Synergy & Taikoz Ltd Presents:
Synergy Percussion & Taikoz A selection of recent performances & reviews
Š Synergy & Taikoz Ltd 2015
Synergy Percussion
Synergy Percussion 2012-15
The Composers#1 Steve Reich in Residence/Masterpieces of Time/ VIVID Sydney/OzAsia/Sydney Biennale/ Canberra international & Bellingen Music festivals/Pulse:Heart:Beat/ Schallmaschine Maximus/Xenakis vs Pateras/Reich’s Drumming/Earth Cry
Synergy Percussion & Taikoz : 2012 - 2015
The Composers: Steve Reich Sydney Opera House 29 April 2012 Steve Reich has been called “our greatest living composer” (New York Times). Reich is a particular hero to Synergy Percussion as his music popularised the contemporary percussion ensemble in a way that no composer has achieved before or since. It was therefore one of our ensemble’s historical highlights to have been a key organisation involved securing Reich’s residency at the Sydney Opera House in 2012. Synergy was one
of two commissioning ensembles attached to Reich’s Mallet Quartet (the other being So Percussion, based in New Haven, Massachusetts), which the ensemble premiered at the Sydney Opera House. Synergy also performed Reich’s classic piece, Music for 18 Musicians, which the composer described as “the best i ever heard the piece played. Really, I’m serious. It really is. It absolutely is”.
The best I ever heard the piece played.Really,I’m serious.It really is. It absolutely is. continued...
Far Temple - traditional, arr. Simon Barker Far Temple features Synergy’s condensed versions of four Korean traditional rhythmic forms from the nongak (lit: farmers band music) tradition popularized by the group SamulNori. Formed in 1978, SamulNori are undoubtedly Korea’s most popular and visible percussion ensemble. SamulNori perform a concertized version of the music of Korean percussion bands, known as p’ungmul or nongak. The name “SamulNori” refers to the number of instruments used in the group (samul – “four things” and nori – “play”) – changgo (hourglass drum), kwaenggwari (small hand held gong), ching (large gong) and puk (barrel drum). The work begins with an hourglass drum trio interpretation of tasŭrŭm, which will be followed by quintet interpretations of kutkŏri, chilgut (road ritual), and ch’ilch’ae (lit: 7 strikes). (note by Simon Barker)
- Steve Reich 2012 Keyboard Suite in D minor HWV 428 (published 1720) - George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759) arr. Timothy Constable Prelude Allegro Allemande Courante Air & Variations Presto Handel’s blistering performances at the keyboard and organ are well documented, and a sense of dramatic abandon often lurks close to the surface in the keyboard suites. Even in their serious movements, the chance to let your hair (wig) down never seems far off. This work is contemporary, roughly, with the Water Music, Acis and Galetea, and the Anthems for the Duke of Chandos. Posterity got to hear more about these larger commissions (which would increasingly occupy him as his career mushroomed) and the keyboard music would remain obscure by contrast. One has a sense in these pieces that he was, more or less, writing the music for himself. L’Orfeo (1607) Act III, Scene iii Possente Spirto - Claudio Monteverdi (1567- 1643) arr. Timothy Constable Monteverdi’s vibrant setting of the Orpheus & Euridice is the oldest opera worth talking about, and is the first in which the variety of the instruments used in first performance survives, demonstrating his aptitude to utilise instrumental timbre as a dramatic device. Thus we feel vaguely within reason to make a little drama of our own with the instruments and sounds we have to hand. Once again it is a great pleasure to welcome Tobias Cole to the stage. Spare a thought for Orpheus - at this point he’s desperately trying to gain passage across the River Styx to the underworld, so that he can rescue his deceased love. The aria unfolds with ever more elaborate supplications, and his ultimate success (albeit in putting the boatman