Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

Event Details

Join us for a very special Sunday afternoon concert when 13-piece powerhouse Sirens Big Band presents [A]part – a ground-breaking suite of music by Ellen Kirkwood, featuring the legendary performers Sandy Evans, Andrea Keller and Sonya Holowell.

A dynamic collective bringing new sounds to the traditional big band setting, Sirens Big Band are passionate about increasing gender diversity in jazz through their predominantly female and trans line-up.

Ellen Kirkwood, a member since Sirens’ formation in early 2010, has been an important contributor to the group’s unique repertoire. Pianist Andrea Keller, saxophonist Sandy Evans and vocalist Sonya Holowell are three of Australia’s most celebrated and in-demand jazz performer/composers, and have played a significant part in inspiring Ellen and her generation of creative jazz musicians.

This stunning concert is Ellen’s emotive and captivating response to growing issues in a rapidly changing world: the wonder and malignance of the internet, the refugee crisis, greed and climate change, and reflections/reactions to the present.

[A]part traverses a diverse series of moods and influences. The musical metamorphosis from one section to another sees a vast array of ideas and styles including neo-classicism, chorale, afro-cuban, afrobeat and electronica.

Penned in 2016-17 during Ellen’s Australia Council-funded composition mentorship with composer/pianist Barney McAll, [A]part was a 2018 finalist in the APRA Art Music Awards for Jazz Work of the Year, and Ellen was a finalist in the 2017 Freedman Jazz Fellowships largely due to this work.

“A composition that has all it takes to be a modern Australian classic.”
-Nikos Fotakis, AustralianJazz.net

Further information for this event is available online at the event's website or by phone on (02) 4723 5050 or by email to thehub@bmcc.nsw.gov.au

Featured Australian Works

Featured artists

• Performer Sirens Big Band
• Performer Andrea Keller
• Performer Sandy Evans
• Performer Sonya Holowell