Crossing Roper Bar (Goolwa, SA)

Fri 16-03-12, 6:00pm

Australian Art Orchestra and Ngukurr Arts in conjunction with the exhibition WATA (wind).

Video of the first recordings of the Crossing Roper Bar, shot during performance takes at Allan Eaton Studio in 2009, can be viewed here.

Crossing Roper Bar is an electrifying marriage of the very old with the very new; a celebration of country and ceremony which aims, through music, to build enduring bridges across culture, time and space.

The manikay (song cycles) of South-East Arnhem Land belong to the oldest continuously practiced culture on Earth. The manikay, Wild Blackfella, tells of an ancient journey and the naming of things. In response to the performance of Wild Blackfella by the Young Wagilaks, the Australian Art Orchestra (AAO) provides a soundscape cast in the language of improvisation and informed by six years of close collaboration.

Whether performing its take on Bach in the concert halls of Europe, hitting the boards with Paul Kelly in Adelaide, or playing with South Indian Carnatic masters in India, the AAO brings to each of its projects a level of skill and inspiration which has marked it out as a leader in new Australian music.

The Young Wagilak members from Ngukurr are leaders and pioneers in their own right, who have overcome many barriers in order to work with the AAO. Ngukurr sits on the Roper River, a magnificent waterway flowing from Mataranka, 100km south of Katherine, out across the land of the Manggarayi and Yungman people. Before it reaches the Gulf of Carpentaria it passes Ngukurr, which is isolated by the Wet each year from November to April when the Roper engulfs all but the highest land.

Benjamin, Daniel and David Wilfred come to Crossing Roper Bar from a background of serving as the main song men in Ngukurr where they are constantly engaged in conducting ceremonial activities for the community.

Photo: Tobias Titz

Date: Friday 16 March, 6pm

Venue: Signal Point, Goolwa, South Australia

Duration: 90 minutes

Bookings: no bookings required