to sleep) is a testament to the power of music, a theme which underpins the whole opera. Kid A (2000) - Radiohead Like the opener, the title track of the album is driven more by it’s harmonic content and ‘hooks’ than any melodic vocal. Kid A also explores the textural possibilities of the electronic/ processed voice sound world, and is altogether more romantic, albeit in a twisted sort of way, than Everything.... The restraint and elegance of this track, the otherworldly sonorities, and the emotional intimacy really stay with you. “Rats and children follow me out of town...” --Synergy will record selected pieces from this concert on CD. Find out when it is available to purchase by joining our mailing list at www.synergypercussion.com
2012
Synergy Percussion
The Composers: Steve Reich
Masterpieces of Time City Recital Hall Sydney 17 Aug 2012 Described as “unconventional”, “improbable” and “incongruous”, Synergy’s Masterpieces of Time tackled the work of a handful of history’s greatest composers from Baroque to 21st Century including Bach, Monteverdi, Cage and Ligeti. In the constant search for new and challenging frontiers for percussion, Synergy members Timothy Constable and Bree van Reyk faithfully arranged works such as varied as Handel’s Keyboard Suite in D
Minor (HWV 428) and Bach’s Partita in D Minor (Chaconne), to Ligeti’s piano etudes Fanfares and tunes by Radiohead. We were joined by the brilliant countertenor Tobias Cole.
Moments of magic… boldly imaginative” - Macarthur Chronicle
Synergy Percussion & Taikoz : 2012 - 2015
Schallmaschine Maximus Basel, Switzerland 28-31 August 2013 Long time Swiss collaborator and percussionist extraordinaire Fritz Hauser invited Synergy to his hometown of Basel in Switzerland to perform as part of a very special and unusual concert - Schallmaschine Maximus. The site specific work was performed in an ancient Roman amphitheatre on the outskirts of Basel, and featured Synergy alongside ensembles from around the world including Speak Percussion from Melbourne, Ensemble XII from Lucerne, and artists Sylwia Zytynska, Rob Kloet and Bob Becker.
Schallmaschine Maximus
Synergy Percussion
Check My Machine 107 Projects Redfern, Sydney 18 September 2013 Robotic drumsticks, midi-triggered lights, three drum kits and seventy audience members were all crammed into the tiny performance space at 107 projects in Redfern to premiere Synergy’s ambitiously experimental electroacoustic project Check My Machine. Featuring Timothy, Bree, and long time Synergy collaborator Evan Mannell, the trio worked with an assortment of mad-scientist fringe artists Annie McKinnon and Robbie Avenaim, and vocalists Ngaiire, Miss Little, DUNE and Sikkem Rex.
Canberra Intl Music Festival Canberra ACT 10th - 19th May 2013 Synergy Percussion was one of the principle ensembles in residence at the Canberra International Music Festival, performing in 9 different concert events over the festival’s duration. From the Renaissance through to the very edge of the avantgarde, the festival was a brilliant showcase of the ensemble’s flexibility, diversity and talent, and enabled the ensemble to collaborate with some of the finest musicians from around Australia and the world.
Breathtakingly beautiful, set a high benchmark for the rest of the concerts in this series. – Canberra City News May 2013
Synergy Percussion & Taikoz : 2012 - 2015
Noreum Machi & Synergy OzAsia Festival Adelaide 8 - 14 Sept 2014 Sacred and profane, traditional and original, contemporary Australian and traditional Korean. A dark, vibrant and transformative concert experience. In a world-first event, Noreum Machi and Synergy Percussion will share the stage in a program steeped in the centuries-old samul-nori drumming tradition of Korea. In an explosion of colour and movement, dance and music, each group will present a rare program of works in which this ancient music is re-imagined in a contemporary context, before performing together in a triumphant, world-first finale.
