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

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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

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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Part 1

QMF Ailan Kores Concert Part One from Carbon on Vimeo.

Part 2

QMF Ailan Kores Concert Part Two from Carbon on Vimeo.

Youth Choir

Ailan Kores- Torres Strait Youth Choir from Carbon on Vimeo.

Share your thoughts, share our vision.

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Critical Mass bloggers have been busy attending Queensland Music Festival events in Brisbane and around the state and the QMF team are loving the posts!  Here's a list of what we have so far.

Thank you to Fiona Crawford and the bloggers for sharing their thoughts with us and the general public.  We invite you to share your thoughts, share your vision on our social media.

Meet Me in the Middle of the Air by Lisa Cheney

Behind the Cane: Behind the Scenes by Jake Shavikin

Vaporised by Flloyd Kennedy

Randy Newman and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra by Glen J Player

Piano Lessons by Christine Gileo

Song Trails in the Cassowary Coast Pt 2: Making A Song by June Perkins

Song Trails in the Cassowary Coast Pt 1: Muso Intros by June Perkins

Spirit of the Gold Coast by Lisa Cheney

Behind the Cane: A View from the Inside by Emma-June Curik

Hi Paul! Nice to meet you here, in the middle of the air... by Lizzie Orley

Life Lessons by Flloyd Kennedy

Randy's Life Is Music by Elizabeth Navratil

Kitsch Comedy at Heart by Janey Mac

A Passage to India by Janey Mac

Drag and Red Shoes by Elizabeth Navratil

A Songwriter's Composer by Dave Carter

Sweet Discordance by Flloyd Kennedy

If these wings should fail me by Dave Carter

Oh Randy! by Flloyd Kennedy

The land of the Queens by Kat Ogilvie

More fun with your clothes on by Kara Beavies

DragQueensLand: Beware the ugly lights by Katherine Quigley

Country Comfort Hour by Carley Commens

A live radio show of a different kind by Rachel Britton

An all but absentee guide to QMF by Carley Commens

Critical of more romance by Rebekah Waite

The Little Green Road to Fairyland by Lizzie Orley

World Listening Day by Judy Barrass

Ailan Kores Webcast by Tony Robertson

Songs of the Drag Queens by Tony Robertson

Voices on the web by Elizabeth Navratil

R&J by Nelson Lau

Little Green Road to Joy by Flloyd Kennedy

Drag us on through baby by Glen J Player]

The Little Green Road to Fairyland by Glen J PLayer

Vanuatu Water Music by Nelson Lau

Updated: August 5 2011

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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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Fantastic work to everyone involved in the development of Behind the Cane so far! 

For our dear readers who can't make it to Bowen, we have a couple of new videos that just came out and you can watch them below.  Make sure to also bookmark the Critical Mass blog for writeups by two bloggers based in Bowen.

Behind the Cane Week Three

Behind the Cane Week Four

Watch Week 2 of rehearsals here.

About Behind the Cane

Written with and performed by the people of the Whitsunday Coast, Behind The Cane will be an unmissable musical event set beneath a magnificent North Queensland night sky.

This emotive new piece of musical theatre chronicles – in song, dance and story – the triumph and joy of the Islander spirit against immense social and geographical hardship.

The original score blends western, gospel and Melanesian music and is brought to life by a stunning local cast of 120 including choirs and ensembles from across the region.

Directed and produced by some of Australia’s finest creatives, these soul-stirring live performances are the centrepiece of the 3rd Annual Bowen Cultural and Food Festival.

Join us on the Bowen foreshore for a night of music, movement and celebration.

Read more about the event at http://www.qmf.org.au.

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Randy Newman on FlickR. Please note that these photos have been uploaded by fans and are not QMF content.

And in the lead up to it, we decided to comb Last.FM for Randy Newman goodies.  Enjoy!

LastFM

Randy Newman videos on LastFM: http://www.last.fm/music/Randy+Newman/+videos

Randy Newman albums on LastFM: http://www.last.fm/music/Randy+Newman/+albums

That's it for now.  We'll see you at the concert with Queensland Symphony Orchestra this Friday 22 July!  Details on the website at http://www.qmf.org.au

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Featuring Paul Kelly & Paul Grabowksy, Vika & Linda Bull, Members of the Australian Art Orchestra, Choir With No Name.  More details here.

Date: Saturday 23 July 2011

Venue: Brisbane Riverstage

Shift Duration: 4hrs

Schedule: 3:00 - 4:30pm – Housekeeping, site tour, safety briefing, ushering duties explained

4:30 - 5:30pm – Assist patrons to locate their seats

5:30 - 7:00pm – Assist patrons as required or as directed by Supervisor during the performance

Other info: All volunteers will be provided with a QMF t-shirt to wear during their shift and will receive a Certificate of Appreciation after the event. To volunteer or find out more information, please contact:

ASHLEIGH WHEELER

PROJECT COORDINATOR QUEENSLAND MUSIC FESTIVAL

ashleigh@qmf.org.au

T +61 7 3010 6621

M +61 421 137 515

F +61 7 3010 6666

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A conversation with Anna Goldsworthy on Limelight Magazine written by Melissa Lesnie...

When Australian concert pianist Anna Goldsworthy published a memoir about her journey from childhood lessons to an international performing career, she had no idea it would be so warmly and enthusiastically received, capturing the imaginations of pianophiles, amateur players and non-musicians alike. Since its publication in 2009 the book has enjoyed many lives: a companion recital disc, concert tours, talk of a film and now, for the Queensland Music Festival, a stage adaptation starring Anna as herself.

