Soundstream Collective launches

A new ensemble-in-residence at the Elder Conservatorium of music, Soundstream Collective, will be launched this month by acclaimed pianist and Helpmann Award recipient Gabriella Smart.

The collective will herald the emergence of a new and vibrant force in Australia’s classical music scene and will be launched by Smart at an inaugural concert, New Music: New Ensemble in Adelaide on September 30.

Created under the sponsorship of the J M Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice, Soundstream will be the only ensemble in South Australia dedicated to profiling contemporary classical music. The Collective is also committed to showcasing local talent and bringing South Australian music to the rest of the country.

Smart will be Artistic Director and pianist for The Collective, and comes to the role with a wealth of experience, including having studied with internationally recognised pianist Eleonora Sivan, well known to Adelaide audiences through Anna Goldsworthy's book Piano Lessons.

“The Collective is a platform for collaboration, discourse and performance of new music and will be committed to the development of contemporary music practices and the creation of new works through the support of emerging and established Australian composers and performers. The result is a unique experience in contemporary chamber music,” says Smart.

Smart will draw on some of the finest practitioners of new music from across Australia including John Addison, Erkki Veltheim, Peter Handsworth, Andrew Wiering and Stefan Ammer. She will also work to commission new works, and stage eight public performances over the next two years, which is helped in part by a significant grant from the University of Adelaide.

New Music: New Ensemble will open the Collective’s 2011-12 season and will feature world premiers by Adelaide composer John Polglase and the Australian American talent Erik Griswold, alongside Australian premiers by international composers Esa-Pekka Salonen, Hanna Kulenty and Peter Eõtvõs.

Also in the line-up will be a piece by the American luminary Steve Reich in celebration of his 75th birthday.

Soundstream will also launch their Commissioning Fund at the concert, which is an initiative to invited tax-deductible donations, which will be used to commission new works.

The performance will also be recorded for national broadcast by ABC Classic FM.

Soundstream Collective, while new on the scene, was established on the foundations of Soundstream: Adelaide New Music Festival held in 2008, 2009 and 2010. The Festival was awarded a Ruby Award for Best Event in 2010.

Tickets for New Music: New Ensemble are on sale now at BASS.

New Music: New Ensemble
Friday, 30 September 2011, 7:30pm
Elder Hall, North Terrace, Adelaide