Skadoosh!

On Sunday, I woke up and went in to the Unitarian Church right around the corner from me. What drew me to go here was that their sign was advertising a Music Service this week. I walked in about 10 minutes before service was supposed to start, and was greeted by one jolly member of the church. By the time that the service got underway, there was a total of 7 of us in the room... and that included the speaker and the pianist! It was a pretty good service, and the pianist, who is a student over at the Con, did an amazing job. After the service, we gathered in their little meeting room for some coffee, and to chat a bit. After it came out that I am also studying at the Con, and am a violinist, they offered to pay me to come back and play for one of their services in the coming weeks. Pretty sweet. I could use a good motivation to practice a bit more.
After service, I went over to the Art Gallery, where they were having a recital for a bunch of little kids who are part of the AIM, (Australian Institute of Music.) They were amazing. I mean, they were all under 16, and most of them were more like 11 or 12. One 12 year old played the first movement of the Mendelssohn Concerto, by memory. Bravo. After this concert, I went over to the Con to watch the Early Music Ensemble play an all Bach concert. So much music!
Some other notes on living here... The movie Kung Fu Panda just came out here this past weekend. I saw that movie before I left home, which was about 3 weeks ago now. I think its funny seeing bits and pieces of American culture popping up like that. Skadoosh! Also, I have now counted at least 5 people who thought I was from Canada, or at least I sounded like it... I mean, I guess it's not really that far away from good old Derry, New Hampshire, but still a little surprising. After talking to more and more people my age around here, I have found that the majority of kids have never seen snow, which is so hard to imagine for me, growing up in New England... and especially after this past winter with so much snow. Speaking of cold things... I bought some Cadbury ice cream the other day, and it came in a container of 2 liters. I thought that was kinda funny to buy ice cream in liters rather than gallons. Yum.



Upon request from Rob, I think I should start adding a little more about what I've been watching/reading about in regards to my project... A few days ago, I watched a video called Yolngu Boy which was only made a few years ago. If you'll recall, Yolngu is the name of the group of Aboriginal people who live up in Arnhem Land. This film presented a story of 3 teenage Aboriginal boys facing the troubles of modern life up in AL. It was quite confronting in the way that it showed the issues with alcohol, petrol sniffing, and other things like that which are causing major problems in the society up there. It also brought up the issue of the younger generation wanting to carry on the traditions of their people. Some of the kids are interested in this, but many are more interested in other things which do not really involve carrying on their traditional roots.
A lot of my reading has been of articles that deal with Aboriginal music. Again, I am mainly focusing on music in Northeast Arnhem Land, but I will be reading material on music from all around the country to get a more broad view as well. It is really becoming obvious why music is so important in the Aboriginal cultures. They do not have written language, but instead all of their histories and stories must be past down through their songs. Song series, called Manikay, are specific to each clan, and deal with the ancestral beings of their area. Each series can last up to even five hours. These are broken down into many many short songs that deal with one item or being. Then, over the course of the entire series the story becomes clear, and the scene is set as to the origins of that particular clan. Manikay are sung by a small group of men who are accompanying with bilma (the Yolngu word for clap sticks) and one man accompanies by playing the yidaki (didgeridoo)... How's that for a little glimpse into what I'm reading about?


A few pictures:














AIM recital, with the 12 year old playing Mendelssohn from memory.



















A book store window downtown displaying a new book that just came out, in which Peter wrote a chapter.














Hungry Jack's = Burger King.


I tried uploading the gamelan video again... but after letting it go for 2 hours, I decided to give up. I guess that's not going to work, sorry.


When I was walking down the street today, I saw an advertisement for Cirque du Soleil coming to Sydney!!! Ahhhhhhh, I have always wanted to see Cirque, and now I may have a chance! It's expensive, so I'll have to see how my bank account is looking as the performance period comes closer.