In 2019, Brisbane-based violinist Flora Wong celebrated ten years of making music with her bespoke instrument with Geburtstag, a project that saw the creation of four new Australian works for violin that expand the vocabulary of contemporary violin performance practice.
Handcrafted by master violinmaker Helge Grawert in 2009, Flora’s instrument has been her constant companion through countless practice sessions, rehearsals and performances, travelling with her to stages as varied as the Sydney Opera House, Brisbane’s iconic Tivoli theatre, and the piazza of a tiny hilltop town in Perugia, Italy.
Geburtstag celebrated this unique instrument’s tenth birthday by building on the rich history of violin music and exploring the possibilities of contemporary violin performance, both as a solo acoustic instrument and in combination with modern technology. Over four months, Flora worked collaboratively with four Australian composers to create the following works:
Connor D'Netto : actually untitled (Sonata No. 2) for solo violin
MJ O'Neill : Heroes (Movements I & II) for looping violin and tape
Chris Perren : Escapement for violin and mechanical metronome
Kezia Yap : conversation in the mountain for violin and electronics
The four works were composed and workshopped from July to September 2019, and brought to Brisbane audiences in an intimate concert setting in on Sunday 27 October at Dots+Loops Presents: Flora Wong and Kieran Welch. The works were recorded in 2021 in partnership with the University of Queensland School of Music, and will be released as an EP in mid-2022.
Geburtstag was supported by Creative Partnerships Australia through the Australian Cultural Fund.
Flora thanks three local Australian music businesses for their generous support of this project, ensuring that she works with tools of the highest quality:
Ilja Grawert - Violinmaker
Leatherwood Bespoke Rosin
Simply For Strings
Geburtstag celebrated this unique instrument’s tenth birthday by building on the rich history of violin music and exploring the possibilities of contemporary violin performance, both as a solo acoustic instrument and in combination with modern technology. Over four months, Flora worked collaboratively with four Australian composers to create the following works:
Connor D'Netto : actually untitled (Sonata No. 2) for solo violin
MJ O'Neill : Heroes (Movements I & II) for looping violin and tape
Chris Perren : Escapement for violin and mechanical metronome
Kezia Yap : conversation in the mountain for violin and electronics
The four works were composed and workshopped from July to September 2019, and brought to Brisbane audiences in an intimate concert setting in on Sunday 27 October at Dots+Loops Presents: Flora Wong and Kieran Welch. The works were recorded in 2021 in partnership with the University of Queensland School of Music, and will be released as an EP in mid-2022.
Geburtstag was supported by Creative Partnerships Australia through the Australian Cultural Fund.
Flora thanks three local Australian music businesses for their generous support of this project, ensuring that she works with tools of the highest quality:
Ilja Grawert - Violinmaker
Leatherwood Bespoke Rosin
Simply For Strings
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Chris Perren (Brisbane)
Chris Perren is an Australian composer and video artist whose projects include the math-rock group Mr. Maps, the indie-chamber group Nonsemble, and electronic outfit Software of Seagulls. Chris is known for his experimental audiovisual works, which have been presented at the International Computer Music Conference, New York’s MATA Festival, Montana State University, 2high Festival, and Sonic State Festival. Chris’s music spans contemporary chamber music, avant-pop, and experimental electronica, and has been featured by WNYC's New Sounds and I Care If You Listen. |
Kezia Yap (Sydney/Japan)
Kezia Yap is an Australian, Tokyo-based composer who specialises in acoustic chamber, and mixed music, a medium combining live acoustic instrumental performance with electronic elements. Her music aims to combine a sense of energy and organic interaction between the sound, space, performers and audience. She has been commissioned by artists including Penrith Symphony Orchestra, six-four, Dan Thorpe and Richard Narroway, and taken part in New Music festivals and residencies around the world including Connecticut Summerfest, New Music Festival - ATM in Seoul, the Madeira Residency and June in Buffalo. |
Connor D'Netto (Brisbane/UK)
Connor D'Netto is a composer of contemporary classical music who balances driving rhythmic elements, lyrical expression, and a lushly textural approach to orchestration, combined with contemporary performance practices and the delicate incorporation of electronic music elements. Connor’s music has been commissioned and performed across Australia and abroad by ensembles such the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the Australian String Quartet, Bang On A Can and the Mivos Quartet, and performers including Katie Noonan, Karin Schaupp and Claire Edwardes. |
MJ O'Neill (Brisbane)
A composer, musician, sound artist and writer based in Brisbane, Australia, MJ O’Neill mines the complementary strains of post-punk, ancient Irish song traditions and 20th century plunderphonics to create works that are chaotic, poetic and political. Her work has been showcased by the Brisbane Festival, ABC Radio and Crack Theatre Festival. |