Resonate Magazine | Australian Music Centre

For many years, Australians have been travelling to the international trade fairs ─ Jazzahead (in Bremen) and to Classical:NEXT (in Hannover, previously in Rotterdam), and post-lockdown, we were keen to re-engage with old friends and new.

The long awaited 2022 Australian delegations, comprised a total of 30 people living in Australia and abroad, including musicians and representatives from festivals, venues, labels, management agencies, the media, Sounds Australia and the AMC. Some of members of this year's cohort were initially scheduled to attend the events, but were postponed because of the pandemic.

The AMC provided bursaries for several musicians and cultural operators including the artistic associates, musicians Hamed Sadeghi and Reuben Lewis for Jazzahead, and Nat Bartsch, Tamara Kohler and agent Luke Tierney for ClassicalNEXT. In a special measure for 2022, the AMC also provided bursaries for six others attending Jazzahead: Natalie Deitz (musician), Kristin Berardi (musician), Taylor Davis (musician), Nick Garbett (musician, and SIMA representative), Hadley Agrez (CEO and Program Director, Melbourne International Jazz Festival), and Stuart Rogers (Director of Programming, City Recital Hall).

Image: The Australian delegation at Jazzahead

The possibility to be in Bremen for Jazzahead and Hannover for Classical:NEXT and to host the delegation was made possible via support from the Australia Council for the Arts and Sounds Australia, who organised and staffed the stand - providing a fun as well as welcoming home base - and facilitated the essential WhatsApp groups as well as opportunities to meet other delegations from other nations.

Across five days in each city, we did business with the international jazz and classical music communities ─ networking, entertaining, making discoveries, celebrating, and perfecting the art of the hang (an essential skill for anyone working in all forms of music).

Jazzahead highlights were the live showcase by Brekky Boy - the hip piano trio led by Taylor Davis, featuring Alex Hirlian and Ryan Hurst, as part of the coveted overseas showcase night, and a networking dinner with a handpicked group of international agents, managers, record labels and programmers from Canada, Estonia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Switzerland, the UK and the USA.

Classical:NEXT highlights included the Innovation Award which was won by Christopher Sainsbury, associate professor of composition, founder and director of Ngarra-Burria First Peoples Composers Program, and was accepted by the elegant Lyle Chan, a showcase in the main hall of the Schauspielhaus by brilliant pianist Zubin Kanga, the three opportunities to pitch new and existing works by Damien Ricketson (Sound Touch: Music You Can Feel), Rae Howell (Bee-Sharp Honeybee) and yours truly (pitching on behalf of Genevieve Lacey's Soliloquy).

Image: Lyle Chan at the Classical:NEXT Innovation Award ceremony

For both events, the overwhelming highlight was the sheer delight at being together in real life after such a long time apart, and the excitement of the opportunities that might lie ahead.

Classical:NEXT has announced that they will skip a year and organise the next edition in 2024 (dates and location TBC), while the 2023 edition of Jazzahead in Bremen will be announced soon, with registration and showcase applications usually starting in September. Watch this space for more details.