Coady Green, piano
Justin Kenealy, saxophone
Tiriki Onus, narrator
Roger Alsop, sound

This concert features composer and musicologist Professor Linda Kouvaras’ award-winning Herring Island Piano Sonata, for piano, narrator, and recorded sound. The work uses sound design by Dr Roger Alsop, with text by senior Boon Wurrung elder and founder of the Boon Wurrung Foundation, N’arweet Dr Carolyn Briggs AM, to be narrated by Head of the Wilin Centre for Indigenous Arts and Cultural Development, Tiriki Onus. The work evokes landmarks, Indigenous sites, and historical stories from within a 5km radius of the manmade Herring Island in Melbourne’s Yarra River, with N’arweet Dr Briggs’ moving stories providing a central contrapuntal tapestry to the music. The work is supported by the Australian Council of the Arts, City of Melbourne, APRA/Amcos, and Creative Victoria.

The work will be paired with Jane Hammond’s award-winning Songs of the Helmeted Honeyeater for piano, soprano saxophone, film, and narrator. Supported with a major grant by the Australia Council for the Arts, the work tells the story of the plight of Victoria’s critically endangered Helmeted Honeyeater bird, and the work of the local conservationists to save the species. With text by renowned director, writer, and producer Theresa Borg, and a stunning new film by Angus Hamilton.

The concert will feature a special world premiere preview of excerpts from Kouvaras’ new work – a companion piece to the Herring Island Piano Sonata – the Buluwirri Bugaja Piano Suite for piano, recorded sound, film, and narrator. This work, with text by Tiriki Onus and sound by Roger Alsop, evokes stories from Onus’ documentary Ablaze, winner of the Victorian Premiere’s History Award and the ‘Best Human Rights Film’ at the Kiez Berlin Film Festival, centres on the ground-breaking work of Tiriki’s grandfather, the great Indigenous Human Rights activist, Bill Onus.

PROGRAM:

Linda Kouvaras: Herring Island Piano Sonata for piano, recorded sound, and narrator

Interval

Linda Kouvaras: Preview of Buluwirri Bugaja Piano Suite for piano, recorded sound, film, and narrator

Jane Hammond: Songs of the Helmeted Honeyeater for piano, recorded sound, film, and narrator

Supported by a generous grant from City of Melbourne Arts Grants. Also supported by Australia Council, APRA/Amcos, and Creative Melbourne.