Melbourne Symphony Orchestra | First Voices Showcase
22 May, 2024, Iwaki Auditorium, Southbank, VIC
Two years ago Aaron Wyatt picked up his conductor’s baton and made history as the first Indigenous Australian to have conducted one of the state symphony orchestras in concert. Fast forward to 2024, and Wyatt remains a creative force and an impressive front man for Indigenous musicians and composers in his role as conductor and host for the MSO First Voices Showcase 2024.
The Showcase featured works by three First Nations composers, Adam Manning, Vonda Last and Leon Rodgers.
After First Nations Creative Chair Deborah Cheetham’s Musical Acknowledgements of Country, spoken by Aaron Wyatt, the small chamber orchestra with enhanced percussion led by First Violin Sarah Curro, treated us to Rhythmic Acknowledgement of Country which ended with all musicians playing on beautifully crafted and decorated clapsticks, gifts from our first composer and clapstick virtuoso, Adam Manning.
Adam Manning is a well known and established musician/composer with Kamilaroi kinship based in the Newcastle area of New South Wales, he is also a maker of clapsticks evidenced by the beautiful gifts to the musicians present. As he explained to us, his work New Normal for clapsticks and chamber orchestra seeks to reshape our relationship with the instrument, which is likely the oldest handheld musical instrument in existence.
And New Normal certainly did that for me. Manning cleverly employs the percussion section of the orchestra to contrast with the solo part. Starting from a seated position, the work centres on a virtuosic cadenza for solo clapstick, which Manning delivered, as the soloist, with energy and focus, grabbing and holding the attention of the listener.
Vonda Last’s Awakening was premiered at the showcase last year, and despite fewer numbers in the ensemble, the impact from her orchestration and use of harmony was just the same as it was with a larger orchestra. A Ngaayatjarra Pitjantjatjara (Western Desert) signer-songwriter living in Kaurna (Adelaide), Last approaches her melodies with a generosity. From the opening chords, to me, the music envelopes you, like a warm hug. I was thrilled to hear the work again.
Leon Rodgers, perhaps the least established of the three composers, presented his work Seven Sisters, which was inspired by the eponymous star-dreaming story which is well known across Australia. It’s an ambitious subject for a work and Rodgers captured the moment when the seven sisters’ launch themselves from earth into the sky to escape being pursued by the Jampijinpa, as the work hurtled without let up to its conclusion. Musicians throwing their bows in the air at the finish of the work.
As National Sorry Day approaches on 26 May 2024, and as Arron Wyatt reminded us in his words at the end of the concert, progress as a nation on matters of reconciliation and relationship with Indigenous Australians is too easily taken for granted and quickly lost without diligence and vigilance.
What better way to defeat apathy or inertia on these important issues than to seek out and celebrate Indigenous Australian composers and musicians. If you google these composers, there are numerous recordings of works worth listening to.
Thanks to MSO’s Major NAIDOC Week Partner Equity Trustees. And gee, I wish I had a pair of Adam Manning’s clapsticks too.
This concert is available to watch online from MSO
Photo credit: Laura Manariti
