KRISTY EDMUNDS: FESTIVAL FOOTNOTES

So, finally the embargo is over and the Festival program is out there ...

_{Kristy Edmunds launching the 2008 Melbourne Festival
photo: Carla Gottgens}

For those at the Launch a couple of weeks ago, thanks for making it such an exuberant night; for those of you writing in about the program content after getting the Program Guide, thanks also; and for those of you hitting the website to get your own copy - hooray! Ticket sales are clipping along at a wild rate, and I am exceptionally heartened by the choices audiences are making. From what I can tell thus far, there won't be many of us getting much sleep in October!

Speaking of which, invariably there are projects planned for the Festival that for a variety of reasons (some more bizarre than others, and most related to the detailed complexity of a deadline) don't make it into our first major publication. I thought I would highlight a couple of these for you so that you can be the first to know: the first is eighth blackbird (featured in this issue), a Grammy-award winning music ensemble that will perform two outstanding concerts at the BMW Edge. The second is African/Australian ensemble Black Jesus Experience, a 10-piece band led by composer and multi-instrumentalist Peter Harper and comprising three singer-songwriters from Ethiopia, Namibia and Burundi, a powerful brass section, and an affinity for jazz, hip hop and big band music. Black Jesus Experience is performing at the Spiegeltent. In the instance of both ensembles, you can get more information on our website.

_{Enushu of Black Jesus Experience}

I also wanted to offer a big 'mea culpa' to, oh let's see, about 100 artists (!). Due in part to a 'technical glitch' at the Launch I dropped off a rather significant project in my presentation from the podium. Rather than go into name by name detail here, let me just say that one of the key projects in the conceptual underpinnings of the Festival program is a project entitled 21:100:100 that will open at Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces. Essentially described as ‘100 works by 100 sound artists created in the 21st Century,' this is a sound art 'exhibition' and also a creative archive of ample proportion and ambition. Developed with internationally acclaimed artists Oren Ambarchi and Marco Fusinato, along with Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces' Artistic Director Alexie Glass and Curator Emily Cormack. The Festival's creative team is also collaborating on the exhibition. In short, this is a massive and first-of-its-kind undertaking. The choreography of headphones alone is impressive, let alone the design component to the project, and the works themselves are top of the line. If the exhibition at Gertrude isn't enough, Oren and Marco are also pulling together a live sound art event at the BMW Edge, 21:100:100 In Concert, that features sound artists from Melbourne and much further a field ...

_{21:100:100
photo: Fabio Ongarato}

For those of you reading from overseas, the BMW Edge is a kind of glass and steel enclosed auditorium-esque venue situated directly in the heart of Melbourne's civic ‘lounge room' called Federation Square. When the 21:100:100 sound art spectacle happens live in that venue, there is definitely going to be a rather amazing experience for the audience in the space itself, but it can also have a rather robust visual and auditory impact to anyone within an eight block radius of the BMW Edge. Another night not to be missed at the Festival this year and, again, my apologies to my collaborators for effectively choking on stage at the Launch.

Patti Smith. I too, had a audible intake of breath when she said ‘yes' to coming to the Festival (along with a few athletic moves I didn't even know my body was still capable of down the hallways of the office) and the fact that she's able to present a wide offering of her work across art forms and subject matter, well, in a nutshell, I'm still reeling. Apparently audiences are as well because I am not sure we will have tickets left to her concerts by the time the Festival Planner hits the streets - seriously.

Goran Bregovic? Ditto.
Philip Glass and the Book of Longing project? Ditto.
And then there's Batsheva Dance Company and their no-small-miracle capacity to do two shows plus all matter of schedule complexities on top!
The Schönberg Ensemble: Have you looked at the repertoire yet? And, have you ever experienced Barbara Hannigan?
Kudsi Erguner!!!
Deborah Hay!!!
Kartik Seshadri!!!
The Hidden Republic project with The Black Arm Band and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra?!!!! YES!!!
TIM CROUCH?! GLORIA DELUXE?!! TOSHI REAGON?!! ROSS MCCLENNAN?!!

Okay, there is so much in the program that if I keep going you will lose faith in my discernment. Can I please also just say that there are about 12 micro-Festivals amid the macro of this Festival. In upcoming ArtZines, I will be writing in about the various projects, their interconnections, along with what has been going on behind the scenes - how some of the projects evolved and what other surprises are in store for Festival goers.

Also, for those of you writing in feel free to let me know what you would like to hear more about and I will happily oblige.

Until then, with fond regards,

Kristy.