This project extends my artistic research in instigating, workshopping and premiering original new Australian works for guitar. My research in this area has generated and disseminated a substantial amount of new repertoire which has been taken up by other players locally and internationally. With this project, I focussed on female Australian composers, a minority who are barely (if at all) represented in the canon of Australian guitar repertoire.
"The Dancing Waters" composed by Corrina Bonshek.
"Waltz for Diane" composed by Mary Doumany.
History
ERA Category
Performance of Creative Work - Music
Eligible major research output?
Yes
Research Statement
Background
This project is based on my ongoing dedication to instigating the creation, performance and (wherever possible) recording of new Australian guitar repertoire. The guitar has been a male dominated instrument for centuries and though this stereotype is changing amongst players of the instrument, there is still a notable gap in the body of original guitar music by female composers, particularly in Australia. A major aspect of my artistic research focusses on filling gaps in the guitar repertoire by working closely with composers to create quality new works which are playable, original and disseminated by me in such a way that they are taken up by other players around the world. The gap in this case is the almost non-existent contribution and visibility of female composers in the guitar world.
Contribution
My contribution in working with these composers lies in fostering the creation and dissemination of new solo guitar pieces, in this case, of a playability level achievable by the majority of advanced guitarists. This means the works will be heard widely and thus hopefully, this project will add the names of two female Australian composers to the list of known contributors to the guitar repertoire performed by many. Doumany’s work was a re-working and extract of a previous large scale work she had written for me, whilst Bonshek’s was an entirely new creation. I contributed significantly to the editing and workshopping of both of these works in their creation process ( this was done via informal recordings shared by email) and then subsequent phone calls. I then performed publicly and professionally recorded and released both works.
Significance
The significance of these works for the guitar in Australia, particularly for the role of female composers in the evolution of the instrument and its repertoire, is notable. Both works formed part of an all-female composers concert entitled “Edge of Lens” at BLEACH Festival Gold Coast on August 11th, 2023 and Bonshek’s work was also performed at the Queensland Conservatorium on the prior evening in a concert entitled Whistling in the Dark.
My recordings of both works have been released internationally through the guitar specialist label, Florecilla Records, allowing broad dissemination in a highly curated context. Both recordings have received significant streaming numbers on Spotify (40,000+ Doumany and 17,900 Bonshek) and have been included on numerous specialist playlists. See links above.