballarat region to collaborate, promote their work and the arts in general to the broader community. |
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Ballarat Centre of Music & the Arts The Ballarat Centre of Music & the Arts BCMA (BCMA) offers tuition in dance, drama and music with over 40 instructors providing a variety of styles and levels of training. |
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Ballarat Symphony Orchestra Mark Shiell – Conductor |
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Ballarat Ukulele Kollective Ballarat Ukulele Kollective is a collection of eager ukulele beginners who have grown into a group that learn, play, travel and gig together. Rehearsing every week with many fun tunes, eager strums and lots of laughter. Founded by Vickie-Maree, who, self taught and eager to play with others started teaching a group of beginners who, up until now, have performed at many gigs including birthday parties, night clubs, cafes, ukulele festivals, brewery’s, RSL’s, retirement villages and more. |
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Besi Kuna Melbourne music collective Gamelan Dan Anda presents Besi Kuna, an ensemble devoted to the rare, antique sounds of Selunding from East Bali. Besi Kuna performs a selection of traditional works, both secular and sacred in origin, learned from Bali Aga musicians in the mountain village of Tenganan. Literally ‘ancient iron’ Besi Kuna uses rhythmic intricacy and complex overtones to conjure sonic imagery through their coordinated hammers. Listen – can you hear the clockwork giant, with wind-chime hair and church-bell feet? |
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Bowlines Bowlines is an improvising violin/viola trio featuring Ernie Gruner, Jenny Thomas and Hope Csutoros (guesting for Heather Stewart). All have experience with string chamber music, jazz and world music. Bowlines was formed in 2012 by Ernie Gruner who is inspired by theatre and dance improvisers, in particular from his 15 years with Melbourne Playback Theatre Company. Also inspired by groups including The Necks, Coolangubra, Kronos Quartet, Turtle Island Quartet, and Born in a Taxi. This is surprising, enchanting, intelligent music. |
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Brian Ritchie Brian Ritchie started his career in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (USA) as the bassist with folk-punk pioneers Violent Femmes, working with them for over 30 years in countless shows. He also studied Japanese shakuhachi (bamboo flute) achieving Shihan (master) status after rigorous training. Ritchie moved to Australia in 2006, and is currently Music Curator at MONA. In this role, he oversees two festivals (MONA FOMA and Synaesthesia) and over one hundred music events on site each year. He is also co-curator of the Forever Now project, which sends music and visuals into outer space. Ritchie’s recent travel includes tours with the Femmes, modern surf-rock band The Break, Rodriguez, and Australian Chamber Orchestra. |
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Carmen Chan 'Do You See What I Hear?' (DYSWIH) is a creative project invented by multidisciplinary artist Carmen Chan. It invites people to undertake artistic activities in a supportive environment. DYSWIH has been featured as an exhibition and residency in Shepparton, as part of Notation21’s European Tour and Symposium in Utrecht, and in collaboration with Hong Kong New Music Ensemble. |
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Christine Tammer Composer/Improviser based in Ballarat, Christine co-facilitates In2it: a gathering of improvisers who perform monthly. |
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Daryl Eastcott Daryl Eastcott has played and taught drums and percussion professionally, in a career that has spanned four decades. He has toured widely and worked with many fine musicians. He has mentored countless young drummers, many of whom have gone on to become professionals in their own right. Daryl has a great passion for music of all kinds. |
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Deborah Kayser Deborah Kayser performs in areas as diverse as ancient Byzantine chant, French and German Baroque song and classical contemporary music, both scored and improvised. Her work has led her to tour both nationally, across Australia and internationally to Europe and Asia. |
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Dure Dara & Ren Walters |
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Ernie Gruner Ernie Gruner is a violinist and fiddler with classical and folk training, who specialises in world, theatre and improvised music. He also performs with recorders, blues harps, mandolin, viola, and percussion. Ernie is Australia’s leading klezmer violinist and teacher, following studies in East Europe and USA. He’s worked as an improvising musician with Melbourne Playback Theatre for 15 years, toured Australia and New Zealand regularly with duo Bohemian Nights, and appeared on “Spicks and Specks” with Jewish and Arabic bands. |
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Flora & Theo Carbo Flora and Theo Carbo, brother and sister aged 17 and 14, are two Jazz instrumentalists and arrangers who use their improvisational skills on the ukulele, saxophones, guitar, flute and trumpet. |
