Info on Artists
Thank you to all of our Artists and Performers!
Your support has helped the festival achieve a successful arts and community event. The festival has also received some fantastic reviews in the media, and some extremely positive feedback from attendees.
I hope the event was a great success for you.
Statistics for Viva la Gong Festival 2008
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If you need further information on the statistics or if you require any images from the festival, please do not hesitate in contacting Lisa Nolan, Cultural Services Coordinator, Wollongong City Council.
Click here to view images from the festival
Click here to download the Viva 2008 Brochure [PDF 1.9Mb]
Tim Freedman Unplugged
Frontman from of one of Australia’s favourite bands, the Whitlams. One night only, up close and personal, vocals and piano.
Sculthorpe Remixed* with Phil Slater on trumpet as well as many other notable jazz and pop artists including Tim Freedman and Katie Noonan.
Day: Thu 9 Oct
Time: 8pm
Venue: Late Night Festival Hub – MacCabe Park (Licensed bar)
Ticketed Event: $35, concessions $25 (double bill)
*Tickets for Sculthorpe only $10 available on the door
Highlight Event – Viva Acoustic
Don’t miss this fabulous line-up of local artists. Stripped bare to acoustic sounds, performing live and raw … with a selection of their own songs and some fabulous covers of well known artists. This event is sure to be a show stopper.
Day: Sat 11 Oct
Time: 8 - 9.30pm
Venue : Diggers Club, Burelli Street, Wollongong
Tickets: $15 & $10
Viva Acoustic ARTISTS LINE-UP
Rose Ertler
Rose Turtle Ertler is one of Australia's most recognized ukulele players and has been performing her solo act for the last eight years. She has toured to Europe and more recently she performed at the New York Ukulele Festival and at ukulele clubs in California. Rose has released three solo ukulele CDs and will start recording her fourth in October 2008, funded by Arts Victoria. In an attempt to save the misunderstood reputation of the adorable little Hawaiian instrument, Rose plays her original contemporary ukulele songs mostly acoustic, but sometimes also uses a range of effects pedals.
“Her sweet, heady voice can dance and twirl with abandon, Beautifully sad sometimes, then quirky like some of the supplementary sounds” . Metro, Sydney Morning Herald.
Penny Hartgerink
Although only 21, singer-songwriter Penny Hartgerink, the beach girl from Kiama has managed to pack an impressive portfolio of solo gigs and support performances with artists ranging from Xavier Rudd, The Beautiful Girls to Adam Brand and Lee Kernaghan.
Penny beautiful, distinctive and powerful voice, sets her apart, with her musical influences being the likes of Kasey Chambers, Jewel, the Waifs and Ben Harper … with her first independent ep released in February this year, she is definitely headed for bigger things … Check out Penny at the Diggers Club playing her acoustic guitar and singing a mix of her own material and covers by some of her favourite artists … and remember … you saw her here first!
Twilight Concert Kammer Ensemble
Works by Bach, Mozart, Brahms as well as Australian composers: Peter Sculthorpe, John Peterson, Ross Edwards & others.
With projected images by Regis Lansac
Kammer Ensemble
Kammer's unique combination of instruments enables them to perform masterpieces from the classical chamber music repertoire as well as presenting modern contemporary works. Kammer have worked with many of prominent Australian composers including Anne Boyd, Paul Stanhope, Peter Sculthorpe, Daniel Rojas, Alex Posniak and Tristan Coelho. Kammer’s particular brand of music making is an engaging combination of music past and present.
As Ensemble in residence at University of Wollongong, KAMMER has a busy schedule of concerts, master-classes and workshops in the Illawarra area.
Concert Program
Bach Solo Suite for Cello
Brahms Clarinet Quintet 1st Movt
Sculthorpe Island Dreaming for soprano and string quartet
Peterson Tallawarra
Mozart Flute Quartet
Sculthorpe Maranoa Lullaby for soprano and string quartet
Ross Edwards Talgyam Mantras
Introduced by Peter Sculthorpe with music from the Kammer Ensemble.
