Resonate Magazine | Australian Music Centre

Image: Chamber Made's Permission to speak will be presented at Classical:NEXT's 'Project Pitches'  

The Australian component of the Classical:NEXT music industry event in Rotterdam (16-18 May 2018) is close to being finalised. Stand 20 at De Doelen International Congress Centre, organised by SOUNDS AUSTRALIA in partnership with the Australian Music Centre, will be the base for the Australian delegation. In 2018 it will consist of the two Classical:NEXT 2018 Fellows, pianist Aura Go and percussionist-composer Matthias Schack-Arnott, as well as the following delegates: Alex Raupach (Canberra International Music Festival), Andrew McKeich (Select Audio-Visual Distribution), Elaine Chia (City Recital Hall - Sydney), Emma Calverley (Creative Partnerships Australia), Genevieve Lacey (Australian Music Centre), Marshall McGuire (Melbourne Recital Centre), Roland Peelman (Canberra International Music Festival), and Tamara Saulwick (Chamber Made).

Classical:NEXT was born out of the simple idea to bring the diverse scenes of classical music together and offer them a forum to exchange and develop new ways for classical and contemporary music. Since the first edition in 2012, about 3000 classical music professionals from more than 1000 companies and from over 40 countries have engaged with Classical:NEXT and made it into the world's most important classical music meeting.

Many Australians will have a prominent role at Classical:NEXT. The London-based Australian pianist and sound designer Belle Chen is the first Australian to be selected to showcase at the event, while Project Pitches will be presented by Genevieve Lacey (Pleasure Garden) and Tamara Saulwick from Chamber Made (Permission to speak by Saulwick and composer Kate Neal). Creative Partnerships Australia's Emma Calverley participates in a conference panel on crowdfunding, along with other international delegates.

AMC's CEO John Davis summarises the importance of Classical:NEXT for representatives of the Australian music industry:

'As with previous delegations to Classical:NEXT, the opportunity for Australians to network with international delegates is complemented by the opportunity to network amongst themselves, an aspect of the event that many Australians attending previously have remarked on. This year we again moderate the Asia Pacific Rim Networking Session, which addresses the many issues relating to how those outside of the European context, who invest so much in attending this event, can best exploit the opportunities of engaging in this marketplace. Doing so collectively provides this community with a potential advantage, so we are keen to see this network develop further. Every year from Classical:NEXT the Australian delegates take away new connections, renewed relationships, and further opportunities to pursue. The AMC's partnership with SOUNDS AUSTRALIA works exceptionally well in providing a platform for Australians seeking to further develop their international networks.'

An Australian tradition at Classical:NEXT, Vegemite and cheese toasted sandwiches and mimosas will be served at Stand 20 at breakfast time on Thursday 17 May, as an opportunity to meet the whole delegation. The reception will be followed by the showcase by Belle Chen in the Eduard Flipse Hall at 12pm (first floor of the De Doelen Congress Centre).

> Classical:NEXT website - see also SOUNDS AUSTRALIA website.

> Read also: a news article on the Music Australia website [edit: link added 10 May]