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Geoffrey D'Ombrain Geoffrey d'Ombrain was a pioneer of electronic music in Australia from 1960 onwards and was very active in all manner of experimental music ventures related to the visual and performing arts. Improvisations with the late Peter Clinch were legendary. He was awarded the Spivakovsky prize for composition in 1986. The music course at the former Melbourne State College was inspired by Geoffrey's desire to teach music as a creative contemporary medium. At 83 he is still excited by experimental ideas. |
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George Walpole George is a retired science teacher who has maintained music as a hobby for 55 years. Starting with six years classical training he fell into rock and jazz. Unable to commit to a music group because of teaching commitments he has enjoyed asking performers if they would mind if he played along. Now living in Ballarat, he also sings in a local choir and plays in a ukulele group. |
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Hello Satellites Hello Satellites create both subtle and exciting music. Taking the bare bones of Eva Popov’s strong songwriting and bringing the sound to life with harmonies and thoughtful arrangements the ensemble create unique folk music with pop sensibilities and many layered instrumentation. It’s at times euphoric, melancholic and like the best pop songs, invites you in, taking you with them on a musical journey through joy and pain, sorrow and dreams. |
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Imogen Manins Cellist Imogen Manins is rare amongst players of her instrument. Trained by the great Nelson Cooke she now moves freely from classical repertoire to improvised genres, treating both areas of music-making with wonderful finesse and artistry. She is also a wonderful composer and arranger of music for improvisation, from original works to pieces adapted from some of Australia’s greatest artists, among them Ross Edwards, Nigel Westlake, Michael Atherton. Her duo with pianist Tony Gould invites a diverse range of musicians to perform: Renowned artists including Slava Grigoryan, Riley Lee, Gian Slater, David Griffith, David Jones, Eugene Ughetti, Joe Batrouney and saxophonist Graeme Lyall. |
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Kurbist Gong Band (Perth) The Kurbist Gong Band chimes around improvised polyrhythms and drone, inspired by a bond to Philippino communal ideas of celebration and sacrifice. With an assorted collection of 32 nippled gongs; a traditional stringed instrument called the ‘higalong’ and a cricket bat cello ‘crickello’. You will be transported down a mesmerizing trance journey through moment’s clarity, confusion and cacophony. From Perth Western Australia, they have had recent residencies in Lombok and Singapore. |
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Leah Scholes Leah Scholes is a diverse percussionist who is actively involved in the Australian and international performing arts scene. She is a core member of Speak Percussion, and is Artistic Associate of Barking Spider Visual Theatre. Leah co-founded the percussion duo The Sound Collectors and the theatrical-music duo The Flying Tapirs, and has collaborated with various artists including Chunky Move, Polyglot, Strange Fruit and Graeme Leak. In 2009 Leah was awarded the Keith and Elisabeth Murdoch Traveling Fellowship for study in Switzerland and has also studied in to Senegal. |
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Nick Tsiavos Nick is a bassist and composer whose work operates at the intersections of a number of cultural boundaries: from the mystery and beauty of 6th century Byzantium and the 12th century Medieval West, to the instability and anarchy of the present, he explores the deconstructive moment as Ancient Chant collides with the energies of Modernism, contemporary Minimalism and experimental improvisation. |
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Paul Blizzard Paul knew he wanted to be a sculptor since he was four years old, studying at V.C.A in 1992 started him on that journey. In the 20 years since having graduated Paul has participated in over 35 exhibitions both as a solo artist and in group shows. He has had seven major commissions, many in Melbourne. The 'Fossil Stone' series is situated near Treasury Place. |
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Paul Grabowsky Paul Grabowsky is one of Australia’s most distinguished performing artists – an acclaimed pianist, composer, arranger and conductor. He has composed for over twenty film scores including Innocence, Shiner, Last Orders and most recently, Eye Of Storm, as well as theatre including Love In The Age Of Therapy, and Presidents Land. He is the founder of the Australian Art Orchestra with which he tours internationally, collaborating particularly with traditional and contemporary indigenous performers. He has won numerous awards, including several ARIAs and the Melbourne Prize For Music in 2007. He was Artistic Director of the Queensland Music Festival from 2005-2007 and of the 2010 and 2012 Adelaide Festival. |
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Paul Simmons Paul fell in love with music, and specifically the saxophone, as a child listening to the radio and being exposed to gospel, rock and roll, jazz and blues. He bought my first sax at 18 and is largely self-taught through listening to, and playing with, the greats – Sidney Bechet, Willie Smith, Johnny Hodges, Ben Webster, Gene Ammons, John Coltrane and Phil Woods to name a few. That list continues to grow! |