Day: Fri. 10 Oct
Time: 6-7pm,
Venue: St Andrew’s Church, cnr Burelli St & Kembla St
Tickets: FREE / donations at door
Wadi Wadi Mixed Tribe
The Wadi Wadi Mixed Tribe came together about 5 years ago. The Wadi Wadi Mixed Dance Tribe was formed to inspire the younger generation to carry the culture that has been handed down to them. The Wadi Wadi Mixed Tribe share our/their history and culture through dance. Day: Sun 12 Oct |
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Zorba’s Kefi Band
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“Kefi: meaning an abundance of exuberance and fun, when you're so bursting with life you just HAVE to sing or dance! “ This 7 piece band has been celebrating their love of Greek folk music for the past 25 years. With sweet sounds of the Aegean trickling off the strings of the bouzouki, this band’s mission is to show the world how to party the Greek way. With absolute passion and abandon! Day: Sun 12 Oct |
Monsieur Camembert
With a vibrant, contemporary edge, triple ARIA Award winning group Monsieur Camembert has been described as eclectic, virtuosic, theatrical and irreverent. Fusing the wild rhythms of Eastern Europe with tango and Latin music, swing, jazz, klezmer, tarantella and French Musette, Monsieur Camembert’s shows have become synonymous with an atmosphere of celebration and spontaneity. This is gutsy, emotive and irresistibly danceable music, played with originality, virtuosity, sensuality and flair. The most successful world music band in Australian music history, the core group has been performing for more than seven years and has gained a wide audience at a range of events, including national and international music festivals, concert halls, various performing arts and jazz venues, including the Sydney Opera House, The Basement and the Art Gallery of NSW and celebrity weddings. In 2000, they were a featured act at the Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony and were broadcast on ABC Radio National's live concert series: “Live On Stage” three times. Gloriously melodramatic, extraordinary musical prowess [and] breathless panache… ensemble playing at it’s finest... (Drum Media Magazine) Day: Sun 12 Oct |
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Music of Joy
J Hoom Quawells will be playing a mix of Eastern and Western music which will consist of eastern based instruments including the Harmonium, tabla, drums, chimta and guitar, their performance includes a stunning classical Indian dance routine, guaranteed to be a highlight performance. Day: Sun 12 Oct |
Big Snore Hammers
A lively selection of music from the various regions of Italy and in particular the southern region of Campania, Previous performances have included
Day: Sun 12 Oct |
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PRAYER BELLS by Constantine Koukias’s
A choral work for three solo cantors - in Hebrew, Greek and Latin - and eight male voices, with a quarter-tone set of specially crafted Hand Bells
Prayer Bells or PENTEKOSTARION is divided into twenty-one prayers, some intoned by bells alone. The work is based on heterophony, as opposed to polyphony or harmony: melody is used to create a harmonic accompaniment and structure to the chant.
The work spans the cultural and historical boundaries of three divergent but related chant traditions. Most of the Hebrew chants come from early parts of the Book of Genesis of the Old Testament. Byzantine chants are the poetical expression of Orthodox theology. And Latin texts are from the medieval scholars, Sedulius Scottus and Paulinus of Nola. There is also reference to Gnosticism, the ancient esoteric spiritual movement considered at odds with traditional Christian ideology.
Sixty-one bells are used in the work, all of them specially commissioned and cast as the Federation Bells for the Centenary of Federation. The bells are in six sets of eleven quarter-tone bells, pitched between A and D.
Day: Sat 11 Oct
Time: 6-7pm
Venue : Pioneer Hall, MacCabe Park
Tickets: Adult $25, $15 concessions
Sculthorpe Remixed with Phil Slater Quartet and Tim Freedman and Katie Noonan
Peter Sculthorpe has written for the full range of musical genres, including works for orchestra, string quartet, solo instrument, voice and choir, film, ballet, theatre and opera. His music is flexible and versatile; he often rearranges a piece for different instrumental combinations. He views his compositional output as a whole and, as a result, there are many inter-connections between works and each piece builds upon those that precede it.