This was a fabulous experience...I could bang on all day about how great these performers are...I hope you found out yourselves when the beat went on for a final show on Saturday night. – Gordon Forester, Glamalaide
Synergy meets Collarbones VIVID Festival, Seymour Centre 6 June 2014 Gen Y electro-pop artists Collarbones teamed up with Synergy Percussion to present a reimagining of the duo’s already off-the-wall tunes in this special concert as part of the Vivid Festival. The house was packed with one of Synergy’s most diverse audiences in recent memory, from Redfern hipsters to die-hard
Synergy fans from the baby boomer crowd. The two groups worked closelytogether for several weeks to carefully reconstruct intricate electro beats for acoustic instruments, climaxing in a finale work featuring Synergy members thrashing it out on three drum kits.
Synergy Percussion
Xenakis Vs Pateras Carriageworks, Redfern 22 - 23 April 2014
It’s imaginative programming like this that keeps the contemporary music scene alive. – Limelight Magazine 2014
Synergy Percussion performed two powerhouse works back to back over two nights: one, Xenakis Pleiades, was a tried-and-true classic; while the other was a world premiere by one of Australia’s most inventive and ambitious composers Anthony Pateras. Pateras’ work beauty will be amnesiac or will not be at all is one of Synergy’s largest commissions in recent history, lasting for over an hour and featuring the instrumentation of Xenakis’ Pleiades plus a complex fixed-media electronic backing.
Pateras’ work is a commission of which Synergy is most proud to have initiated; it is out hope that the two works will be performed side by side for many years to come across the planet. With decades of dedication to their craft, each group is recognised as the premiere percussion ensemble of their respective homelands. This truly is a momentous meeting of two cultural powerhouses from opposite sides of the planet.
Synergy Percussion & Taikoz : 2012 - 2015
Xenakis’ Pleiades Bellingen Music Festival 19 Sept 2014 Since winning a Limelight Magazine award for our interpretation of Xenakis’masterpiece Pleiades in 2011, Synergy Percussion has been committed to disseminating this amazing work as far and as often as possible. Non-metropolitan audiences in Bellingen were therefore privy to a very unusual performance of this utterly unique piece at the Bellingen Music Festival in Sept 2014.
Steve Reich’s Drumming
Synergy Percussion
City Jungle APAM, Brisbane Powerhouse 19 Feb 2014 Synergy’s City Jungle is an immense, immersive, electro-acoustic video experience. Created in collaboration with video artist Tokyo Love-in (Mike Chin), Synergy was invited with the rare opportunity to present a very special performance of this work at the Australian Performing Arts Market at the Brisbane Powerhouse in February 2014.
Steve Reich’s Drumming Pier 2/3, Walsh Bay, Sydney 9 November 2014 Synergy Percussion could think of no finer send-off for our 40th anniversary year than to perform the piece that started it all: Steve Reich’s Drumming. The concert featured an assortment of current and previous Synergy members including Ian Cleworth, Alison Pratt, Rebecca Lagos and
Colin Piper, as well as contemporary vocal group Halcyon and flautist Lamorna Nightingale. Drumming was performed in the wooden cathedral-like environs of Pier 2/3 in Walsh Bay, a cavernous yet warm space that was filled to capacity by both audience and Reich’s mesmerising music.
On the occasion of our 40th, we celebrate that Reich’s Drumming kickstarted the spectacular creature now known as the Percussion Ensemble. – Timothy Constable, Artistic Director 2013
Synergy Percussion & Taikoz : 2012 - 2015
Earth Cry National Tour August 2015
City Recital Hall, Sydney Supersense - Festival Of The Ecstatic, Festival Playhouse Victorian Art Centre - Melbourne Memorial Theatre - Bathhurst Trio Noreum Machi stages contemporary music that draws on South Korean shamanic rituals and the Sori vocal tradition as well as performative drumming including that pioneered by group SamulNori. For Noreum Machi director Kim Juhong, Earth Cry, their recent collaboration with Synergy Percussion, is both a presentation of existing Korean culture and the reflection of that tradition as interpreted in collaboration with Australian percussionists. It is this refraction, born of study and conversation, which interests both groups who are aware of the strange cultural territory they enter when staging cross-cultural projects.
