60,000 Years of Recreation and Ritual

60,000 Years of Recreation and Ritual description

Artist conversation hosted by Paul Kildea with Emma Donovan, Emily Wurramara & Andrea Keller

Conductor, and University of Melbourne Honorary Principal Fellow, Paul Kildea holds a doctorate from Oxford University. Paul has been Artistic Director of the Wigmore Hall, London and Four Winds Festival, NSW and artistic advisor for both Aldeburgh and Perth Festivals. His acclaimed biography Benjamin Britten: A Life in the Twentieth Century was published in 2013, followed by Chopin’s Piano: A Journey Through Romanticism in 2018.

Acclaimed Indigenous Australian singer and songwriter Emma Donovan is best known for her work with soul band The Putbacks and The Black Arm Band project. Emma has toured and recorded with Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter, Spinifex Gum, Christine Anu, Yothu Yindi, Jimmy Little, and Paul Kelly among others. On her mother’s side, Emma is part of the famed Donovan family of singers of the Gumbainggir people in what is now Northern New South Wales.

ARIA nominated Wanindilyakwa woman from Groote Eylandt in the Northern Territory, Emily Wurramara uses her music to share her language and culture with the world. She grew up in two different worlds with two different perspectives of life, but has always had a strong love for protecting her land and empowering people through the preservation and protection of her culture. Singing in both English and Anindilyakwa, Emily’s music explores the contrasting themes of her two worlds - the island and the city, steeped in the sand, salt and concrete of her family, community and cuture.

Andrea Keller is a pianist and composer dedicated to the performance and creation of contemporary jazz and improvised music. She has devised and produced a multitude of eclectic projects, and been lauded with multiple ARIA, Australian Jazz Bell, and Art Music Awards, as well as an APRA Professional Development Award, and fellowships from the MCA/Freedman Foundation and the Australia Council.

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Generously supported by Leading Patron Ulrike Klein AO.
Commissioned work supported by the Chamber Landscapes Commissioning Circle.
This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.

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