Peter is actively involved in the national and international music scene, attending festivals and performances and teaching at summer schools, as well as composing. His music is widely performed and recorded and he regularly receives commissions from overseas performing groups such as Kronos Quartet, Verdher Trio and Brodsky Quartet, as well as from Australia’s major orchestras and chamber music groups.
Sculthorpe has been honoured with many awards and prizes, including an MBE (1970), OBE (1977), and Order of Australia (1990). He is also a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and holds four honorary doctorates.
Day: Thu 9 Oct
Time: 9.15pm
Venue: Late Night Festival Hub – MacCabe Park (Licensed bar)
Ticketed Event: $35 with Tim Freedman Concert,
concessions $25 (double bill)
*Tickets for Sculthorpe only $10 available on the door
VX18504
created by Meryl Tankard, performed by The Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP)
'...one of the most compelling Australian theatre works I have seen.'
Robin Grove, The Age
'The theatre dance work by Meryl Tankard who is a leading national choreographer will be an inspiration to young people who are interested in performance and will appeal to all ages with its vibrant tableaux from Australian town life in the 30s and engaging mix of folk and contemporary dance.'
Lisa Nolan Cultural Services Coordinator, Wollongong City Council.
VX18504 was the army service number of Sergeant Mick (Clifford Matthew) Tankard, Meryl Tankard's father. In this profoundly moving blend of theatre and dance, Meryl Tankard explores the origins of conflict in our society, from childhood cruelty and backyard brawls to the ravages of war.
Don’t miss your chance to see this unique theatre, dance experience, amplified by the humour, optimism and boundless energy of this enormously talented young cast of performers aged between 12 and 18.
Meryl Tankard is one of Australia's most internationally acclaimed choreographers. Her vast body of work includes Furioso (Australian Dance Theatre), Wild Swans (Australian Ballet), the Opening Ceremony of the 2000 Olympic Games, Kaidan (2007 Sydney Festival).
Day: Thu October 9th
Fri October 10th
Sat October 11th
Time: 7.30pm
Saturday Matinee 2pm
Venue: IPAC IMB Theatre
Tickets: Adult $39 / $22 concession
Group discount (10 or more) $22
Viva Poetry
One of the Illawarra’s best kept secrets is that it is home to a community of acclaimed Australian writers, and is especially popular with poets.
Join our most exciting and contemporary poets for an afternoon of challenge and contemplation … call into the gallery for half an hour of amusing poetry or come for the whole afternoon and experience the amazing insight of some of Australia’s and the Illawarra’s most talented poets and authors.
Program
12noon Welcome to Country– Aunty Barbara Nicholson
12.10 Deborah Westbury launches Elizabeth Hodgson’s book Skin Painting (UQP)
1.00pm Peter Skrzynecki, Susan Hampton
1.30pm Deborah Westbury, Aunty Barbara Nicholson
2.00pm Judith Beveridge, Merlinda Bobis
2.30pm John Tranter, Chris Mansell
3.00pm Bravo Child, Tug Dumbly
3.30pm Alise Blayney, Joanne Burns
4.00pm Dorothy Porter
About the poets
Judith Beveridge has published three books of poetry all of which have won major prizes, most recently Wolf Notes (Giramondo). In 2005 she was awarded the Philip Hodgins Memorial Medal for excellence in literature. A fourth book is due out in 2009. She is currently the poetry editor for Meanjin and teaches poetry at Sydney University.
Alise Blayney studied Creative Writing at the University of Wollongong. She is part of a fresh and exciting new generation of poets in the Illawarra.
Merlinda Bobis is a poet and fiction writer. Her book of poetry Summer Was A Fast Train Without Terminals (Spinifex) was short-listed for the 1998 The Age Poetry Book Award. Her first novel Banana Heart Summer (Murdoch), was shortlisted for the Australian Literary Society Gold Medal. Dr Bobis received the Philippine National Book Award for her short story collection White Turtle (Spinifex) . Her latest novel is The Solemn Lantern Maker (Murdoch).
joanne burns is a Sydney poet. Her most recent book an illustrated history of dairies, (Giramondo), was shortlisted for the 2008 Kenneth Slessor Poetry Prize. kept busy, an audio Cd recording of joanne burns reading a selection of her poetry, was also released in 2007 as part of the River Road Series. She is the NSW editor for the poetry journal Blue Dog.
