Program

KEY: formative experiences for young musicians

About the program

The Signal Art Ensemble is a performing and composing project for young people aged 13 to 18, funded by the City of Melbourne. It is based at SIGNAL – Melbourne’s newest arts space for young people right by Flinders St station – and is made up of 15 young musicians working alongside two musicians from the AAO, and directed by Gillian Howell. Each workshop project takes place during the school holidays and is linked to a particular AAO concert. The Ensemble develops its own compositions by taking inspiration and starting points from AAO repertoire in these linked concerts, and then attends rehearsals and concerts to hear how the original works sound in performance.

AAO double bassist Philip Rex with participants Angus and Patrick during the April workshops

So far the Signal Art Ensemble (SAE) has convened five times – we had two days of workshops in April, followed by our performance as part of the Melbourne International Jazz Festival in May; members observed the AAO’s first rehearsal for the Prince of Darkness concert and attended the concert in the Melbourne Town Hall, accompanied by family members; and most recently, members observed the final dress rehearsal of Meet Me In The Middle of the Air, at the Hamer Hall. Members of the Signal Art Ensemble were also invited to take on the role of Musician-Stewards in The Big Jam, the large-scale jam session in Federation Square that opened this year’s Melbourne International Jazz Festival.

AAO clarinettist and wind player Tony Hicks conducting the ensemble during the April workshops

Ensemble Director Gillian Howell

Gillian Howell is a Melbourne-based musician and director of music collaborations and compositions, who works with groups to devise and perform original music. Her collaborative projects take place in many diverse settings – from arts organisations to schools, community groups and even prisons – and create unique performance pieces, installations and experiences. Gillian is much in demand by arts organisations throughout Australia, including the Melbourne Symphony and Australia Chamber Orchestras, the Song Room, and Musica Viva, for whom she directs composition projects and leads training courses for teachers and musicians. She is a member of the teaching staff at the University of Melbourne’s Graduate School of Education in the Artistic and Creative Education cluster.

The Signal Art Ensemble is supported by a grant from the City of Melbourne’s Arts Grants Program

Press for KEY: formative experiences for young musicians

Some feedback from parents and participants