About

History

World Class Innovative Projects

Speak Percussion engages in world-class, risk-taking and innovative projects with many of the world’s leading exponents of experimental and new music. Such artists include Steve Reich (USA), Ilan Volkov (ISRAEL), The Necks (AUS), Tony Buck (AUS), Liza Lim (VIC), Oren Ambarchi (VIC), Chris Corsano (USA), Ingar Zach (NO), Mark Applebaum (USA), Richard Barrett (UK), Jon Rose (AUS), Eyvind Kang (USA), Bent Sørensen (DK), Steven Schick (USA), Fritz Hauser (CH), Michael Pisaro (USA) and Robin Fox (VIC).

 

National touring appearances include MONA FOMA (TAS), Tectonics – Adelaide Festival (SA), Totally Huge New Music Festival (WA), Performance Space (NSW), Brisbane Powerhouse (QLD), Judith Wright Centre (QLD), Canberra International Music Festival (ACT), Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (WA), OzAsia Festival (SA), City Recital Hall (NSW).

 

Many of Speak’s major works have toured to some of the world’s leading festivals and venues including Darmstadt (Germany), Transart Festival (Italy), Ruhrtrienniale (Germany), Noorderzon Festival (Netherlands), Maerzmusik (Germany), SONICA (UK), Barbican (UK), Tage für Neue Musik, Zurich (Switzerland), TIPC (Taiwan), Salihara (Indonesia), CONNECT (Sweden), ARENA (Latvia), GAIDA (Lithuania), Batteries IV (Switzerland) and Café OTO (UK).

 

Key to Speak Percussion’s success has been the development of long-term artistic relationships spanning multiple compositions. This has allowed Speak to work on an increasingly deeper level with collaborators across a period of several years.

 

With Fritz Hauser (Switzerland), Speak Percussion has developed six major projects from 2004-2012, including a chamber opera, installation, notated works and spatial improvisations in festival contexts in Australia and Switzerland.

 

From 2004-2011 Speak commissioned works from Anthony Pateras ranging from solo through to twelvetet, released multiple recordings, performed on the feature length film Errors of the Human Body and performed his work in four continents.

 

With Thomas Meadowcroft and James Rushford, Speak has commissioned and recorded multiple works and presented them in prestigious contexts such as MaerzMusik (Berlin Festspiele), Adelaide Festival and Taiwan International Percussion Convention.

 

Speak Percussion’s Awards

2024 APRA/AMCOS Art Music Victorian Luminary Award – Duré Dara OAM

2021 Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award – Group Award

2021 APRA/AMCOS National Luminary Award – Organisation

2019 APRA/AMCOS Art Music Award, Performance of the Year

2017 APRA AMCOS Art Music Award, Excellence by an Organisation

2016 APRA/AMCOS Art Music Award, Excellence in Experimental Music

2015 APRA/AMCOS Art Music Award, Victorian State Award for Excellence by and Organisation

2014 Green Room Award, Fluvial

2012 Melbourne Fringe Festival Award, Best Music

2011 Eugene Ughetti, recipient of Sidney Myer Creative Fellowship

2011 Eugene Ughetti, MCA/Freedman Fellowship for Classical Music

2022
Post - COVID

After touring Atlas of the Sky to Sydney Festival in January 2020, like all Melbourne based arts organisations, the company was rocked by COVID_19 with consistent interruptions and cancellations of the majority of our projects till the middle of 2022.

In August 2022, we premiered the sublime Scream Star with three internationally based wunderkind composers creating three new innovative music works for screen and percussion: Jessie Marino, Johannes Kreidler and Matthew Shlomowitz.

2019
International Tour

Polar Force Toured to PICA, Perth; Noorderzon Festival, Netherlands; Ruhrtriennale, Germany; Transart Festival, Italy;
Fluorophone Toured to George Town Festival, Malaysia

2018
International Tour

Speak Percussion invited to perform two works, Fluorophone and Atlas of the Sky at
Darmstadt Ferienkurse (Germany). Worked with 16 percussion students to rehearse and
perform Atlas of the Sky.

2017
Before Nightfall

Introduction of the Before Nightfall project, where Speak Percussion works with guest artists
to create a new work over the course of a single day, then performed to a live audience the
same night.