Bravo Child is a spoken-word artist/ hip-hop artist and slam poet. His performances have been featured in the Sydney Festival, Woodford Festival, CrocFest, the Art Gallery of NSW and several international writers festivals. Bravo is as much a teacher as a writer/performer. His freestyle rap workshops have been going strong for over three years in youth and community centres around the country. He’s the winner of the State Library of NSW Sydney Poetry Slam 05.
Tug Dumbly is Australia ’s most broadcast spoken-word artist. Renowned for his satire, he regularly appears on Triple-J and ABC Sydney 702 with his weekly news and current affairs segment The Tug Report. In March 2008 Tug headlined at the Night Words Festival at the Sydney Opera House. In October he will feature at the Ubud International Writer’s Festival in Bali.
Susan Hampton grew up in country NSW, lived for many years in Sydney and now lives in Canberra. She has published six books of poetry and stories, and toured internationally. Her poetry is featured in the National Museum’s Eternity Exhibition. In 2006, she won the Australian Capital Territory Poetry Award, Judith Wright Award for her book The Kindly Ones (Five Islands Press).
Elizabeth Hodgson is a Wiradjuri woman, born in Wellington, New South Wales. Elizabeth Hodgson has appeared at the Struga Poetry Evenings in Macedonia, and the Australian Poetry Centre's Regional Poetry Festival. In 2007, she won the David Uniapon Award, and her collection of poetry Skin Painting (UQP)will be launched at the festival.
Chris Mansell has published several books of poetry, as well as the audio Cd The Fickle Brat. Her latest books are Love Poems (Kardoorair Press) and Mortifications & Lies (Kardoorair Press) which comprised two prize-winning longer poems and a new work. She is publisher of PressPress. Her collection Shining like a Jinx won the Amelia Chapbook Award, USA. In 1993 she won the Queensland Premier's Award for poetry for 'Yarmul' (renamed 'Lies').
Barbara Nicholson is a senior Aboriginal woman from the Illawarra district of New South Wales, traditional lands of the Wadi Wadi people. Barbara Nicholson has been active on the issues of land rights, assimilation and criminal justice. She holds an Honorary Senior Fellowship in the Faculty of Law at Wollongong University. Her poetry has appeared in a number of anthologies, including the Macquarie PEN Anthology of Aboriginal Writing (Allen & Unwin).
Dorothy Porter is a poet, a lyricist and librettist who lives in Melbourne. Before Time Could Change Us, for which she wrote the lyrics (and Katie Noonan sang on the album), won an ARIA for Best Jazz Album 2005. Currently, her second opera, The Eternity Man, for which she wrote the libretto, is in pre-production with Channel Four for a film. She is the author of the bestselling The Monkey's Mask, What a Piece of Work and Wild Surmise, all of which have won numerous literary awards. She's been shortlisted twice for the Miles Franklin Literary Award.
Peter Skryznecki’s new and selected poems 1970-2000, Old/New World, captures twenty years of poems by one of Australia’s important writers. The poems have been selected by the author from his eight poetry collections. Peter Skrzynecki was born in 1945 in Germany and came to Australia in 1949. He has published fifteen books of poetry and prose and won several literary prizes, including the Grace Leven Poetry Prize and the Henry Lawson Short Story Award. In 1989 he was awarded the Order of Cultural Merit by the Polish government, and in 2002 he received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his contribution to multicultural literature. His memoir, The Sparrow Garden, was shortlisted for the National Biography Award. He is an adjunct associate professor in the School of Humanities and Languages at the University of Western Sydney.
