Extending Improvisational Language in Music
Improvisation is music’s interlingua. Beyond cultural difference is the space that musicians occupy in the moment of performance where sound plays with all that is human. The Interlingua Symposium examines improvisation as a tool for the exchange of knowledge and creativity with a wide-variety of musical cultures and unique musical voices in the region, as exemplified by the Australian Art Orchestra’s work over many years with artists from Asia and Arnhem Land.
Through papers, collaborative performances and discussions, the InterlinguaSymposium aims to contribute to an increased understanding of this practice, identifying and considering the wide variety of values, powers, nuances, and challenges that are in play in this practice of bringing together different musical and cultural traditions to create new forms of contemporary music, that reflect the diverse and continuously changing world we all share.
In 2019 the Symposium includes papers and performances by:
Prof. Vanessa Tomlinson (Brisbane) Percussionist, Artistic Director, Composer, Professor Griffith University Conservatorium of Music *
Dr. Hyelim Kim (Seoul/London) taegŭm performer, composer, research fellow at Bath Spa University
Dr. Simon Barker (Sydney) Drummer, Composer, Senior Lecturer in Jazz, SydneyConservatorium of Music
Dr. Sum Suraweera (Colombo) Drummer, Ethnomusicologist, Founder of Music Matters
Panelists will include:
Dr Robert Vincs (Melbourne) - Head of Jazz and Improvisation, University of Melbourne, saxophonist
Dr Peter Knight (Melbourne) - Artistic Director Australian Art Orchestra, composer, trumpeter, sound artist.
Sunny Kim (Seoul/Melbourne) - singer, composer, Lecturer at the University of Melbourne
David and Daniel Wilfred (Ngukurr, Arnhem Land) - traditional songmen and longtime AAO associates.
Pei Ann Yeoh (Kuala Lumpur) Violinist, Lecturer and UiTM Scholar, PhD candidate Kings College, London
Karen Rogers (Ngukurr, Arnhem Land) – visual artist
* Vanessa Tomlinson appears on behalf of Queensland Conservatorium and Griffith University
The Interlingua Symposium is supported by the Australia Council for the Arts and Portland House Foundation.
Interlingua is co-presented by the Australian Art Orchestra and the University of Melbourne Faculty of Jazz and Improvisation.