Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

31 Jul 2007 Teaching Contemporary Music by Janet McKay

Introducing young people to contemporary classical music can be a challenging but rewarding experience... but the very words contemporary classical music often causes apprehension, fear, and misconception...

22 May 2008 Duelling Violins by Janet McKay

Violinists James Cudderford and Natsuko Yoshimoto recently performed at the Female Orphan’s School on the campus of UWS Parramatta as part of the 2008 Aurora Festival of Living Music. The program comprised works by Australian and American composers, including two solos by the iconic American composer Elliot Carter, and violin duos by established and emerging composers from both countries.

26 Jun 2008 Percussion to the Max by Janet McKay

A full house greeted the Queensland Orchestra at the first concert in this year’s Contempo series, focusing on contemporary works for orchestra. This particular concert featured three concertos – two for percussion and one for violin – performed by some of Australia’s brightest young talents.

29 Sep 2008 Clocked Out Duo: Dedications by Janet McKay

In this final concert of their inaugural Brisbane season, musical adventurers Clocked Out returned to their roots. In their incarnation as Clocked Out Duo, Vanessa Tomlinson (percussion) and Erik Griswold (prepared piano, misc. instruments) weave a refined fabric of sound that can be, at any moment, delicate, energetic, playful, or sensitive.

19 Nov 2008 Topology and Brophy by Janet McKay

I have to admit that I was surprised at every turn of this Topology concert. I arrived expecting the usual line-up but was instead greeted by new faces and instruments throughout the concert. Only three of the Topology quintet made it onstage (Christa Powell, Rob Davidson and John Babbage), outnumbered by an array of guest players on strings, percussion and oboe. The program presented a stroll through the back catalogue of the chamber music of Brisbane-based composer Gerard Brophy. It was a journey out of Topology's comfort zone, in terms of genre as well as instrumentation, and just the beginning of a fascinating set.

31 Oct 2007 Transit by Angharad Davis

The reconsideration of sound in recent times, and the concomitant re-evaluation of instrumental roles and techniques, sometimes seems better suited to instruments without a strong canon of conventional repertoire...

31 Mar 2009 Those Vanished Hands - Janet McKay by Sarah Collins

McKay’s ingenuity in developing and presenting these projects is to be loudly applauded. Through the hour-long, essentially solo program, she was able to maintain the energy and interest of the audience and create a collegial atmosphere for the consumption of new works. Although the linking between the title of the concert (presumably taken from the Robert Wilson book of the same name), the musical works presented and the diabolical subjects of the concurrent exhibition, was too subtle for this reviewer’s comprehension, it did not deter from the effectiveness of the event.

26 Jun 2009 From a student musician to a professional performer by Janet McKay

As music students, we spend countless hours learning about our instrument in great detail, about music history and performance practice, about music theory and compositional techniques, and about rehearsing and performing as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player. One crucial aspect of the music profession that doesn’t seem to appear in any ‘traditional’ music degree program is how to move beyond simply having a great idea for a concert, to successfully and confidently managing and performing our own gigs.

28 Aug 2009 Solo Perspective concerts 1&2 by Geoffrey Gartner

The recent Solo Perspective concerts, presented by the New Music Network, gave six Australian soloists the opportunity to strut their stuff in front of appreciative audiences in the Recital Hall East at the Sydney Conservatorium in two Sunday recitals. Each concert took the form of a triple bill and juxtaposed an eclectic range of instruments and musical styles...

16 Jun 2016 Unbound: a flute festival for the 21st century by Janet McKay

The inaugural Unbound Flute Festival, 1-3 July in Brisbane, is a brand-new initiative on the Australian music calendar. The brainchild of flutist Janet McKay and flutist/composer Michal Rosiak, the festival will deliver interactive sessions for all levels of flute player and teacher, with a firm focus on the music of our time