2017 marks the 175th anniversary of the formation of the City of Sydney, the 2nd oldest council in Australia. To celebrate, we’ve commissioned Sydney composer Austin Buckett to write a special 10-minute piece especially for the grand organ at Sydney Town Hall.
Austin’s work will explore the many unique characteristics of our renowned pipe organ. Buckett’s minimalist composition of repeated melodic and rhythmic patterns will play with ‘change ringing’ variations used historically in celebratory church bell music.
Buckett is a composer and artist working in different mediums that explore the perception of sound through repetition. His practice spans works written for concert settings, audio-visual installations and the production of studio albums. His work includes Grain Loops (Room40), a 12” vinyl for thirty 1-minute, looped snare drum works.
The composer’s work has been featured at Carriageworks, Melbourne Festival, MSO’s Metropolis Festival, Melbourne Recital Centre, The Now Now Festival, Vivid and ANAM Quartetthaus. Buckett’s composition Aisles (2016), premiered at Sydney Festival and is a finalist for Instrumental Work of the Year in the 2017 APRA Art Music Awards.
Anyone who has visited Sydney Town Hall knows that the visual presence of the grandorgan is a striking feature. So as well as exploring its sonic potential, Buckett will consider how our ideas of the functions of the pipe organ in a space can be stretched. The result will be a meditative piece for immersion and reflection.
The composition premieres at Sydney Town Hall on Sunday 5 November 2017.
Don’t miss our social history exhibition Our City: 175 years in 175 objects in the Lower Town Hall of Sydney Town Hall from 27 October to 12 November 2017.