A central figure in both the memoir and its theatrical incarnation is Anna's early mentor, Russian pianist Eleonora Sivan. People tend to remember - often vividly - their first piano teachers as youngsters, whether or not they persevere with the instrument into adulthood. The pages that follow include Anna's discussion of the stage adaptation of her story, recollections of her teacher, and musings from critically acclaimed pianists in Australia and abroad who have written to Limelight about their first life-changing lessons.

Read more here.

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Stretch and his sidemen are coming to town!

LongTimeComing by Stretch 'n' The Truth by Queensland Music Festival

However, if you don't need to be in any of the six regional Queensland towns (Muttaburra, Alpha, Aramac, Barcaldine, Winton or Longreach anyone?) to witness Stretch and his sidemen. Catch them at the Turbine Platform, Brisbane Powerhouse on Sunday 24 July at 3.30pm!

About Stretch 'n' The Truth

The ripping yarns and tall tales of the Queensland outback are brought centre stage in Stretch ‘n’ the Truth, an Australian roots roadshow touring six of Queensland’s most colourful country towns.

Stretch and his sidemen will debut original songs and stories based on 'local truths' from the region, dug up during previous ‘fiction-finding fact missions’. In May, Stretch hit each town, harassing citizens, unearthing historical tales, urban myths, living legends and dragging skeletons from the closets. The embellishments of unique oral histories gathered form the basis of the Stretch ‘n’ The Truth performances, with the odd name changed to protect the innocent (or guilty!). Stretch ‘n’ The Truth debuted at QMF 2009, before playing last year’s Adelaide Festival.

The band’s combined credits include everything from the ABC’s Spicks and Specks, ARIA Award wins and The Australian Art Orchestra. Before Stretch hits the stage, the evenings will kick off with a barbecue or picnic to set the scene. Toes will tap, tunes will be hummed and unwritten histories will finally get the airing they deserve. Stretch ‘n’ The Truth indeed.

More details on the QMF website at http://www.qmf.org.au

Stretch in Muttaburra via QMF11 @berndoz..

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Nothing better to wind down a Monday night after a very busy opening weekend for Queensland Music Festival with a podcast of our Townsville show for the Queensland Country Comfort Hour!

You can listen to the Townsville show online here.

Each show on the tour is presented in the format of an old-style variety radio show, complete with musical guests, phone-in segments, storytelling, ‘neo-vintage’ radio jingles…and what radio show would be complete without a serialised cliff-hanger radio play written by Queensland son, Hugh Lunn?

Surprize celebrity artists will drop in for a song and a chat along with local personalities and musicians.

No stranger to the dynamics of variety entertainment, Brian Nankervis will host the shows, backed by the polished Country Comfort Orkestra of James Black, Peter Luscombe and Mark Ferrie and the heavenly harmonies of the Nymphs. The fabulous Julia Zemiro joins us nightly for a star turn in the radio play.

Be part of the live audience as The Queensland Country Comfort Hour travels around the state. Don’t dare miss this hilarious, retro chic, heartwarming, live radio show.

STARRING Brian Nankervis /
WITH James Black / Mark Ferrie / Peter Luscombe / Julia Zemiro / tHE NYMPHS

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Ailan Kores was livestreamed from Thursday Island, Queensland from 5.30pm EST on 17 July 2011.   The livestream is now off-air, however you can view the videos below!

Part 1

QMF Ailan Kores Concert Part One from Carbon on Vimeo.

Part 2

QMF Ailan Kores Concert Part Two from Carbon on Vimeo.

Youth Choir

Ailan Kores- Torres Strait Youth Choir from Carbon on Vimeo.

Share your thoughts, share our vision.

About Ailan Kores

 Voices separated by sea will sing as one for Ailan Kores, a free choral spectacular celebrating at once the unity and diversity of Torres Strait Islander culture.

Singers from six islands of the Torres Strait will come together for this premiere production, over one year in the making.

Accompanied by six operatic soloists and the Queensland Youth Orchestra, the combined choir of more than 40 voices will perform a program of local hymns mixed with iconic devotional pieces from European composers, startlingly transformed to express the Torres Strait’s tradition of exuberant music worship.

In addition to classics such as the Hallelujah Chorus by Handel and excerpts from Bach’s St John Passion, audiences will enjoy a world premiere choral work by renowned contemporary Australian composer Damian Barbeler.

To reflect the region’s cultural and linguistic diversity, many of these works have been translated into Western, Central and Eastern language groups, as well as Yumplatok. The evening will open at twilight with a performance from the Torres Strait Youth Choir performing traditional songs to set the mood for this magnificent celebration of Torres Strait music.

Gallery of Modern Art Webcast

There will also be a simultaneous live webcast to Cinema A, Gallery of Modern Art, South Bank, 5.30pm. Entry is free.

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Brisbane’s magical sound- making team Clocked Out are joined by virtuoso flutist Tim Munro for Bells and whistles, a concert of dramatic, surprising music by a rag-tag band of musical mavericks...

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About Behind the Cane:

Behind The Cane tells the little known story of the origins of the Australian South Sea Islander Community. Written with and performed by the people of the Whitsunday Coast, Behind The Cane will be an unmissable musical event set beneath a magnificent North Queensland night sky.  Read more here.

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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.

This livestream will start at 15:30 EST on Sunday 31 July 2011. For viewers in other timezones, please go to the World Clock Event Announcer for the local time in your area.

Share your thoughts about the workshops on the Song Trails Facebook page or subscribe to our blog for more updates!  We are livestreaming this event from Brisbane Powerhouse from 15:30 EST.

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