Ailan Kores was a jewel in the 2011 Queensland Music Festival program. Producer Erica Hart describes the process of building participation in an event that brought a community choir together on Thursday Island whose passion for singing was felt thousands of kilometres away…
Ailan Kores was recently described as a great success by Critical Mass blogger and community activist Tony Robertson who saw the webcast event at GOMA in July. He said, ‘The technology had its moments, but the warmth and enthusiasm of the people of the Torres Strait Islands was evident in the intimacy we had from great camera shots’. As the producer of the event, I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the commitment, trust and friendship from the community was the keystone of the performance.
As we watched and listened to Ailan Kores unfold on a balmy Sunday this past July on Thursday Island the composer Damian Barbeler and I reflected on the sometimes frustrating and always rewarding journey that brought us an emotionally-charged moment. We almost wept when the Torres Strait Choir rose to their feet and burst into song. The QYO’s strings soared and then the soloists, including Murray Islander Luke Captain joined voices for this memorable and unique concert.
Ailan Kores was a signature event of Queensland Music Festival (QMF) 2011. It was developed over a period of three years beginning with the Black Armband’s Hidden Republic concert in July 2009. QMF made this initial foray to the Torres Strait to introduce ourselves and check for any interested in a concert with community connections. A series of singer-songwriting workshops were held in the months preceding the Hidden Republic. What was identified was a culture with a huge musical capacity grounded in the choral tradition of traditional music and church services.
Artistic Director Deborah Conway was inspired to commission a concert themed around sacred music recognizing that the deeply Christian society had a store of sacred music and hymns – of English tradition but today bearing the stamp of the Torres Strait culture in language and rhythm.
In the first stages consultation was the priority; seeking approval for such a concert and the strategy to build a community choir across a number of Islands in the Torres Strait. It was quickly realised that the cost of inter-island travel influenced the numbers of islands participating so decisions were made to work with the administrative centre and largest population hub, Thursday island and the nearby Horn and Hammond Islands. Then three islands were visited: Erub in the east, Iama in the centre and Mabuiag in the west, representing geographic and language divisions.
With Damian, and first with Deborah, then later with choral director Alison Rogers and Associate Producer Louisa Gordon, I began regular trips to the Torres Strait. We introduced ourselves, talked to singers and performers, in some cases chased them across the Cultural Festival and recorded versions of hymns on my iPhone. We called for singers on each island to join a choir and meet for rehearsals each month. We sent up flyers, were regular visitors to the local radio station 4MW promoting the choral rehearsals and the final concert. We flew from island to island, grueling travel days mixed with wondrous discoveries for us, old English hymns arranged and re-arranged, translated into the languages and dialects of the Torres Strait, and Damian constantly listening, recording and investigating.
Ailan Kores was a long time in development but this was essential to forge the links with the community. Our preparation was layered with consultation: we attended as many church services as we could; we saw many of the performances at the 2010 Coming of the Light; we came along to the Winds of Zenadth Cultural Festival in September 2010 where we saw and heard dancing and singing from all the islands in the Torres Strait; we encouraged people to sing the versions of the hymns under consideration
Trust was an important factor between the choir and musical director Damian and the choral director Alison Rogers. The regular visits, bringing the choir along the journey where they were comfortable with artistic decisions made by Damian and Alison, some of these at odds with the traditional way of singing in the Torres Strait contributed to the final exultant atmosphere of the Ailan Kores concert.
The professional context provided through the musical director, choral director, conductor, Queensland Youth Orchestra and technical team enabled the choir to feel supported when performing for the first time to a home audience and then onto the local radio broadcast and webcast.
Ailan Kores participants were singing in a choir with choristers from a number of islands; many did not have formal musical training. Alison brought a different type of choral training and introduced techniques that were novel and intriguing, introducing choral hand signals and breaking the group into voice types.
