Aurora Festival 2014

The 2014 Aurora Festival is set to run from April 30th – May 3rd.

Highlights this year include the April 30 opening night concert in which the centrepiece will be the world premiere of  Voyage through radiant stars by the Australian composer Brian Howard, a 60 minute work for solo saxophone and 18 musicians. 

Also featuring on opening night are saxophonist Jim Nightingale, didgeridoo player Mark Atkins, members of The NOISE and Ensemble Offspring, performing world premieres by Alex Pozniak, The NOISE and Ekrem Mulayim.

Turkish/Australian composer Ekrem Mulayim’s Sonolith is a  musical ‘transcription’ of the Declaration of Human Rights performed on solo piano. The text will be projected in time with the music on hanging cloths. 

Founded in 2006 by Dr Matthew Hindson, the biennial Aurora Festival is Sydney’s only festival devoted to presenting new music – specifically, new Australian music. Centred in western Sydney, its events are at Riverside Theatres in Parramatta, the Blacktown Arts Centre, the Campbelltown Arts Centre, and The Joan Sutherland Theatre in Penrith. . 

In Super Critical Mass, Julian Day, Luke Jaaniste and Janet Mckay are create a work for massed drum kits, to be performed during evening rush hour in a busy square in Parramatta; Alex Pozniak’s work for 2 didgeridoos will segue into an improvisation for 2 didgeridoos and offstage amplified viola and cello.

Paul Cutlan’s Affirmations for bass recorder, cello with effects, and didgeridoo is on at the Blacktown Arts Centre and at Campbelltown, Midnight Oil’s guitarist, Jim Moginie explores the connection between colour and music with an ensemble of electric guitarists.

Penrith sees The Song Company directed by Roland Peelman and Rachel Elliot, present a concert celebrating the first musical instrument… the human voice. They are joined by the Estonian ‘In Harmony’ Choir (‘Kooskõlas’) and Norwegian folk vocalist Christine Strandli, Performing works by Paul Jarmon and Paul Kadak amongst others. Joining in will be singers from the local community in a massed choir The Aurora Chorealis. 

Paul Kadak’s Follow my Voice is a work which will start outside the concert hall, ‘calling’ the audience into the hall, using ancient Norwegian folk calling techniques and Paul Jarman presents a ’round’ of sorts based on the word ‘Aurora’.

Click here for more on tickets, bookings, times and venues.