This NAIDOC week, it's been a pleasure and privilege to witness First Nations artists gather to share songs and stories, as it is any other time of the year.
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As I'm about to visit Hong Kong for the first time since 2013 and will be presenting at a forum hosted by the Centre for Community Cultural Development, I've taken the opportunity to learn how to give an Acknowledgement of Country in Cantonese.

I was born in Hong Kong and migrated to Australia with my family when I was three years old. Despite speaking Cantonese with my parents at home and attending many years of Chinese school on weekends (both in Cantonese and Mandarin), my Cantonese speaking skills are semi-fluent at best, and my reading and writing skills very limited.

Luckily, I was able to draw on SBS Australia's "Acknowledgement of Country in your language" resource, where you can read and listen to examples of an Acknowledgement of Country in over forty languages. The Cantonese words are unfamiliar to me and I stumbled over them a lot at first, but it's getting smoother as I practice. Seeing the amazing work being done around the country to preserve and revitalise Indigenous languages is a daily reminder that being multilingual is a gift, not to be taken for granted.

On that note, I'd like to recommend an album that's been on repeat for me since it came out last month: Dobby's "Warrangu; River Story". It's an incredible piece of music and creative documentation of cultural knowledge that's a joy to listen to - give it a spin.

It's been a little while since I've taken to the skies internationally, so I'm thrilled to be heading to Tampere, Finland to present at the International Society of Music Education (ISME) Community Music Activity Pre-Conference Seminar.

On the way, I'll be stopping over in Hong Kong (my first visit since 2013!) and giving a performance/presentation as part of a forum hosted by the Centre For Community Cultural Development.

Due to the place-based and community-centred nature of the research I've been doing with the Creative Change Project, I've been working and thinking in very locally-embedded ways over the last year and a half. So it's an exciting challenge, working out how to share this work in an international context, and thinking about its broader implications for sustainability in community music practice.

I also can't wait to listen and learn with all of the amazing musicians, educators and community music facilitators I'm going to meet on this trip!

Recently, I released Songs For A Sleeping Dragon, a little collection of lullabies. It's the Year of the Dragon, and my sister is about have a baby - naturally, this Dragon auntie feels that it's her duty to weave some songs of love and comfort around the mother and child.

Selecting other lullabies to include was relatively easy. Our dad used to sing Teresa Teng's classic "The Moon Represents My Heart" (月亮代表我的心) to us when we were little, so I had to get him to join me in the studio to sing it as a duet with me. "Bright Moon" (​月​光​光​) is a traditional Cantonese folk song that uses 蝦仔 (little prawn/shrimp) as a term of endearment for a small child, evoking family life in a fishing village. My sister and I went through a big Beatles phase and used to sing their songs together in harmony constantly, so "I've Just Seen A Face" seemed like a surprisingly apt song to turn into a lullaby, and I was introduced to Mark Seymour's gorgeous tune "The Whole World Is Dreaming" last year while playing with some local musos in Charleville.

Of course, in the end, violin still featured in the instrumental verses - but I also snuck in a bit of viola, and even an autoharp that I was generously gifted by George Balsillie, an avid Carter Family fan and stalwart of the Charleville & District Historical Society. All of these "facets of Flora" were beautifully captured by Daniel Kassulke at Gasworks Recording Studio, for whose infinite patience and wisdom I am eternally grateful.

​I turned to my dear friend Momo Sugimoto for the EP artwork - she captured the warm and whimsical nature of the release perfectly with her beautiful illustration.

I hope you and any small humans you might have your life enjoy the EP - you can find it on Bandcamp here, or stream it in all the usual places. If you do choose to purchase it on Bandcamp, all proceeds will be donated to Sisters Inside, an organisation based in Magand-jin/Brisbane, Australia that supports criminalised women and girls, and their children, both inside and outside prison.

My debut EP Geburtstag is out today through Corella Records!

This digital release is the recording of the four works that I commissioned in 2019 to celebrate my Helge Grawert violin's tenth birthday. It features:

​Chris Perren : Escapement for violin and mechanical metronome (ft. Jodie Rottle)
Connor D'Netto : actually untitled (sonata no. 2 for solo violin)
Kezia Yap : conversation in the mountain for violin and electronics
MJ O'Neill : Heroes (Movements I & II) for looping violin and tape

A huge thank you to:

• Helge Grawert, for making the wonderful instrument that has been part of my music-making for almost thirteen years now;
• the composers Chris Perren, Connor D'Netto, Kezia Yap and MJ O'Neill for writing such uniquely beautiful works that have challenged me to extend my musicianship in new ways;
• Jodie Rottle for being the wonderful metronomist for Escapement;
• Chris Perren and his students at the University of Queensland School of Music for working on the recording and release;
• Chris Perren and Connor D'Netto for editing;
• Chris Perren for mixing;
• Lawrence English at Negative Space for mastering;
• George Levi for creating the amazing artwork for the single and EP;
• Todd Reynolds, Phoebe Bognár and Connor D'Netto for their invaluable artistic and technical expertise during the development of the works and their performance;
• Ilja Grawert, Simply For Strings, Leatherwood Bespoke Rosin for their support of the Geburtstag project; and
• All of the donors who supported the Geburtstag project through the Australian Cultural Fund campaign for making the commissioning of these works possible.

Listen and purchase on Bandcamp, or find it on your preferred streaming service here.

The video premiere of "Escapement" is now live at CutCommon!

I spoke to their editor Steph about the piece, how it came about, and the upcoming EP.

Read the interview and watch the full video of Jodie Rottle and I performing Chris Perren's "Escapement", beautifully captured by Tangible Media, here.

.My debut single is now available!

"Escapement" is a duet for violin and metronome by my good friend and frequent collaborator Chris Perren. It's a playful piece that takes a common practice tool and nudges it into the spotlight as an instrument, and it was a delight to be able to perform and record it with the wonderful Jodie Rottle.

It's one of four pieces that I commissioned in 2019 as part of my project "Geburstag" to celebrate ten years of making music with my Helge Grawert violin. The full EP comes out on June 10!

You can listen and purchase the single here on Bandcamp, as well as preorder the "Geburtstag" EP.
​You can also stream it on Spotify, Tidal and Apple Music.

I recently wrote a short reflection on the theme of visibility/invisibility for Griffith Asia Insights in response to the All A Part  Symposium in celebration of the 10th Asia Pacific Triennial (APT10) at QAGOMA.

In it, I reflected on a personal experience of feeling invisible, and some of the broader implications of being visible or invisible within institutions or to society at large.

​You can read it here - I'd love to know if you've had similar experiences or thoughts!

I'm delighted to announce that I'll be releasing my debut EP "Geburtstag" through Corella Recordings next month!

It will feature the four works for violin by Chris Perren, Connor D'Netto, Kezia Yap and MJ O'Neill that I commissioned in 2019 as part of my project "Geburtstag", in celebration of ten years of making music together with my Helge Grawert instrument.

Corella Recordings is the University of Queensland School of Music's new record label, and I'm delighted for my EP to be their first release.

We'll be releasing the recording of Chris Perren's "Escapement", a duet for violin and metronome, as a single on May 27!