John Tranter spent his youth on a farm on the South-east coast of Australia. He has published more than twenty collections of verse, and made twenty reading tours of the United States, Britain and Europe. His collection of new and selected poems, Urban Myths: 210 Poems: New and Selected (University of Queensland Press, and Salt Publishing, Cambridge UK) won the 2006 Victorian state award for poetry, the 2007 New South Wales state award for poetry, the 2008 South Australian state award for poetry, and the 2008 South Australian Premier’s Prize for the best book overall in 2006 and 2007. He is the editor of the free internet magazine Jacket, at jacketmagazine.com, founded in October 1997. It now adds up to around six thousand printed pages, and has received half a million visits. The US Publishers’ Weekly recently called it “the first (and best) large-scale Internet poetry journal.”
Deb Westbury has been a familiar and respected voice in Australian poetry since her work was first published in 1975. Her poetry has since been widely anthologised, including the Oxford Anthology of Women's Verse (edited by Susan Lever, 1995). Since her first collection of poetry, Mouth to Mouth, was published in 1990, Deb has written Our Houses are Full of Smoke (Angus and Robertson, 1994), Surface Tension (Five Islands Press, 1998) and, most recently, Flying Blind (Brandl & Schlesinger, 2002), for which she was awarded a two-year grant from the Literature Board of the Australia Council to complete. A new edition of Mouth to Mouth was published by Hodder Education in 1998 to coincide with this book's inclusion on the English reading list for the NSW Higher School Certificate. Hodder educational titles are now distributed by Cambridge University Press.
Day: Sat October 11th
Time: 11am – 5pm
Venue : Wollongong City Gallery
Tickets:FREE
STREET ARTS DAY
STREET ARTS DAY/CIRCUS The streets are alive with weird and wonderful characters roaming Crown Street Mall and MacCabe Park. They take wild flights of fancy inspired by this year Viva la Gong’s theme Flight.
Phoenix Theatre’s Madcaps in “Birdbrain”
OUTDOOR AERIAL RIG The aerial rig will be up and live with performances by the region's emerging circus artists, Featuring the talented young aerialists from Circus Monoxide's Half High Program, the wonderful women of Circus WOW, and a whole host of terrific performers from the Illawarra and beyond. Day: Sat 11 Oct |
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Circus Cabaret
Don't miss this unique show featuring internationally acclaimed pianist and composer Elena Kats-Chernin and Circus Monoxide, as well as singer / comedian Drew Fairley and Nick Rheinberger and his Galvanised Guitar. Elena Kats-Chernin, a long time collaborator of Meryl Tankard, will perform a unique blend of tangos, rags, klezmer, blues and cabaret, paired with breathtaking acts by Cirque Du Soleil's Natalie Harris and Jane Davis from Circus Monoxide.
Apart from being the local ABC morning show announcer, Nick Rheinberger is a former professional busker, and still performs folks, blues, comedy and kid's shows at Folk Festivals throughout Australia. This excerpt of "Galvanised" is a preview of a show that will be performed at folk and arts festivals throughout Australia in 2009. Nick is also about to release his debut album "Do Tell".
(90 mins no interval)
Day: Sat 11 Oct
Time: 8 – 9.15pm
Venue: Circus Monoxide Big Top
Tickets: $10
Comedy and Mayhem in the Big Top
“Jackie Loeb is one of the hardest working comics in show-biz” Sydney Morning Herald A seasoned festival performer, Jackie has appeared in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, the Cracker Comedy Festival, The Great Escape, Girlfest, FEAST Cultural Festival, the Newtown Food & Wine Festival and Comedy All Stars at The Sydney Royal Easter Show, as well as finding time to fit in a tour of Singapore! Not limited to straight comedy, Jackie utilizes her amazing vocal skills and acting ability to parody everyone from old favourite Shirley Bassey to contemporary superstars The Pussy Cat Dolls. This cabaret element has led Jackie to win the prestigious Sorlies Cabaret Award, as well as gaining work as a singer / actor / songwriter on award winning television series Full Frontal. Day: Fri 10 Oct |
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The Idea of North
