DeClassified Music 2014

12 Feb 2015

What

In 2014, DeClassified Music presented a year-long series of classical and jazz concert events, including:

The Long Weekender – three concerts followed by a masterclass at FireWorks Gallery
Two concert events at the Brisbane Steinway Piano Showroom

In total, 31 leading Australian musicians performed as part of the Brisbane events. Eleven Brisbane-based musicians had the opportunity to explore new ground and collaborations, such as the newly arranged Rite of Spring for two pianos and two percussionists, the performance of two specially commissioned works, and the collaboration of Trichotomy with a string quartet.

When

February – November 2014

Image of artist

Where

Brisbane

Key stats

7 activities
400 attendees
31 Australian musicians, including 11 Brisbane-based musicians

Arts Queensland contribution

$34,875 – Projects and Programs Fund

A State of Change. from DeClassified Music on Vimeo.

Outcomes

DeClassified Music 2014 provided 31 leading Australian artists the opportunity to perform in 6 unique concert events in Brisbane by offering a high-quality platform for their performances with Steinway concert pianos, inviting venues and freedom of programming.

“…affordable, intimate and wonderful. I can't thank you enough for making such excellent music accessible to me. Please please keep these amazing experiences coming and available in such fantastic venues." – Attendee feedback.

DeClassified Music 2014 facilitated partnerships between:
- Visual artists and jazz composers by commissioning two composers to draw inspiration from a selection of artwork in FireWorks Gallery
- Musicians who collaborated on projects specifically for DeClassified Music
- Newstead businesses who assisted in the running and promotion of the series Sponsors and the musicians who performed in the series.

Learnings and reflections

Brieley Cutting, Manager and Artistic Director for DeClassified Music 2014, described her key learnings from the series as follows:

“The artists and their programs worked very well, however perhaps more variety is needed in the new music programs. From information gathered from the surveys, the new music was enjoyed by many, but a whole program with this content was tiresome for some.

The artwork and wine in combination with the music and musicians was met with many compliments and general enthusiasm from audience members. This is a winning combination. The very high quality of music making was noticed and appreciated, attracting many positive comments. Therefore we will continue to encourage this.

As regards our Long Weekender, perhaps having the three concert events in a row is too much, as our audiences for The Long Weekend events were not at capacity. Perhaps we will not repeat this idea until our audience has grown. Brisbane musicians and audiences were not particularly excited by the Masterclasses. Perhaps we will consider other ideas to replace the Masterclasses in the future.”

Contact for further information

Email: brieley@declassifiedmusic.org.au

Website: www.declassifiedmusic.org.au