Chamber orchestra Ruthless Jabiru will perform a unique realisation of Peter Sculthorpe’s final unfinished work in an historic London event one year on from the Australian composer's passing.
Although Ruthless Jabiru's 2012 commission Postcards from Jabiru never saw completion, Sculthorpe’s ideas for an intended collection of miniatures leave us with three snapshots of issues at the heart of his beloved Kakadu in Australia's north.
Devised and conducted by Kelly Lovelady, Ruthless Jabiru will present these sketches against a programme for string orchestra by Kaija Saariaho, Liza Lim, Eugene Birman and John Luther Adams, exploring the depth of Sculthorpe’s palette and his quiet engagement as a cultural Activist in this major concert event planned for late 2015 in London.
The ensemble will be joined by award-winning pianist Zubin Kanga, internationally renowned for his collaboration with many of the world’s leading living composers and following the success of his Dark Twin tour of recent months.
Project development has been supported in part by the Australia Council for the Arts, the Skalinder family and Ruthless Jabiru’s creative partner Sound and Music.
The orchestra is now crowdfunding through the Australian Cultural Fund to bring the project into production: https://australianculturalfund.org.au/projects/on-reflection-a-concert-for-peter-sculthorpe/
Ruthless Jabiru is a chamber orchestra dedicated to exploring humanitarian stories through New music. The ensemble is made up entirely of professional Australian musicians based in the UK and conducted by its founding Artistic Director Kelly Lovelady.
Programmes are devised around existing and commissioned repertoire by today’s composers with a view to promoting sustainability and ethical dialogue. Recent projects have included a tribute to the damaged landscape of Maralinga alongside the Australia exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, and an homage to poet Oodgeroo Noonuccal at the inaugural Australia & New Zealand Festival of Literature & Arts at King's College London.
Australians perform regularly with all the major UK orchestras and chamber ensembles in addition to many more freelancers and emerging professionals.
“A clear statement of intent… Musical standards are high and the enthusiasm of all the musicians onstage was abundantly clear. The orchestra has a strong musical identity and its future looks very bright indeed.” – Seen and Heard International
“A proficient, no-nonsense conductor, with excellent baton technique and a clear commitment to giving every cue in the score… [Kelly Lovelady's] ability to stay in control of these complex works was always impressive.” – Orpheus Complex
Ruthless Jabiru