"A cappella is sometimes thought of as being minimalist, but when you can sing and entertain like The Idea of North, a band would just get in the way…” James Morrison The Idea of North is regarded by peers and critics alike as a world class musical act. This has been recognised in major awards for performance and in recording successes over many years, and to hear and see this group in live performance is an unforgettable experience. Their superb musicianship and outstanding arrangements embracing jazz, soul and gospel music, together with an amazing variety of their own award-winning originals, traditional and contemporary songs, have marked them as an act not to be missed. The group has appeared on stage with some of Australia’s greatest jazz musicians, including James Morrison and Don Burrows, and in concert series and festivals alongside a number of international artists such as The New York Voices (USA), The Flying Pickets (UK) and have been guest performers at two concerts of Europe’s jazz a cappella super-group, The Real Group (Sweden). Day: Fri 10 Oct
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Katie NoonanKatie Noonan proudly brought to you by IMB’s Viva Voices We know and love Noonan as singer with the hugely successful Brisbane-born outfit George, a band she formed with her brother Tyrone back in 1996. Their 2002 recording, Polyserena, won the Best News Artist Album at the 2002 ARIA Awards and sold over double platinum. Noonan's mesmerising stage presence and classically trained voice won her cult status in Australia. Now George is on an extended break, allowing both the Noonan siblings to record solo records. Noonan calls it "moving sideways". There was george, and Elixir.She made a record of jazz and opera classics with her mother Soprano Maggie Noonan and symphony orchestra on 'Two of a Kind', and also won her second Aria award for her 2005 album 'Before Time Could Change Us' with Paul Grabowsky. "But my albumn Skin," she smiles, "is definitely the most complete picture of me so far." Day: Fri 10 Oct
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BlueScope Steel Youth Orchestra present
the Wild Swans Concert Suite
by Elena Kats-Chernin Bluescope Steel Youth Orchestra is a member of the Orchestras Australia network and has been awarded two National Orchestral Awards. August 2006 - the prestigious National Youth Orchestral Award for 2005, in a ceremony held in Melbourne, for extending the public’s perception of Youth Orchestras. This was the first time a regional youth orchestra in Australia has received this prestigious award. The work is based on the Hans Christian Andersen story which tells of love, courage and endurance. The haunting and evocative music of Elena Kats-Chernin's music captivated audiences around Australia when it was first performed by The Australian Ballet and broadcast on ABC TV. Day: Sun 12 Oct |
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Dancespace 383’s Viva Dance
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Featuring World Class salsa champions……. Students of Adam Reeve This year Dancespace 383’s Viva dance hits the floor with a steaming mix of Salsa, Samba and Rumba, put on your dancing shoes, kick up your heels and make a dash for the late night festival hub in MacCabe Park, where you can dance under the stars or watch world class dance champions strut their stuff to the fantastic live latin band. Day: Sat 11 Oct |
Meet the Creators – in conversation with
A panel discussion about Art and its importance
MC Chris Latham Viva la Gong Artistic Director
With Wollongong City Gallery Director: Craig Judd
- Panelists include:
Meryl Tankard,
World renowned Choreographer and director of VX18504 - Regis Lansac,
Photographer and Visual Designer – Currently exhibiting at Wollongong City Gallery - Peter Sculthorpe,
Composer - Elena Kats-Chernin,
Composer - Katie Noonan,
Singer and Musician - Bert Flugelman,
Prominent Australian Artist and Sculptor - Dorothy Porter
Poet
Day: Sat 11 Oct
Time: 5- 5.45pm
Venue: Circus Monoxide Big Top
Tickets: FREE
Gerard Masters Trio at 313
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Gerard Masters piano with Cameron Undy on Bass, and Evan Manell on drums When Pop Icon Missy Higgins sought out the hippest keyboard player for her recent tour, she chose one of the Australia¹s leading young jazz pianists, Gerard Masters. Award-winning Gerard Masters Trio will present an intimate evening of modern jazz as part of Viva La Gong. Masters is one the top players on the international jazz scene and will appear with Cameron Undy on bass and Evan Manell on drums. Date: Sat 11 Oct Sponsored by the Wollongong Conservatorium of Music and the Illawarra Improvised Music Association (with support from 313 Studios). |
Sahaja Yoga
Stunning classical Indian dance open the day. A mix of Eastern and Western music with instruments including the Harmonium, tabla, drums, chimta and guitar
Viva la Gong Festival is brought to you by Wollongong City Council
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