The SUNDAY SONIX SERIES is a regular gathering and showcase of artists working in improvisation and experimental sound and music, from our region and beyond. It is an opportunity for artists to expand their practice and for audiences to step into the adventure with them.
In April we are excited to share the discoveries made through our Expanding Fields of Practice program. The concert features improvised performance from mentors Gelareh Pour, Aryo Hall, Justin Marshall and Aviva Endean, and participating artists Kirri Büchler, Sally Beattie, Jude Russell and Thea Lang.
EXPANDING FIELDS OF PRACTICE MENTORS:
Gelareh Pour lives in Ballarat on the unceded lands of the Waddawurrung. Iranian born, Persian Kamancheh and Qeychak player, singer, songwriter and Choir director Gelareh Pour, studied her BA at the Art University of Tehran’s conservatorium and her Masters of Ethnomusicology at The University of Melbourne. She has completed her unique academic research on ‘The Lives of Iranian Women Singers in Diaspora’ at MCM in which she introduces the professional aspects of seven selected Iranian female singers’ lives before and after migration.
Aryo Hall lives in Mount Alexander Shire on the unceded lands of the Djaara People. Aryo is an Indonesian/Australian emerging composer, trombone player, trumpet teacher and band manager. He specializes in Jazz, Latin, Balkan Gypsy and Gamelan music and has performed extensively around Australia and Indonesia.
Justin Marshall lives in Mount Alexander Shire on the unceded lands of the Djaara People. He is a multi-instrumentalist, composer and sound producer who has worked extensively in contemporary sound art, popular, and world music. His passion is for creating surprising contexts for people to discover sound and music and to explore the boundaries of musical expression and experience for as diverse an audience as possible.
Aviva Endean is an artist dedicated to fostering a deep engagement with (and care for) sound and music, with the hope that attentive listening can connect people with each other and their environment. She is active as a clarinetist, composer, improviser, curator, sound artist, performance-maker and collaborator.
EXPANDING FIELDS OF PRACTICE PARTICIPATING ARTISTS:
Kirri Büchler: Since the onset of the pandemic, Kirri’s previously low-key experimental sound practice has taken a front seat. As of 2020 she has created sound for such wonderful projects as Museum UNdone and We Pay To Be Where The Party Isn’t with Metanoia, as well as Journey and Quartet with Hypnagogia. Kirri has long been a performing, genre jumping multi-instrumentalist, specialising in violin and double bass, but also plays with piano, synthesizer, accordion and field recordings. Kirri is most frequently sighted on double bass in Vardos Trio, a hardworking band that specialises in traditional Hungarian and Romanian music.
Sally Beattie: Classically trained at the University of Melbourne’s Conservatorium, Sally Beattie started out performing Renaissance and Medieval music in ensembles and later performed in the Melbourne Chorale and Astra Choir. However, she has always been more interested in the fringes of sound and music practice than in her trained field, and vocal experimentation has been a way to conquer the shyness and self-consciousness Sally struggled with in her youth. Sally is delighted to be exploring her voice beyond beauty and to collaborate with other artists whose ears and hearts lead them beyond the ordinary.
Jude Russell enjoyed playing piano at a young age so lessons followed at the age of 10. As a teenager she began playing with bands and went on to do a degree in piano at Melbourne Uni. After hearing Tony Gould play Chick Corea’s “500 miles high” she knew Jazz was her path and began heading in that direction while still completing the degree. While teaching, she did jazz gigs around Melbourne and Central Victoria and had another change of direction when she had the opportunity to play with avant-garde/free improv/sax player Kris Wanders, at a Punctum event at Castlemaine, circa 2010. He invited her to work in the bands he put together in Melbourne which included well-known jazz musicians also wanting to stretch the boundaries.
Thea Lang (she/her) is a vocalist and guitarist who draws inspiration from relationality: the relationships between parts of ourselves, ecosystems, and communities; human and other-than-human. Thea has honed her practice of song-writing through busking, formal performance throughout Victoria, and exploration of the beauty and complexity of place-making as an uninvited guest on sovereign Djaara Country in the context of climate change. After the release of her first single ‘Sea Legs’ earlier this year, Thea is developing her skills in collaborative, improvisational and spontaneous musical experiences. She believes in music as connector, questioner, soother, and bringer of new imaginaries.
