Background
“… one of Australia’s stand out niche music events”
Minister of Creative Industries, Martin Foley
The Festival of Slow Music is an opportunity to experience music of all genres in intimate spaces and to learn more about the musicians behind the sounds.
The Festival of Slow Music reflects the philosophy of the Slow Food movement but with the focus on the sensation of hearing, with all of the concerts being totally acoustic. The idea of Slow Music is to promote a more direct connection to the musical experience through meeting the musicians, learning about their musical aspirations, listening to natural, unamplified sounds and taking the time to hear a performance in full.
The Festival of Slow Music is about an approach to listening and experiencing music – it is not a description of the music, which will range from slow to fast, soft to loud, beautiful to ugly, old to new. It is not the music that will be slow, but the listening – the audience will be encouraged to slow down and enjoy the experience.
The Festival of Slow Music comes out of the Portraits Concert Series at the Art Gallery of Ballarat, also curated by Adam Simmons over several years, and aims to highlight the region’s rich artistic heritage and the strong contemporary music and arts scene.
The third Festival in 2015 sees the consolidation of a number of events, with the inclusion of new partners such as Ballarat Observatory and Museum Victoria. It is not about a label or genre but rather the experience across the festival period that will develop and define the concept of “slow music”.
“I want to create an annual festival where people can take time to listen and engage with the music and the artists, where new collaborations can grow, and where people will experience the ability that music has to refresh, inspire and astonish.”
Adam Simmons – Artistic Director
Artistic Director
Adam grew up in Ballarat, attending Mt Clear Technical High School, completing a TOP Music course at the School of Mines in 1989, before graduating from Victorian College of the Arts with a Bachelor of Music Performance (Improvisation).As a musician, teacher and visual artist, Adam has more than 20 years of professional experience, leading ensembles, releasing CDs, national and international touring across a wide range of genres and scenes. He has performed with numerous artists including legendary Ballarat bands such as The Boxing Tostados, The Fat Thing, The Dead Salesmen, The Valiants, Quartet in the Act, The Mavis’s and Spontaneous Human Combustion, through to international artists such as Ernest Ranglin, Peter Brotzmann, Nigel Kennedy, Gotye and the Australian Art Orchestra.
As an organiser, Adam has previously been involved with the Melbourne Jazz Fringe Festival, Australian Shakuhachi Society, La Mama Musica and Make It Up Club. He is currently the curator of the Portraits Concert Series at the Ballarat Art Gallery, a quarterly series now in its third year, which has been extended to the Melbourne Recital Centre.
Adam is an advocate for Australian music and strongly believes in the creation, production and promotion of original music. The Festival of Slow Music comes from a desire to create new opportunities to present and listen to the wealth of local and national talent.
FoSM Board
The FoSM board currently are:
Irene Crebbin
John Barnes
David Miller
Vicki Simmons
Adam Simmons