Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

Event Details

Australian resident composer and reeds player Ian Blake will be joined by the European contingent of SANS for their first visit to Australia, appearing at the National Folk Festival this Easter. SANS makes spacious and spontaneous music drawing on Finnish, Armenian and British traditions.

Here's some background on the visiting musicians: Sanna Kurki-Suonio was for many years one of the voices of Swedish/Finnish band Hedningarna. She has had two operatic roles created for her in Finland, and will be singing with the Paul Taylor Orchestra in Switzerland this year in the new work 'Nordic Winds'. She holds a doctorate in ethnic vocal techniques and teaches at the North Karelia University of Applied Sciences.

Born near Mt Ararat, Armenian duduk master Tigran Aleksanyan studied at the Armenian Conservatory and was a member of the Armenian State Dance Ensemble orchestra and the Akhtamar Dance Group, which toured widely through Europe and Iraq. He has been based in London since 2001.  In addition to his work as a multi-instrumental performer, notably on the electrified 74-string zither, Andrew Cronshaw is a producer, journalist and critic with a substantial body of articles, reviews and projects concerning world music.

Performers: Tigran Aleksanyan, Ian Blake, Andrew Cronshaw, Sanna Kurki-Suonio

Further information for this event is available online at the event's website or by phone on (02) 6262 4792 or by email to info@folkfestival.org.au

Featured artists

• Jazz/improvisation by Ian Blake