From the choir we learnt passion for singing that was separate from performance, knowledge of a culture that is part of Queensland yet little known by the wider population of the state and beyond. From the webcast at GOMA, we learnt that this passion transfers digitally and can be felt by an audience that is thousands of kilometres away. Inclusiveness is an important goal for QMF programs and I hope in the development of this concert we achieved this in some small way.
Erica Hart
Erica Hart has twenty years’ experience in the performing arts as researcher, producer and since 2006 Program Director of the Queensland Music Festival. Erica produced the contemporary music program in the 1998 Brisbane Festival and then managed the music program for the 2000 and 2002 Brisbane Festivals. She was an experienced researcher for the Queensland Performing Arts Centre assisting with the creative development of a range of events.
Image: Luke Captain singing the role of the Evangelist in St John’s Passion. Photo: Erica Hart
Nigel Lavender’s earliest theatre experiences have inspired a life-long interest in how the arts inter-relate with audiences and local communities.
My convictions about the value of engagement go back to my earliest ‘proper’ job in the arts as Assistant Stage Manager at Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Royal Stratford East. Joan’s legacy from the 1950’s, a period that produced Oh! What a Lovely War, lingered on in an East End venue committed to serving and reflecting its local community. It also made first class new plays with new and established writers. Soaking up the atmosphere of a crumbling but beautiful old Victorian theatre, one thing I learned was that for the arts to remain vital and relevant, direct engagement with the audience and the local community, telling stories of relevance and power, is paramount.
This was in the 1980’s, pre-mobile phone, let alone Twitter! What took slightly longer to sink in is that an artificial distinction about who is ‘qualified’ to make art can be disrespectful and alienating, leading to all the wrong kinds of elitism and constricted access.
In an age dominated by global consumerism, mass communication between individuals and general information overload, the arts are more accessible and less elitist than ever before. The blurring of lines between commercial outputs and art for art’s sake demands constant re-interpretation. The ‘pitfalls’ of such a proliferation of activity and consumption are obvious – can we still measure quality and excellence in such a shifting and diverse landscape, where the ‘prosumer’ influences content as much as the producer?
The question is both rhetorical and irrelevant. The process of creating something is now as important as the end-result, and perceptions and prejudices are an indelible part of that experience, whether we are consumers, producers, or occupying the interesting space between.
On his recent visit to Queensland, John Knell identified a distinction between ‘artistic instrumentalism’, valuing excellence and appreciation of performance, and ‘public-good instrumentalism’, focusing on the wide range of positive economic and social outcomes flowing from the arts. These need not be mutually exclusive.
The Queensland Music Festival is driven by people, place, history and environment. Its mission is to produce a festival of international excellence, yet accessible to Queenslanders from all walks of life through the connective thread of music. The telling of Queensland stories is a natural way to engage large numbers of people as both audiences and participants. The resulting projects do not simply offer participation. They also develop skills, engage deeply with communities, reflect place and context, and leave legacies behind.
The nuggets unearthed as part of this process are the talents that sometimes lie buried in each community: the latent or under-used ability to sing, to play an instrument, even to ride a horse as part of a big spectacular with thousands watching. In the making of the events, each community becomes a crucible for combining all these talents, making the whole so much greater than the sum of the parts. The legacy is that people look at themselves and each other in a whole new light, make new connections and think entirely differently about their community.
For example, when the Queensland Music Festival started working with the Australian South Sea Islander community in Bowen in late 2009, it began with a celebration of their rich musical heritage through Bowen Sing Sing, directed by David Bridie. The concert had a ripple effect in the community. It highlighted the wealth of musical talent in the Bowen region. It got people talking. The broader community realised that Australian South Sea Islanders had a significant history in the region, began sharing stories amongst themselves, some that had not been told for generations. Ultimately, it paved the way for Behind The Cane, a major community theatre production involving 180 people. The performance reached across generations and cultures, approaching an often controversial and painful period of shared history through the universal lens of family and relationships. And, naturally, it had its own Facebook page.
