Title: Restrung New Chamber Festival : Bridging the Gap Between High Art Music and Popular Sensibilities
Abstract: The Restrung New Chamber Festival was a practice-led research project which explored the
intricacies of musical relationships. Specifically, it investigated the relationships between new
music ensembles and pop-oriented bands inspired by the new music genre. The festival, held at the
Brisbane Powerhouse (28 February-2 March 2009) comprised 17 diverse groups including the
Brodsky Quartet, Topology, Wood, Fourplay and CODA. Restrung used a new and distinctive
model which presented new music and syncretic musical genres within an immersive environment.
Restrung brought together approaches used in both contemporary classical and popular music
festivals, using musical, visual and spatial aspects to engage audiences. Interactivity was
encouraged through video and sound installations, workshops and forums.
This paper will investigate some of the issues surrounding the conception and design of the
Restrung model, within the context of an overview of European new music trends. It includes a
discussion of curating such an event in a musically sensitive and effective way, and approaches to
identifying new and receptive audiences. As a guide to programming Restrung, I formulated a
working definition of new music, further developed by interviews with specialists in Australia and
Europe, and this will be outlined below.
Publication Year: 2009
Publication Date: 2009-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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