Before Nightfall #1, Speak Percussion/Ingar Zach, The Substation, Newport
Before Nightfall #2, Speak Percussion/Tony Buck, MPavilion, Melbourne
Before Nightfall #3 Speak Percussion/Chris Corsano, Speak Studio, Thornbury
Before Nightfall #4, Speak Percussion/Steven Schick, Contemporary Arts Precincts,
Collingwood

2016
New Work

Tectonics, Speak Percussion/Illan Volkov/The Necks/David Shea/Eyvind Kang, Adelaide
Festival.

Transducer & Fluorophone, Speak Percussion, 2016 SIPFest, Komunitas Salihara,
Jakarta, Indonesia.

2015
Sounds Unheard Established

First year of Sounds Unheard Education Program

Appointed first full time Executive Producer

First major work presented in collaboration with 100 community participants. A wave and waves, Speak Percussion/Michael Pisaro, Melbourne Festival, Melbourne.

International Tour 2015, Speak Percussion tours to Sonica Festival (Glasgow), Barbican (London), Café OTO (London), Musik Akademie Basel, Tage fur Neue Musik (Zurich).

2014
International Tours

Tectonics, Speak Percussion/Illan Volkov/Oren Amarchi/Stephen O’Malley, Adelaide
Festival, Adelaide.

Circuit (Taiwan), Speak Percussion undertakes a four-city tour of Taiwan for the Taiwan
International Percussion Convention.

Circuit (Indonesia), Speak Percussion tours to Indonesia to perform at Salihara, Jakarta.

Circuit (Europe), Speak Percussion tours to Lithuania, Latvia, Norway and Sweden.

2013
First major work by Eugene Ughetti

First major work composed by Eugene Ughetti and Robin Fox

TRANSDUCER, Speak Percussion/Robin Fox, Totally Huge New Music Festival, Perth.
USA/EURO Tour, Speak Percussion tours to Berlin, Geneva, Chicago, San Francisco &
New York.

Chrysalis, Speak Percussion/Buro Architects, SPOR Festival, Denmark.
Schallmaschine Maximus by Fritz Hauser & Boa Baumann, Speak Percussion/Bob
Becker/Ensemble XII/Synergy Percussion + guests, Basel, Switzerland.

2012
Regional Tour

Nightclubs/Concerthalls, Speak Percussion tours regional Victoria.

Inuksuit, Speak Percussion/Melbourne Symphony Orchestra/Eighth Blackbird (USA),
Metropolis New Music Festival, Melbourne.

Black of the Star, Speak Percussion/CSIRO Astronomy & Space Science/SIAL Sound
Studios, Melbourne Festival, Melbourne.

2011
Interstate Presentation

Pulsars & Angels and Canons & Ions, Speak Percussion at MONA FOMA, Hobart.

Launch of the first national ‘Emerging Artist Program’ for young composers and
percussionists featuring Guest Lecturer Thomas Meadowcroft.

2010
10 Year Anniversary

System Building, Speak Percussion/Aphids, Red Gate Gallery, Beijing, China.

10th Anniversary Tour, Speak Percussion tours to Sydney, Canberra & Melbourne.

2009
Arts Organisation launched

Speak Percussion incorporates into a formal, legal association.

2007
Tour

‘Swiss Australian Percussion Collectables’, Speak Percussion/JOLT + Guests tour to Zurich,
Basel, Vals & Lucerne.

2006
Melbourne International Arts Festival

‘Schallmachine Kleine’ with Aphids & Fritz Hauser, Federation Square, Melbourne
International Arts Festival.

‘Swiss Australian Percussion Collectables’, Speak Percussion/JOLT + Guests at Liquid
Architecture Festival performing in Brisbane, Sydney & Melbourne.

2003
Artistic Director Appointed

Eugene Ughetti becomes the sole Artistic Director of Speak Percussion.

Speak Percussion performs Castlemaine State Festival, Victoria.

2000
Debut

Debut concert for Musica Viva’s Menage series at Hamer Hall (Melbourne) by founding
members and co-directors Minako Okamoto, Eugene Ughetti, Justin Marshall and Rory
McDougall.

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