I had a fantastic time, these sorts of productions are what I have always wanted to do and be a part of. I have never had the nerves to do it but was glad when I was asked. Thank you, not only for the fantastic story but also for helping my confidence.
Karlee Hannsbergen, Collinsville on Behind The Cane
What an experience! To be chosen to be part of this wonderful production is one of the highlights of my life.
Roger James on Behind The Cane
Paradoxically, this was an idea which did not have a home until we alighted on Bowen after two false starts. There is no guarantee that taking an idea to a community will work; in this case we persevered because the hidden historical story was so significant. Elsewhere in places such as Charleville in far western Queensland, we have gone to communities and asked them about their concerns and priorities. “The future”, replied Mayor Mark O’Brien, and a show was devised for 120 people, with four teenagers playing the leads. Three per cent of the town were in the show and more than 50 per cent came to see it.
Is this a ‘democratic’ process? Yes, in the sense that ultimately the people make the shows; our role is to enable, facilitate, consult, respect, guide… and provide some top class professionals with landing lights. But these are the community’s own stories, and, ultimately, their own productions.
Artistic leadership demands vision, belief and bravery, as well as a willingness to listen. Deborah Conway’s concepts as Artistic Director to make shows in Bowen, Charleville and elsewhere fitted in well with the festival’s vision, which is to transform lives through unforgettable musical experiences. Consequently we were welcomed in.
Having said that, everywhere we turn we find arts organisations opening up to their audiences and communities, creating new paths for engagement and participation and inviting the public to contribute ideas. With the dizzying pace of contemporary mass culture, the exciting opportunity ahead is to build strong foundations for new relationships with all our audiences, from the ground up, and to embrace the future with integrity, respect, and openness.
Nigel Lavender
Nigel was born and raised in the UK and has worked for a variety of UK venues, companies, ensembles and festivals, producing a large number of shows with a national UK profile. Nigel was appointed Executive Director of the Queensland Music Festival in 2008.
Feature images: Behind the Cane, Bowen, Queensland Music Festival 2011. Image: Charles Cepulis
Emerge events provided opportunities for up-and-coming bands from the local area to perform on a professional stage in front of a real live audience in Brisbane (at the Queensland Academy for Creative Industries) and Kirra (Kirra Hill Community & Cultural Centre). The photo below were from the Kirra event and uploaded by the SGC Music Hub Facebook Page:
Did you check out Emerge as part of Queensland Music Festival? Share your thoughts, share our vision on this blog post, to our Twitter account or on our Facebook Page.
SGC Music Hub posted a few photos online from the Vanuatu Water Music group performance at South Bank Parklands. Click on the images below to view their Facebook photo albums:
A view from the side of the Boat Pool:
Critical Mass blogger Nelson Lau attended - you can read his thoughts online here.
Did you attend Vanuatu Water Music? Share your thoughts, share our vision online in our blog, Twitter or Facebook.
Our Community Partnerships projects take place in regional towns that are built around agriculture and industry to remote islands in the Torres Strait and Aboriginal Shires in Cape York; they include flood and cyclone affected regions from the Cassowary Coast to the Western Downs and Lockyer Valley. The connective thread between these diverse community partnership projects is that music is providing a vehicle for cultivating positive change.
It begins with an aspiration, and a community that wants to work with QMF, recognising that music is a powerful vehicle for achieving goals that are important to them. The arts provide an opportunity to take pause, to look at ourselves through a different lens. Seemingly small acts like exploring and sharing stories, or gaining the confidence to get up
in front of a crowd and sing, can lead to something much greater over time.
For example, when we started working with the Australian South Sea Islander (ASSI) community in Bowen in late 2009, it began with a celebration of their rich musical heritage throughBowenSingSing.Theeventhadarippleeffectinthe community. It highlighted the wealth of musical talent in the Bowen region. It got people talking. The broader community realised that Australian South Sea Islanders had a significant history in the region, while members of the ASSI community began sharing stories amongst themselves, some that had not been told for generations. Ultimately, it paved the way for Behind The Cane, a major community theatre production that reaches across generations and cultures, approaching a controversial and painful period of our shared history through the universal lens of family and relationships.
