Sydney Conservatorium of Music to light up for VIVID
PRESS RELEASE:
For the first time during Vivid Sydney, the iconic ‘music castle’ nestled on the edge of the Royal Botanic Garden, the Sydney Conservatorium of Music (the Con) will be a beacon of both spectacular light and live music as part of the opening weekend of Vivid Sydney, the world’s largest festival of light, music and ideas.
From a wind symphony concert, Symphonies of Gaia, to a new music festival, Sound Gardens, the Con will stage live music across the first weekend of Vivid Sydney on 28 and 29 May 2016.
The University of Sydney’s Dr Damien Ricketson, Chair of Composition and Music Technology and co-director of Sound Gardens at the Con said, “It will be a weekend music marathon that extends from popular, classical works in a Saturday night concert to jazz, electronic and experimental music in a Sunday afternoon festival.
“Festival goers will see the breadth and depth of music and musicians coming out of the Con today. We will surprise and inspire visitors with what they see and hear!”
Vivid Music Curator, Stephen Ferris said, “Vivid Sydney is the perfect platform to showcase and celebrate the diversity of music talent this city has to offer. The Con plays an important role in fostering the rising stars of Australian music and I can’t wait for visitors and Sydney-siders to be able to come together for this special weekend of inspiring performances at one of our cities most iconic venues.”
To launch the Vivid celebrations at the Con, the façade of the 100-year-old landmark building with its castle-like turrets, will be illuminated in a wash of colour by TransGrid, lighting for three evenings from Friday 27 May to Sunday 29 May.
TransGrid Group Manager, Stakeholder Engagement Katy Hannouch said the company’s focus on innovation to drive efficiencies makes collaboration with Vivid Sydney a natural fit for the NSW based electricity infrastructure provider.
“Vivid’s lights paint Sydney in many colours and our support is focused on helping them all stay green. We’re delighted to be a Vivid Sydney Collaborator and to shine a light and bring Vivid colour to the façade of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music during opening weekend.”
Guest artists, lecturers and emerging musicians from the University of Sydney’s music school will form the unique line-up of music talent performing live over the weekend.
On Saturday night, the Sydney University Wind Orchestra will present Symphonies of Gaia, conducted by Dr Steven Capaldo. From Raider’s March (John Williams), the famous theme song of Raiders of the Lost Ark, to a major finale work Symphonies of Gaia (Jayce John Ogren), the concert program is a diverse repertoire of modern symphonic wind band music for all tastes.
On Sunday afternoon a one-day, new music festival Sound Gardens curated by the Con’s Damien Ricketson, Craig Scott and Clint Bracknell, will be held across multiple venues at the Con.
In a genre-bending mash of vibrant new music and talented musicians from the Con’s composition, jazz and contemporary music tertiary courses will perform a series of live music sets that will run into the evening.
Headlining the festival are guest artists Natasha Anderson who is the recipient of this year’s Peggy Glanville Hicks residency, the exploratory Anthony Pateras and bassist Clayton Thomas, along with well-noted musicians and Con lecturers Phil Slater and Simon Barker. They are joined by rock music group Secret Suburbs and other musician groups that are emerging from the Con.
Pendulum, an interactive installation made of glass jars and bells that trigger an electroacoustic soundscape, and a performance by student Mimi Kind with her self-made instrument, the Rhythm Machine, will produce new experimental sounds at Sound Gardens.
For further details on the artists and music program at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music visit www.vividsydney.com
Event details:
What: Vivid Music at the Con – Symphonies of Gaia (Sydney University Wind Orchestra) and Sound Gardens new music festival Where: Sydney Conservatorium of Music, 1 Conservatorium Rd, Sydney NSW 2000
When: Saturday 28 May (7.30pm) and Sunday 29 May (from 3pm)