Dr Donna Hewitt and Dr Paul Smith are both presenting new music works at a Festival at Bondi called the Bondi Feast in July.
Donna has curated and is performing her work in a concert of performances for artists working with interactive and embodied musical interfaces while Paul is presenting his new short Opera called ‘How to Build a Billy’.
Soma Sonic
Soma Sonic is a collection of performances by artists at the forefront of new musical instrument design.
Featuring solo and collaborative performances from Mary Mainsbridge, Alon Ilsar and Donna Hewitt, three artists whose interactive works explore the intersection between sound, voice, movement and visuals.
Expect the unexpected with innovations in performer-led embodied interface design, augmented vocal applications, wearables and wireless interaction. The performers navigate the interface between humans and machines, from sensor based microphones and wearable performance interfaces to gesture controlled visual environments, embodied interfaces and off-the-shelf gaming controllers transformed into unique musical instruments.
Mary, Alon and Donna have performed and exhibited work internationally and bring together their unique approaches to working with sound and the human body.
“The inventive techno-percussion of live drummer Alon Ilsar – sound takes on a physicality as immediate and dramatic as the (visible) choreography” – Herald, Glasgow
“Hewitt’s morphed voice emerges into dreamy awareness. The aesthetic here is in the electronic orchestration of musical and non-musical fragments into a seductive song” – Realtime
More: Soma Sonic – Bondi Feast gig 26th July 2018 at Bondi Pavilion 8.30-9.30pm – https://www.bondifeast.com.au/event/soma-sonic/
How to Build a Billy
This year, Blush Opera presents a new Australian musical comedy, How To Build A Billy, a show with big voices, big banging and more than a few screws loose.
In this madcap contemporary opera, two singers must build flatpack IKEA furniture from scratch at the same time as telling the story of two siblings struggling to cope with their newly widowed mother’s ever-growing book collection. It’s a race against the clock as the siblings’ competitive spirit takes over. Who will finish first? Who will put one of the pieces on back to front by accident? This is a show for anyone who has lost it trying to save money by building their own furniture.
Blush Opera returns to Bondi Feast after presenting their black comedy Fancy Me Dead in 2017. This year, Blush Opera collaborates with celebrated Sydney-based percussionist Kaylie Dunstan to present an unusual, funny and thrilling chamber work by composer Paul Smith.
Blush is a Sydney-based ensemble dedicated to expanding types of opera by incorporating elements of comedy, cabaret, musical theatre and physical theatre. They have performed at festivals around Australian and bring their unique performing aesthetic to diverse communities across the greater Sydney region.
Composer: Paul Smith
Performer: Jermaine Chau
Percussionist: Kaylie Dunstan
More: How to Build a Billy: Bondi Feast MINI THEATRE Thu 19, Fri 20, Sat 21 JULY 2018 7pm-7.20pm https://www.bondifeast.com.au/event/how-to-build-a-billy/
Image: Donna performing with the eMIC VIVID. Image by RH Photography taken at 107 Project Redfern