Synergy Percussion
Earth Cry is as much about showing the process of collaboration as about presenting fully-fledged ideas and existing pieces. There’s an ideal that polishing it is not desirable. It’s about being true to process. Let it come out, immediate & raw. – Felicity Clarke Real Time Arts Magazine
Taikoz
Taikoz Productions 2012-15
Introduction Ian Cleworth Artistic Director Over the course of its 16-year history, Taikoz has sought to develop its own sound and approach – distinct from those of its Japanese and American cousins – by setting out on a journey that encompasses a tripartite basis of discovery: profound engagement with the players and music of the root culture – Japan, composition of new works by ensemble members that reflect the
musical and cultural backgrounds and artistic ideas of each person, and a commitment to the work of other taiko practitioners/composers and especially, composers from outside the ensemble, both international and Australian. Taikoz is dedicated to pushing the art form forward and rightly taking its place among the world’s finest taiko ensembles. Taikoz proudly presents highlights from 2012 - 14:
Kodo & Taikoz/Chi Udaka/The Spirit Dancer/World Taiko Gathering USA/Origin Of O/Future Directions/ Shifting Sand/The Beauty of 8
Synergy Percussion & Taikoz : 2012 - 2015
Kodo & Taikoz in concert Australian Tour September 2012
PAC Concert Hall - Brisbane. Hamer Hall Melbourne. Her Majesty’s Theatre - Adelaide. Canberra Theatre - Canberra. Civic Theatre Newcastle. Angel Place, Sydney.
Recognised as Japan’s leading cultural export, Kodo collaborates with the finest artists in the world – but never before have they done so with another taiko group. With both ensembles featuring their own original music and performance styles, this largely self-presented tour introduced Australian
audiences to the incredible breadth and diversity of modern wadaiko practice. It was a happy and enrichingexperience for all concerned and has really helped establish Taikoz as one of the world’s leading taiko ensembles.
Drummers became singers, singers became flautists, flautists became dancers, batteries of percussion suddenly lowered their dynamics to match the delicate shakuhachi, and the whole mix of choreography, physicality and primal energy ultimately became a glorious celebration of life. – The Australian Sept 2012
Taikoz
Kodo & Taikoz in concert
Chi Udaka - Sydney Festival York Theatre 16-18 January 2014 Inspired by the forces of nature, Chi Udaka is a meeting of the deep earthiness of taiko drumming, represented as Chi-Earth, and the flowing sensuality of dance, represented as Udaka-Water. At turns delicate and dramatic, it unites the taiko drums of Taikoz, the bamboo shakuhachi flute of Riley Lee, the ‘cello of John Napier and classical Indian vocals of Aruna Parthiban with Lingalayam’s blend of Bharatha Natyam and Kuchipudi dance forms.
What a thrilling surprise. The gunshot barrage of taiko drumming melds gloriously with the sinuously melodic action of classical Indian dance in Chi Udaka. - Jill Sykes, Sydney Morning Herald
Synergy Percussion & Taikoz : 2012 - 2015
The Spirit Dancer Angel Place, Sydney 28 November 2013 The overall theme of The Spirit Dancer is, ‘ancient ritual meets modern expression’. The Japanese traditional dance called Onikenbai is a deeply spiritual demonstration of ancient rites and beliefs, while Taikoz’s original music for shakuhachi and taiko draws on the idea of ‘the spirit dancer’, as embodied in Onikenbai, to conjure new modes of expression to reflect who we are as musicians and people inhabiting a Pacific city in the 21st Century
The Spirit Dancer
Taikoz
Origin of O The Forum, Leichhardt April 19 2013 Origin Of O was the brainchild of Taikoz member Tom Royce-Hampton and all-round Renaissance man, Mike Chin, aka Tokyo Love-In and Digital Shamans. Their shared passion is in exploring the meeting points between various opposing parameters: natural and synthetic, taiko and laptop, sound and movement, theatre and film. Origin Of O played to a full-to-the-brim Leichhardt Forum and represents Taikoz at its cutting edge best.