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Phoebe Green Melbourne-based violist Phoebe Green is passionate about contemporary music and extended techniques, and has a keen interest in early music performance. A member of many contemporary ensembles including Atticus, 6 degrees ensemble, Arcko Symphonic Project, and the Sunwrae Ensemble. Phoebe has also performed with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Dead Horse Band, ChamberMade Opera, OzOpera, AriaCo, 3 Shades Black and Quiver to name a few. She has commissioned several Australian compositions, premiering David Chisholm's "The Arrival" for viola and percussion with Speak Percussion's, Eugene Ughetti. |
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Pugsley Buzzard Pugsley Buzzard is a piano player and singer with a distinctive sound whose music spans the entire spectrum from dark hoodoo blues musings to good time rollicking boogie. Pugsley is a fascinating and versatile songwriter who also enjoys interpreting classic R&B, Jazz and popular tunes giving them his own fresh and unique treatment. Pugsley's playing features Barrelhouse, Boogie, Stride piano stylings dripping with New Orleans funk and tantalizing improvisation, which ranges from delicate and moody to wild and ecstatic. |
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Rod Waterman Rodney Waterman studied recorder with the Dutch virtuoso Kees Boeke in Italy and The Netherlands in the 1980s. His repertoire is eclectic, with a particular interest in improvised and spontaneous music making. He has collaborated with Joe Chindamo (piano), Tony Lewis (percussion) and Riley Lee (shakuhachi). Rodney's CD Água e Vinho, with Melbourne guitarist Doug de Vries, was released internationally on Egberto Gismonti's Carmo (ECM, Germany) label in 2001. Rodney has been a regular performer at the Eltham Jazz Festival. |
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Sarah Curro Besides all the conservative orchestral things one can do as a violinist, Sarah's non-traditional ventures focus on the constant discovery, purchase and promotion of new compositions of every art form but most of all music. Through the fascinating and unique instruments of Melbourne Luthier Paul Davies, her solo series VOLUME, now in its 7th year, showcases these works in thoroughly modern venues to an ever- widening audience. Sarah hopes to continue this emotional and financial commitment to her arts community. |
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Scott McConnachie Scott McConnachie is regarded as one of Australia's most exciting improvising saxophonists. His identifiably personal sound combines elements of the Australian jazz and improvised music sensibilities and western art music traditions with a consistently high level of performance intensity. He has been performing regularly for more than a decade with many of the country's leading improvisers and contemporary classical musicians. |
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Studio Art (BRACE) (Linda Blake) Studio Art and Music Production are two groups of artists with a disability; one focuses on visual expression, the other on sound and performance. |
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Tony Gould Passing through many periods of music in the last 50 years, Tony Gould has developed his own distinctive style, which insists on the primacy of melodic material, the complex and glorious world of harmony and of playing things differently each and every time. |
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Warren Burt Warren Burt attended the State University of New York, Albany (BA, 1971) and the University of California, San Diego, (MA, 1975) before moving to Australia in 1975. In Australia, he has worked in academia (La Trobe University, NSW Conservatorium, Victorian College of the Arts, Australian National University, Victoria University of Technology, Wollongong TAFE), education, and radio (freelance and commissioned productions for ABC and PBAA), and as a composer, filmmaker, video artist, and community arts organizer. Currently teaching at Box Hill Institute in Melbourne. |
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Wayne Parker As well as playing guitar regularly in a wide range of bands including currently Los Locos, Quartet In The Act and The Ballarat Ska Union, Wayne has worked as a sound artist on numerous performance projects. He recalls the great experiences of playing jazz with Peter Blizzard. |
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Whitt Spiderbait guitarist Whitt has only experienced colossal highs in his musical career spanning over 25 years with one of the most prolific bands in Australian history – Spiderbait. While recording the band's current album in Los Angeles (produced by Gotye producer Frank Tetaz) Whitt found himself working in his downtime polishing his singing and songwriting, which resulted in a menagerie of acoustic tracks that are emotionally embellished. The album is a piece of a very personal journey that was influenced by Australian post-punk tycoons The Birthday Party and Rowland S. Howard as well as folk influences such as Bob Dylan and Townes Van Zandt. |