Splinter Orchestra takes over 21 Shepherd and the surrounding streets in an all-day, immersive festival of sound.
From midday to evening, music will unfold across every nook and cranny of the warehouse, streets and laneway through shifting combinations of solos, duos, trios, small ensembles, and the full Orchestrating Sonoverse.
SUNDAY 8 March from 12 - 9pm
TICKETS BY DONATION
Splinter Orchestra
Splinter is a large-scale electro-acoustic improvising Orchestra playing with Dharug Country, Sydney, Australia.
One of the few groups of its kind anywhere else in the world, Splinter was formed in 2002, currently comprises 30+ members and brings together musickin from various backgrounds to co-create on equal terms – without any leaders, composers, or conductors.
The ensemble is based on a social, democratic, gender equal and a non-hierarchical cooperation via improvisation. Inherently this regard and reciprocity is extended to non-human musickin, and Place.
Each Splinter iteration is an ecology where musicians can explore instrumental and vocal techniques, and relations in unconventional ways. Our process is musicking, recording, listening, and discussion.
Splinter Residency
In February Splinter will work to develop a new durational Orchestration with the exciting new home of The Living Room Theatre at 21 Shepherd.
Over many years, Splinter abandoned standard concert-hall rituals and worked towards large scale, longer durations, moving orchestrations; a co-creative engagement with Place. We will generate ways of working that are co-creative with 21 Shepherd and relevant to the group of musickin who now constitute the Orchestra.
Much of Splinter’s public work for many years has been an exploration of moving together to create orchestral playing in vast spaces - at Mungo, Pilliga, Jindabyne, and Bundanon the geophony (weather) and biophony (critters) has as much say as any anthrophony (cars, planes, axe-throwers and musicking). So, much of our residency will be to learn how to play with this Place and the sounds that swirl in and around it. Our aim is to find and develop appropriate ways to co-create with 21 Shepherd and its surrounding streets and alleys.
Splinter Festival
On Sunday March 8 Splinter will sound in every nook and cranny of 21 Shepherd and the streets outside, in all sorts of combinations; solos, duos, trios, quartets, quintets, etc, and of course, the full Orchestrating Sonoverse. We auralize the event will unfold from around midday through till 9pm, with plenty of food, drinks, and craft activities. Audience members can come, go, and come back, or stay for the entirety. (Although, almost certainly, no one person will be able to experience every part of the whole.)
Splinter Everywhen
Part of the Splinter Festival will be a discourse about past events, the present, and future possibilities. We want to say something about time and our experience of musicking together, but to do it in a uniquely Splinter way. So, this section might not resemble a formal conference or lecture. This part of the work might be on a seperate evening before the 8th, and could involve important Splinter founding members not currently in the group.