THE BIG BLOWOUT FESTIVAL 2016

MELBOURNE
C O N S E R VAT O R I U M O F M U S I C
THE BIG
BLOWOUT
FESTIVAL
2016
23 - 25 SEPTEMBER 2016
TICKETS: $40 SINGLE DAY / $100 FESTIVAL PASS
MCM.UNIMELB.EDU.AU/BIGBLOWOUT
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MELBOURNE CONSERVATORIUM OF MUSIC
MELBOURNE CONSERVATORIUM OF MUSIC
WELCOME TO THE
FESTIVAL
Welcome to a new chapter in the story
of the Melbourne Conservatorium
of Music (MCM): a weekend festival
celebrating 42 years of creative music
endeavour which started right here in
1974 with the VCA’s music program.
It’s a real thrill for me to be asked to
program this event. As a music student
in Adelaide, the VCA and MCM held an
almost mythical place in my mind: it’s a
place where one doesn’t just study jazz
or classical. My fascination with this
place was stoked even further when I
moved to Melbourne and became part
of the creative music scene.
Melbourne musicians are renowned
for having their own thing, a voice,
something special to offer. Over time I
realised that one of the common factors
to many of these musicians is that they
have “gone through” the programs here.
Now as part of the MCM’s teaching team
I still don’t know exactly what it is we
do here, but maybe that’s how it works
best.
Music is an immersive experience: jump
in and find out what’s right for you. The
right temperature, feel, touch, pressure.
It is my hope that The Big Blowout is an
opportunity for all of us to engage in
the world of music in as many ways as
possible.
You can get into some deep listening
in different performance spaces; Grant
Street Theatre, the jazz club style in
Lionel’s Lounge, and the chance to get
intimate in some very cosy spaces.
Get inside the head of the creative artist
in the “Corridor Conversations” artistled discussions on a range of topics.
Take charge of the music. Direct an
improvising ensemble through the
power of text messaging. Witness how
ideas are translated from words to
sounds and back to ideas.
Be in the band; join the massed
orchestra for the festival closing party.
Many thanks to all involved but extra
kudos to Rob Vincs, James Hutchinson,
Mel Robertson, Leanne Gunnulson and
Susan Bird and her team for actually
making this happen. Ideas are great, but
action is where it’s at.
And above all – enjoy the festival!
Ronny Ferella, Big Blowout Festival
Programmer
PROGRAM
FRIDAY 23 SEPTEMBER
6.00PM
Lionel’s Lounge
FESTIVAL LAUNCH & OPENING
PERFORMANCE
The launch of the Big Blowout festival,
followed by a performance by students
from the MCM.
8.00PM – 9.30PM
Lionel’s Lounge
CHAMBER JAZZ SESSION: CHV, PALAVER,
STEPHEN MAGNUSSON REN WALTERS
DUO
These collaborative sessions feature
three ensembles in an improvised
chamber music style. The three
groups will cross mingle during
the performance to create new,
spontaneous configurations.
Above: CHV
CHV
Ashley Cross – guitar
Rob Vincs – saxophone
Hannes Lackman – drums
CHV formed in 2010 with an intention to
explore improvisation via the use of pre
composed forms and concepts as well
as creating self-organising music where
the form and shape of the music creates
itself in the moment.
Regular member Anita Hustas was
unable to make this festival due to prior
commitments. In order to rigidly adhere
to the band’s name (CHV) the rest of
the ensemble went on a pilgrimage to
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MELBOURNE CONSERVATORIUM OF MUSIC
back catalogue – from crystalline
piano miniatures to barrelhouse
boogie coloured with her signature
“Dylanesque swagger with the
Aussie vernacular” – with long-time
collaborator James Sherlock on guitar.
Above: Stephen Manusson and Ren Walters
Above: Palaver
find another improvising musician with
a surname starting with H. Hannes
Lackmann fitted the description of who
we were looking for, an improvising
musician with a name that started
with H.
PALAVER
Ronny Ferella – drums
Geoff Hughes – guitar
Miroslav Bukovsky – trumpet
Reuben Lewis – trumpet
Palaver aim to discuss, cajole, persuade
and confuse. Palaver improvise a totally
in the moment music, with fearless
intent.
8.00PM – 9.30PM
Lionel’s Lounge
CHAMBER JAZZ SESSION: STEPHEN
MAGNUSSON REN WALTERS DUO
These collaborative sessions feature
three ensembles in an improvised
chamber music style. The three
groups will cross mingle during
the performance to create new,
spontaneous configurations.
3.00PM
POCKET SIZE CONCERT: BELINDA WOODS
Improvising flautist Belinda Woods
explores an array of techniques to
manipulate colour, timbre and texture.
Belinda focuses on breath as the
instigator of sound as she develops
and enhances the acoustic and tonal
properties of her instrument,.