World Taiko Gathering Debut USA Tour July 2014 Marking our debut in the USA, this tour of the West Coast culminated in headline performances at the WTG in LA – the largest gathering of international players and teachers ever. Performing an all-Australian program of works, Taikoz proved to be unique in the taiko world, largely because of the ensemble’s high level of musicianship, technical mastery and originality in composition. Taikoz is looking forward to a more extensive return tour in 2017.
Honolulu, Sacramento San Jose, Santa Rosa Los Angeles.
Taikoz is an amazing group.I’m really happy your group was part of a successful WTG! – Masato Baba, TaikoProject & WTG organier
Synergy Percussion & Taikoz : 2012 - 2015
Shifting Sand Regional Tour May-July 2012
Belrose NSW – Portland VIC – Bendigo VIC – Tanunda SA – Renmark SA – Mount Gambier SA – Noarlunga SA – Port Pirie SA – Whyalla SA – Port Lincoln SA – Mandurah WA – Geraldton WA – Karatha WA – Mount Isa QLD – Townsville QLD – Cairns QLD – Mackay QLD – Rockhampton QLD – Gladstone QLD.
I am fascinated by the extremes of the taiko – how its sound can be soft and delicate… whispering… with such depth and resonance. But, the sound can also be massive, so much so that you feel the vibrations as much as hear them, and at the peak of the sound, the timbre of the taiko really cracks!!
Hilgendorf found resonance (no pun intended) between the latent dynamic potential of taiko and the ocean: both can whisper, or roar. More than that, there’s even parallel in the range of motion required in the practice of wadaiko: sharp and angular, voluptuous and graceful. And so the work begins with a kind of philosophy.
- Graham Hilgendorf, Composer-Director
- Lloyd Bradford Syke, Crikey Daily Review
Crimson Sky Regional Tour Sept-Oct 2014
Belrose, Albury, Wagga Wagga, Griffith, Parramatta, Port Macquarie, Lismore, Tamworth and Wollongong - NSW. Dandenong, Werribee, Frankston and Bendigo - VIC. Gold Coast, Coloundra and Gladstone - QLD. Alice Springs and Darwin - NT.
Aka-tombo sara-sara nagaru akane-zora
Red dragonflies flowing like a ripple toward the crimson sky
I loved the astonishing beauty and physicality of the playing, the beautiful contrast between power and delicacy, the fantastic compositions, the energy and enthusiasm of all members. - Crimson Sky Audience feedback
All make for an engaging spectacle that earns respect for its sense of ritual and a genuine belief in, and commitment to, its artistic, even spiritual, value. – David Vance, Sydney Morning Herald
Taikoz
Future Directions Angel Place, Sydney 14 June 2014 My approach to creating music, first and foremost, is finding the right people to work with. Who are they? They are people who share a deep respect of tradition while not being bound by it; people who are both disciplined in their practice, and also creative with their art. – Guest Artistic Director, Kaoru Watanabe I asked Kaoru to really challenge us in new ways and his response was to literally ‘make’ the music from the ground up through exploring the individual and collective talents of Taikoz. But exactly how did Kaoru go about it? It has been a somewhat subtle and organic process of gathering and pooling everyone’s ideas, experimenting with different ways of playing our instruments, increasing the amount of improvisation and generally just seeing/feeling where we might take each other. Fun and challenging stuff! – Ian Cleworth, Taikoz Artistic Director
Guest Artistic Director, Kaoru Watanabe.