Young people from Charleville and Thursday Island who were involved with QMF in 2009 have gone on to win places in highly competitive performing arts programs. The long- term impact of having a young person gain the confidence and skills to pursue further education and training goes far beyond the individual achievement. In small communities, individual achievements help to open up opportunities for generations to come, ranging from access to greater options within local schools, to broadening horizons about what is possible in terms of career options.
Opportunities for skill development are important for community members of all ages, who continue to benefit both through workshops and major productions. Song Trails is a great example of how bringing people together with a shared interest within a community can help to reduce feelings of social isolation, and at the same time help to set the stage for more community-driven musical events. Many Song Trails participants have reported that they had no idea there were so many kindred spirits in their own communities who shared their passion for music, and that they have continued to meet with other participants. In Charleville and Cooktown, community choirs created through QMF productions have provided a creative and social outlet for people from all walks of life, with workshops with professional musicians, rehearsals and performances continuing to take place over 2010 – 2011.
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Ailan Kores began with a little community involvement in the massive Hidden Republic event on Thursday Island in 2009, and has grown into a major project that crosses geographical, cultural, musical and linguistic boundaries. Ailan Kores brings together community representatives from six islands, performing a program in traditional Torres Strait languages of the region that includes some of the most challenging works of the Western choral repertoire, such as Bach’s St. John Passion, plus the world premiere of a new work by Damian Barbeler commissioned for the project. This project has grown out of the community’s desire to learn new skills for performance of different styles of music with orchestra, to use music and language as a means of bringing people together across geographic and cultural boundaries, and toparticipateinthecreationofsomethingtrulyunique. Ailan Kores stands equally as an important artistic achievement and community cultural development project.
Queensland Music Festival is proud to work with communities throughout the state, creating musical experiences that grow into a cornucopia of big things that are as unique and diverse as Queensland itself. Our Community Partnerships projects in 2011 are: Ailan Kores (Torres Strait Islands and Northern Peninsula Area Region), Cape York Instrumental Project (Mapoon, Aurukun, Yarrabah, Weipa, Cairns, Mossman), Behind The Cane (Whitsunday region), Radio Plays (Miles, Blackall and Tambo), Song Trails (communities from the Cassowary Coast to Lockyer Valley), and the Score IT! workshops (Bamaga, Thursday Island, Weipa). We are grateful to our funding, corporate and philanthropic partners who have made these projects possible: The Australia Council through its Community Partnerships Section, Arts Queensland through the Artist in Residence, Flexible Touring Fund and Creative Communities programs, Festivals Australia, Queensland Government’s Building Rural Communities Fund, Ergon Energy, the Tim Fairfax Family Foundation, the John Villiers Trust, the Perpetual Foundation, the Ian Potter Foundation, Queensland Rail, Energex, Tarong Energy, Resolute IT, Rio Tinto Alcan, Cutting Edge, Griffith Film School and individual donors Ricci Swart and Kate Farrar.
To find out more about how you can support, please go to our website at http://www.qmf.org.au
Watch live online some of Australias best singer-songwriters as they perform at the Song Trails Finale concert today, Sunday 31 July at 3.30pm at Brisbane's Powerhouse.
Join Rebecca Barnard, Clare Bowditch, Kev Carmody, Stephen Cummings, Peter Farnan, Dave Faulkner, Leah Flanagan and Robert Forster for a fantastic afternoon of sweet music, as these artists share their Queensland Song Trails experiences.
If you can't make it to Brisbane Powerhouse this afternoon, join us online by viewing the live webcast here.
Taken at Riverstage Brisbane
If you have some time to spare (before heading off to a QMF show perhaps?) why not check out our Last.FM 'recommended' radio station? There's a good mix of QMF 2011 artists and a few new and non-QMF artists in the mix.
These songs were scrobbled by LastFM based on our playlist and loved tracks.
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