SATURDAY 24 SEPTEMBER
11.00AM – 12.00PM
THE HANG
Open space for refreshments, chats and
listening to recorded music.
12.00pm – 2.00pm
MEET AT GRANT STREET THEATRE
Rehearsal for The Big Blowout
2.00PM
Level 1, Southbank Music Building
POCKET SIZE CONCERT: MONIQUE
DI MATTINA
Singer/songwriter/pianist and radio
personality Monique Di Mattina
performs selections from her extensive
3.00PM
Level 1, Southbank Music Building
POCKET SIZE CONCERT: PHIL BYWATER &
BOB SEDEGREEN DUO
Australian jazz-legend pianist Bob and
swashbuckling saxophonist Phil first
met at the MCM in the mid-1990s.
Sharing a passion for music played from
the heart, they have played together for
some years, but this is an exclusive first
appearance as a duo.
Phil and Bob’s work together includes
performances with Bob Sedergreen and
Friends (Wangaratta and Stonnington
Jazz Festivals), Oynsemble Melbourne,
the Big Blow, Sherriff-Bywater Quintet,
Onomatomania and the Geoff Allan
band.
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MELBOURNE CONSERVATORIUM OF MUSIC
MELBOURNE CONSERVATORIUM OF MUSIC
2.45PM – 3.45PM
Lionel’s Lounge
THE BRIGHT FUTURE: SMALL ENSEMBLE
The first in a series of two concerts
showcasing emerging talent at the
Faculty of VCA & MCM, featuring a
performance by the winner of the 2016
MCM Small Ensemble Competition.
3.00PM – 5.00PM
Staff Lounge
CORRIDOR CONVERSATIONS
Artist led discussions on a diverse range
of subjects
3.00PM Rob Vincs: Encountering
difference in improvised music
performance
4.00PM Ren Walters and Dure Dura:
The relational field
4.00PM
Lionel’s Lounge
ALUMNI CONCERT: GEOFF KLUKE
QUARTET
Geoff Kluke – bass
Dave Rex – alto
Lewis Pierre-Humbert – drums
Peter Petrucci – guitar
A true veteran of the Australian jazz
scene leads his own ensemble. Geoff
Kluke and friends play a combination
Above: Monique DiMattina
of originals and jazz standards, giving
everyone a chance to stretch out.
5.30PM
Lionel’s Lounge
ALUMNI CONCERT: ANDREA KELLER’S
TRANSIENTS IV
Eugene Ball – trumpet
Andrea Keller – piano
Tamara Murphy – double bass
Transients are a series of trios
assembled by Andrea Keller, inspired
by the philosophy and legacy of Allan
Browne. Based on a collective approach
to music making, the trios perform
original compositions, improvisations,
as well as selections from the American
& Australian songbooks.
Above: Alex and Nilusha
7.00PM – 8.15PM
Lionel’s Lounge
ALEX AND NILUSHA
Alex Pertout – percussion
Nilusha Dassenaike – vocals
Alex & Nilusha is an award-winning
collaborative project which embraces an
authentic cross-cultural contemporary
sound created in Australia but informed
by many locations around the globe,
including their profound personal Latin
American and South Asian roots.
Above: Andrea Keller
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MELBOURNE CONSERVATORIUM OF MUSIC
MELBOURNE CONSERVATORIUM OF MUSIC
2.00PM
Level 1, Southbank Music Building
POCKET SIZE CONCERT: NICK HAYWOOD
COLIN HOPKINS DUO
Nick Haywood (bass) and Colin Hopkins
(piano) will play improvisations that
may or may not be based on standard
repertoire. The focus is on musical
dialogue and the conduit for that
dialogue is varied and spontaneous.
Above: Adam Simmons (Under the Thumb)
Above: 30/70 Collective
SUNDAY 25 SEPTEMBER
12.30PM – 1.30PM
THE HANG
Open space for refreshments, chats and
listening to recorded music.
1.30PM – 2.30PM
Grant Street Theatre
UNDER THE THUMB
An audience directed improvisation.
Musicians will be instructed by audience
members through the medium of text
messaging. Follow the text and witness
a new work in action. Come early and
sign up to direct the band.
Adam Simmons – woodwinds
Ben Gillespie – trombone
David Brown – prepared guitar
Jonathan Zion – bass
Leo Kavanagh – drums
For this interactive performance, Adam
Simmons has brought together a group
of highly experienced improvisers with
a variety of connections. Ben Gillespie
(Hoodangers, The Band Who Knew Too
Much) was a fellow student at VCA,
beginning together with Adam in their
first chamber ensemble. David Brown
(bucket rider, Pateras/Baxter/Brown) is
a long-time collaborator in groups such
as Bucketrider, Embers and Crushing
Thatch. Jonathan Zion (Joe Camilleri,
Mr Brown) was also a fellow VCA alum
and Adam’s bass player of choice when
putting a group together. Leo Kavanagh
(The Tiger and Me, Lime Cordiale) is a
recent VCA graduate, with whom Adam
has never played, but they have shared
many cordials, wines and chats, which
is a good start!
