Looking forward

In a weeks time I will be driving in our Toyota Camry across the Nullarbor on the way to my new home....in Melbourne. Moving can be a really scary thing for a musician. Any artist understands the number of years and hard work it takes to gather enough contacts to sustain a career in the arts. Perth has served me well. I have made some great contacts and feel as though I will always be welcomed back into the scene when I return (one day). Although I was completely content and secure with the work I gained in Perth, there never did seem to be quite enough excitement. Whether or not this will change in Melbourne I don't know but as everyone says, it is the musical capital of Australia. I'm excited to discover what Melbourne can offer me. Long awaited bansuri lessons for one! I have always wanted to learn the bansuri properly but could not find anyone in Perth to teach me, but Melbourne is home to a few! It's fantastic! I'm very excited at the prospect of learning new things I would never have the opportunity the learn in Perth.

I am working hard already at trying to secure some work before I arrive in Melbourne and already I have landed a position with Jarrah Thompson's blues/rock/fusion band. I played with the band when they came to W.A for a tour through the South West and have since played a show with them on The Blues Train in Melbourne. There's exciting things happening for the band this year with another South West tour in April, 2010 and a tour/recording in Brazil in July/August 2010. It's set to be a great year already! Check out the tour website....

http://jarrahinbrazil.wordpress.com/

Expanding Horizons

During my years as a flautist I have realised that being put into the Classical flute player box was definitely not where I wanted to be. I want to be versatile and creative with my playing, try new techniques and learn new instruments. So this is what I now set out to be. I still love playing Classical music but I have interests in so many other style of music I don't want to stifle.

I'm currently striving towards this goal by playing with a blues rock band, Jarrah Thompson and band. It's the most fun I've had on stage in ages and I get to express myself in a way I thought I might never get the chance! I will post some videos with Jarrah soon but in the mean time check out my performance of Ravi Shankar's L'aube Enchantee. In my Honours year at WAAPA I studied Indian and Japanese inspired flute music for the Western flautist. This piece by Shankar is a great way to introduce yourself with Indian melody, form and rhythm. This was played at my 2007 Graduation Recital with Tony Maydwell on harp.