So... it's been a while since I've done one of these but, I have finished my contract on the MS Rotterdam and I am back on Australian Shores! I stopped blogging on the ship quite early on because as I settled into ship life, I started to have quite a mixed experience. Not wanting to put too much on a public forum, I will just say that the life of a ship musician has the potential to be absolutely incredible!! Getting paid to travel the world doing what you love for 2 hours a day? Sounds great! but after actually doing it, I have to conclude that from my personal experience, it is not the life for me. I did have some incredible experiences and meet some really wonderful people, but all-in-all very happy to be back in Oz!
What's coming up?!
Check out my "Performances" tab to see what public performances I have coming up, but so much going on! The day I got back to the country I had a rehearsal for a showcase concert of Australian Composer Margaret Brandman's works. The day after I got back I performed at a "Daria Cabaret" night at Glebe Library (remember that show from the 90's with the really "indifferent" girl in green and brown?! Yeah, a cabaret night dedicated to her?! So cool!)
I have finally had the opportunity to reunite with my good friend and partner in musical-crime David Lockeridge with Translucent Duo, and we are busy preparing for a "Composer-Performer Collaboration" workshop at the University of Western Sydney Music School with Diana Blomb as well as putting together new educational shows, recitals and comissioning new Australian works from some of Sydney's finest young composers! It's a pretty exciting time!
Just today, I played my first gig back with the incomparable Hot Potato Band!? Such a joy to be back! An amazing group of musicians who welcomed me back with open arms, driving drums and blaring brass! Have been fortunate enough to get book for several gigs with this fabulous group over the coming weeks (both public and private events), so am really looking forward to everything Hot Potato coming up!
I am also back with the "Epic Folk Band" Citizen of the World, which is really great! Having just released our EP before I left (which is available both on our website - http://www.citizenoftheworldmusic.com and on iTunes) it's been really good to get back into rehearsals with them, writing some new songs, and bringing it all to a venue near you!
I have finally had the opportunity to reunite with my good friend and partner in musical-crime David Lockeridge with Translucent Duo, and we are busy preparing for a "Composer-Performer Collaboration" workshop at the University of Western Sydney Music School with Diana Blomb as well as putting together new educational shows, recitals and comissioning new Australian works from some of Sydney's finest young composers! It's a pretty exciting time!
Just today, I played my first gig back with the incomparable Hot Potato Band!? Such a joy to be back! An amazing group of musicians who welcomed me back with open arms, driving drums and blaring brass! Have been fortunate enough to get book for several gigs with this fabulous group over the coming weeks (both public and private events), so am really looking forward to everything Hot Potato coming up!
I am also back with the "Epic Folk Band" Citizen of the World, which is really great! Having just released our EP before I left (which is available both on our website - http://www.citizenoftheworldmusic.com and on iTunes) it's been really good to get back into rehearsals with them, writing some new songs, and bringing it all to a venue near you!
But Most Exciting of all.....
But yes, even more exciting than all that, is that I'm starting a collaboration with this pretty incredible performer (singer/dancer/actress) Melody Beck! Melody won the 2014 "Your Theatrics International Cabaret Competition" this year and has spent the last 5 months touring around Australia and to NYC with her self-devised Cabaret show. This collaboration is in its very early stages, but very excited all the same.... More to come - Stay tuned!!
The rest of 2014?
One of the really wonderful things about the boat was being able to save some money! This really gives me the opportunity to explore my options for the rest of the year. Having said that, I am going to get my job back life guarding at a couple of pools in the City, which I was doing before I left. The rest of this year for me is going to be about getting lessons again - particularly on flute and clarinet, and honing my skills as a "doubler". I would really love to get into some professional pit work, so I am looking to take as many gigs as I can where I get a chance to play flute and clarinet (particularly having to switch between the 2). I'm also really looking to continue propelling projects for 2015, both solo and in different groups. Looking into competitions and grants available both from arts councils and private benefactors and just trying to open up as many options as possible for 2015 and beyond!
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