2.45PM – 3.45PM
Lionel’s Lounge
THE BRIGHT FUTURE: JAZZ & IMPROV
GUITAR ENSEMBLE
The second of two concerts showcasing
emerging talent from the Faculty of
VCA & MCM, featuring a performance
from the Jazz & Improvisation Guitar
Ensemble led by Geoff Hughes.
2.00PM
Level 1, Southbank Music Building
POCKET SIZE CONCERT: TONY YAP
DANCER
Born in Malaysia, Tony Yap is an
accomplished dancer, director,
choreographer and visual artist.
3.00PM
Level 1, Southbank Music Building
POCKET SIZE CONCERT: 30/70 TRIO
Hip-hop and soul community 30/70
Collective present “the boom-bap
ratio”, featuring members Jarrod Chaser
(keyboard), Ziggy Zeitgeist (drums)
and Henry Hicks (bass) performing a
series of slowed and throwed dankwave
jams from the filthy back catalogue of
smokey beats.
3.00PM
Level 1, Southbank Music Building
POCKET SIZE CONCERT: JEX SAAREHLAT
SOLO PIANO
Jex Saarehlat on jazz and improvisation:
“I love improvising, and I love jazz
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MELBOURNE CONSERVATORIUM OF MUSIC
composition(s), so I expect that’s what
I’ll be doing – playing some pieces by
great jazz composers, plus one or two of
my own for contrast, and having fun at
the piano.”
3.00PM – 5.00PM
Staff Lounge
CORRIDOR CONVERSATIONS
Artist led discussions on a diverse range
of subjects
3.00PM Ren Walters and Dure Dura:
Personal relationships in a life of music
4.00PM Ashley Cross and Ronny Ferella:
On listening
4.00PM
Lionel’s Lounge
ALUMNI CONCERT: SAM KEEVERS TRIO
Sam Keevers – piano
Christopher Hale – bass
Danny Fischer – drums
Above: Sam Keevers
The Sam Keevers Trio perform originals
and standards from the American,
Cuban and Australian songbooks.
5.30PM
Lionel’s Lounge
ALUMNI CONCERT: THE FRAN SWINN TRIO
Fran Swinn – Guitar
Tamara Murphy – Double Bass
Ben Hendry – Drums
Above: Fran Swinn
The Fran Swinn Trio, performing
since 2007, have developed a
unified approach to improvising
and interpreting that defines their
collective sound. Although their roots
are firmly within the jazz tradition, the
trio’s emphasis on a ‘band sound’ is a
testament to their indie rock influences.
Above: Nick Haywood and Colin Hopkins
7.00PM – 9.00PM
Outdoor Courtyard
THE BIG BLOWOUT & FESTIVAL CLOSING
PARTY
The Big Blowout is a massed group
performance featuring Faculty staff,
students and an open invite to anyone
who cares to sing, blow, pluck or bang.
Arranged by Ronny Ferella, it will feature
soloists Geoff Hughes on guitar, Julien
Wilson saxophone and a rhythm section
led by Ryan Menezes on drums.
Featured soloists:
Geoff Hughes – guitar
Julien Wilson – saxophone
Ryan Menezes – rhythm section
Above: Julien Wilson
The Big Blowout Festival is proudly
supported by the Lionel Gell Foundation.
Cover photo by Sav Schulman.
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JOIN US
IN CREATING
A LEGACY
OF MUSIC
The Melbourne Conservatorium of Music aims to attract the finest young
instrumentalists, engage the most inspiring guest artists, offer the best facilities, and
deliver the best professional orchestral training to musicians at the start of their career.
We want to create a legacy of exceptional music for Australia and beyond.
You can help us achieve this goal by making a gift to the MCM Orchestra Fund. Gifts to
the fund support opportunities for our students to work with internationally acclaimed
performers, conductors, and teachers, and build their capacity to work professionally in
orchestras at home and overseas.
We also encourage you to consider supporting our students through a gift in your Will.
Bequests to the MCM Orchestra Fund create a legacy of music by ensuring that future
generations of aspiring musicians will have access to the finest training.
Whether you support our students through a gift today or a bequest in the future, you
will provide vital opportunities and inspiration as they prepare for a career in music.
To make a donation to the MCM Orchestra Fund, visit vca-mcm.unimelb.edu.au/support
or call 03 8344 7681. To learn more about supporting our work through a gift in
your Will, contact Merrilyn Julian, Head of Bequests, on 03 8344 1745
or [email protected].