Synergy Percussion & Taikoz : 2012 - 2015
The Beauty of 8 York Theatre, Seymour Centre 23-24 October, 2015 The Beauty of 8 is a new work of three parts: Eternal Silence; Our Horizon and The White Bird, featuring a guest artist, Chieko Kojima, a member of the Kodo ensemble. The title,The Beauty of 8, refers to the mesmerising shapes and movements thatare synonymous with Chieko Kojima’s Onna-ouchi [women’s side-on] style of taiko playing.This drumming combined a background in folk dance embroiders a seduction which is a visual embodiment of flow, grace and power.
Taikoz
It was, at my witnessing, to see and hear,a Musical Genius built from love of the form and the literal physical sweat and cost of dedicated practice. – Kevin Jackson’s Theatre Diary Oct 2015
Taikoz
Taikoz Education 2012-15
Introduction Ian Cleworth Artistic Director Taikoz is passionate about its outreach to the general community and has a wide range of educative activities, projects and experiences to offer. Chief among them are our Sydney-based weekly community classes, which have grown into a substantial concern – 14 classes per week, Monday-Sunday, including four school Taiko Clubs and an Onikenbai (Japanese traditional dance) Club – workshops for the general public (Sydney, and when
on tour, regional Australia), concerts and workshops for schools, an annual January Intensive Camp with international guest instructors, and an annual Youth Camp for children aged 6-16. Taikoz also runs its Individual Development Program (IDP) – a 6-month course for aspiring taiko players – and an ensemble of students called Taiko no Wa, winners of the 2011 Tokyo International Taiko Contest.
I love coming to the Taikoz classes because I really enjoy learning new pieces of music and working on all the various styles of taiko in the fun and welcoming environment each of the Taikoz teachers create. – Claudia Wherry, 18 yrs Taikoz student since 2009
Synergy Percussion & Taikoz : 2012 - 2015
Taikoz Intensive Rosebery Studios Jan 2012-15
Guest Artists: Kenny Endo (2012) Kaoru Watanabe (2013) Ryutaro Kaneko (2014)
The Intensive is held over three days in January with each day spanning some 12 hours of playing taiko, shakuhachi and shinobue, as well as singing, dancing and movement. With a history of exceptional international
guest artists, taiko players from all over Australia – and increasingly the world – work and play together in a hot-house environment, learning, playing and communing with each other on a truly intense level.
Onikenbai Workshops Rosebery Studios 29 Nov - 1 Dec 2013 Onikenbai is a beautiful, strong and fascinating dance form that hails from Japan’s Iwate Prefecture. Taikoz, the first non-Japanese group to study with the original masters of the form, Iwasaki Onikenbai Hozonkai, have been working at a deep level since 2010. Their organisation, which is the oldest Onikenbai preservation society in Japan, was constituted in 1732 and rarely travels outside of Japan; we were indeed privileged to see them here in Australia for the first time ever in their – and our – history. Both Taikoz and our many students benefited not only from their instruction, but also their deep humanity.
Taikoz Education
HYP: Holiday Youth Program Taikoz Studios 2012-15 A highlight of our annual calendar, HYP is a fantastically fun school holiday experience for young players aged 6-16. Over the course of three days the children explore the world of taiko through studying technique, learning a piece of music especially composed for them, and performing a mini-concert for parents and friends.
Moorambilla Festival Outback NSW 2012-14 Working with the ever-passionate Michelle Leonard and her Moorambilla Voices has been one of the most enduring and rewarding partnerships for Taikoz. Each year, members of Taikoz travel to outback NSW for two weeklong sessions of workshops and performances with the specially selected Moorambilla students. Working with other artists and composers in music, dance and visual arts, Taikoz has established a program of taiko, movement and singing that is helping young people develop as fine, well-rounded musicians.
Thank you again for giving me the opportunity to hang out with Taikoz and the other people who were at the MAXed OUT! workshops. I think everyone had an awesome time, even though our arms were sore! You need to be fit and strong to be a Taikoz drummer. – John Wayne Josephson, 14 yrs Cobar