The Australian author had in fact been awarded one of the world’s richest literary awards, worth AUD$207,000. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Tinalley String Quartet’s cellist delivers her top tips for a successful “portfolio” career  A few years ago I was asked to be involved in a Q&A style session with a group of young musicians in Melbourne who were about 10-years younger than myself. I was asked to open up about my life in music – specifically, how it was I came to have (and I quote) “my enviable portfolio career.” I found myself asking the obvious question – what exactly does portfolio mean? It seemed to imply that I had my life neatly packaged into a small suitcase, and as a cellist, I can assure you, that is never possible!  This model of professional multi-tasking has become a familiar career path for many classical musicians. For me, it’s a combination of orchestral work with the Melbourne Symphony, chamber music with Tinalley String Quartet, wonderful (but sometimes draining) peripatetic teaching and coaching, and any freelance performing that comes my way. Frankly, I think ‘musical mongrel’ would have been a more apt description of my career, as it’s hard to feel like a pedigree pooch with so many different things competing for attention.  Fortunately, I like it that way. As I described to…

The American novelist, best known for writing To Kill a Mockingbird, has passed away aged 89. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

The disabled dance maker and PIAF Artist in Residence talks religious experiences and asking the hard questions.

The award-winning recordist​ offers up some advice for emerging artists. Pace Yourself  “Exposure” and “Experience” will be two of the main driving forces while trying to establish your music career, but it is equally important (if not essential) to learn to pace yourself. While in university we have the luxury of a teacher’s guidance and hours locked in practice rooms to polish and perfect our recital repertoire, but once you are out in the real world with work commitments to juggle and neighbours that don’t appreciate your need to practice at 10pm, recital preparation can feel overwhelming. If organising your own events, allow yourself plenty of time to prepare each recital programme, which can be months depending on the repertoire you choose, and don’t feel like you need to cram each programme with the most technically demanding repertoire for your instrument, you will only exhaust yourself and your audience. Invest in your career This sounds like an obvious point to make but all too often artistic projects are abandoned once the realities of costs set in. There is no doubt that concerts, exhibitions and recordings can be expensive endeavours to undertake, but these projects are essential to developing your career, building…

The team at Citizen Theatre share why the next 12 months is about the female of the species. Are you an actor? A director? A writer? A theatre maker? A woman? A man? A person? Everyone can take something away from this delicious interview packed with advice, influence and insight from the ladies making Inferno: A Double Bill happen. From the acting team you’ll hear from the Crestfall cast: Marissa O’Reilly playing Alison Ellis, Marissa Bennett playing Tilly McQuarrie and Freya Pragt playing Olive Day, as well as Woman in Purgatorio. And after you’re done and longing for more – follow the links to find out what they think of the characters they’re playing. You’ll also find wonderful words of wisdom from directors Jayde Kirchert (Crestfall) and Celeste Cody (Purgatorio) plus two very special women from behind the scenes: Janel Gibson (stage manager) and Fiona Spitzkowsky (production manager Purgatorio). Q: What is one of your proudest moments working in theatre? Marissa O’Reilly:  I know for me, it was last year working with She Said Theatre. And it was pretty much an all-female production. So five women on stage discussing … similar topics to Crestfall. It was women being violent and vulgar and strong and lost in the world. It was…

Australia’s most popular tourist attraction and the surrounding areas have been evacuated by NSW Police. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

In the first of a series of essays, film-maker Nicholas Searle explores contemporary Australian music. Discovering exciting new locally-made music was a task I neglected for years – and stretched as most of us are between family, work and life, I don’t think I’m the only one.   I make television for a living, and work on shows like Grand Designs Australia, New Inventors, Catalyst, Mythbusters and River Cottage Australia. Music is integral for these shows, but only to keep the story moving, to cover gaps. Music for television is like grease for a car – critical, but you don’t want the passengers to notice it. Until recently that didn’t worry me all that much. But in August I read a tweet about Julian Burnside. The barrister come human rights superhero had commissioned something called Wind Farm Music, dedicated to Tony Abbott. It had premiered just the day before at the State Library of Victoria, and social media was awash with retweets and videos. The music was a brilliantly clever mash-up of every great classical tune you’ve heard. Burnside’s cheeky title was a stroke of genius. Lyle Chans Wind Farm Music I searched out the composer – his name was Lyle Chan. On…

Creating environmental awareness through the medium of the symphony. The notion that the plight of our global environment could be told through the arts came from a lengthy conversation with my dear friend and prominent scientist, Dr Alan Finkel. We are both very optimistic, enthusiastic and creative beings and as a passionate musician, I knew that we could deliver environmental awareness through a cinematic composition for live orchestra. And so, the journey began. The Environmental Symphony was played in part during in the 2010 Prime Minister’s Banksia Environmental Awards. This in itself was a triumph with the symphony performed to synchronised visuals and narrated by Sir Richard Branson. Now the time has come to experience The Environmental Symphony in full. I look forward immensely to enjoying the performance at Hamer Hall, in my beloved home town of Melbourne. The symphony is descriptive and is expressed in five parts for both the orchestra and at the narrator. My friend, Bert Newton will host the night and introduce an 80-plus strong Melbourne Symphony Orchestra to perform the composition. Jack Thompson will provide narration to the dramatic, synchronised environmental visuals. The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra will be conducted by the brilliant Ben Northey. This will be…

Or how has theatre managed to sustain itself and continue to overcome the varying social conditions over time? On the first day of acting college I remember our senior lecturer asking the whole group a question. He told us that theatre as a medium had survived many cultures over many millennia through censorship, state control, competing technologies and all manner of oppression. The thing is, theatre had still survived; it flourishes and sustains countless people who continue to dedicate their lives to it. The question then is not so much could the theatre survive without us, because obviously it could. The question became; could we survive without theatre? It is a parable, which still reminds me to contemplate my position with regards to the theatre and to resist the urge to see myself as bigger than the form. However it sparked another question in me, one that I have asked throughout my career; how has theatre managed to sustain itself and continue to overcome the varying social conditions over time? Not as historical detective story but more in terms of how it functions, how people function within it and how it makes meaning and culture. Theatre is a truly unique social…

A viral film of a French muslim man’s simple installation in response to the Paris terror attacks becomes a global inspiration. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

The famed Chinese pianist's slip up steals the show, but his Chopin is still stellar.