International artists in residence Jim Denley, Amanda Stewart and Nick Ashwood (180º) introduce the techniques and methods of large ensemble improvising employed by the Splinter Orchestra (Sydney).
The workshop is open to musicians and audiences who are invited to bring instruments and sound-makers.
Koha is appreciated for participation.
7.00PM – 10.00PM
180º
Jim Denley is one of Australia’s foremost improvisers of new music, known for his improvisations on wind instruments and electronics. He is a founding member of the Sydney based improvisation collectives the NowNow and Splinter Orchestra.
Jim has performed in Australia, Europe, Japan and the US with artists such as Chris Abrahams, Clare Cooper, Keith Rowe, Joel Stern, Robbie Avenaim, Jon Rose, John Butcher, Otomo Yoshihide, Fred Frith, Phil Niblock, Trey Spruance, Clayton Thomas, Tess de Quincy, Axel Dörner, Adam Sussman, Ami Yoshida, Oren Ambarchi, Tony Buck, Ikue Mori, Sachiko M, Malcolm Goldstein, and Annette Krebs.
Amanda Stewart is a vocal artist and a poet. She has developed a unique approach to composition, improvisation and extended vocal technique where philosophical and linguistic analyses are incorporated within music, body and voice. Over the years she has created a diversity of compositions, publications and performances in Australia, Europe, Japan and the US.
Stewart has performed her solo works at numerous festivals and events including the NOW now Festival, Sydney, National Festival of Women’s Music, Canberra, Inland, Melbourne, Totally Huge Music Festival, Perth, Weltklang, Berlin, Ars Electronica, Linz, the Geneva Festival, Steim, Amsterdam, Proposta, Barcelona, Ensci, Paris, Experimental Music Festival, Copenhagen, Hermit Festival, Plasy, Logos, Ghent, So Ho Festival, NYC and the Tokyo Sound Poetry Festival.
Nick Ashwood is an Australian guitarist living in Hobart, Tasmania.
Nick works in the field of experimental, improvised and composed music. His main focuses over the past three years have been exploring and utilizing the acoustic possibilities of the steel string acoustic guitar. Developing a set of techniques that draw on the history of the prepared guitar. Nick is expanding on this language by bring his own individualized approaches using methods of just intonation, preparations, bows and precession.
Currently Nick is working with number of groups and composers that include; Laura Altman, Jim Denley, Catherine Lamb, Clara de Asis, Robbie Avenaim, Dale Gorfinkel, Amanda Stewart, Splinter orchestra and Fredrik Rasten.
The Splinter Orchestra, formed around 2002, is a Sydney based large-scale ensemble, consisting of a fluctuating number of members with various backgrounds: improvisation, jazz, classical, electronic, electro-acoustic, sound art, visual art, and environmental sound, acoustic ecology and field recording. Some members are highly skilled instrumentalists, others are conceptual thinkers playing a just found object for the first time. Despite its size (which can be 30+) the Splinter Orchestra usually hovers around minimalism and the ensemble is based on a social, democratic, gender equal, and non-egotistical view towards cooperation via improvisation, conceptual ideas and site-specific conditions. Splinter Orchestra’s primary ethics are innovation, exploration and co-creation. The nature and structure of the ensemble, as a large scale improvising orchestra, is progressive and experimental.
Websites:
https://splitrec.com
https://www.splinterorchestra.com
Jim Denley – http://www.rainerlinz.net/NMA/22CAC/denley.html