AAO Presents Meeting Points Series: DJIRIBAWAL at The Malthouse, Beckett Theatre

The Australian Art Orchestra (AAO) will open its 2022 Meeting Points Series with a sonic meditation on Country. Djiribawal is a song cycle by Yuin woman, Brenda Gifford for the musicians of the Australian Art Orchestra, originally commissioned for the 2020 Canberra International Music Festival, and adapted to include electronic soundscapes and the voice of the composer speaking in Language, for its Melbourne premiere.

Djiribawal is a roller-coaster of sonority and musical images ... representing the elements in all their brutality and beauty and played exceptionally well by talented musicians.- Suzannah Conway, ArtsHub

The work began as a sketch to capture the essence of the elements: Bagan (Earth); Ngadjung (Water); Miriwa (Sky); and Ganji (Fire). In the composer's own words, "the elements are an extension of Country. Bagan grounds us, Ngadjung is flowing and renewing. Miriwa is vast and open and Ganji can be fast and destructive."

Gifford's composition is a journey through different sonic environments and a meditation on Country. The Melbourne premiere of Djiribawal is preceded by an improvised duet by Amos Roach and Adrian Sherriff.

Brenda Gifford

Brenda Gifford is a First Nations, Yuin woman from Wreck Bay, NSW. Her country, community and culture are the basis of her arts practice. She is a composer and classically trained saxophonist and pianist, and 2022 recipient of the Peggy Glanville-Hicks Composers House residency.

Performance Date: 7pm, Saturday 19 February

Venue: The Malthouse, Beckett Theatre

Tickets: $30 / $20

Book Tickets: https://www.malthousetheatre.com.au/tickets/hirer-events/djiribawal/

Featuring

Brenda Gifford - Composer

Reuben Lewis - Trumpet

Amos Roach - Didgeridoo/Clap Sticks

Joe Talia - Drums

Joe O'Connor - Piano

Natasha Conrau - Violin

Aviva Endean - Clarinets

Peter Knight - Electronics

Samuel Pankhurst - Double Bass

Adrian Sherriff - Trombone

The Meeting Points Series explores the intersections between cultures, genres, and artistic disciplines using improvisation. Funded by the City of Melbourne, the Series explores the notion of Melbourne as a place of convergence and innovation.

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