Percussion performers go global

Music

The Elder Conservatorium of Music's percussion department is making sounds that are being heard all over the world, with an international schedule of performances, exchange visits and festivals across the second half of 2005.

• In June, student Jamie Adam was awarded second prize at a major international marimba competition, bringing home a prize of $800 plus his expenses for travelling to the competition in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

The prize also included the opportunity to record with the Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra of Slovenia, the world premiere of The Corridors by Slavko Suklar, for broadcast on Slovenian TV and radio.

Jamie, 25, is studying for his Honours in Music at the Elder Conservatorium of Music.

• In October, the percussion world comes to the Elder Conservatorium as it hosts the Australian International Marimba Festival.

Held during the first week of October, a series of concerts and classes will give marimba aficionados the chance to share their skills and attend lessons held by the greats of the marimba world, including: Bogdan Bacanu, Professor of Marimba at Bruckner University in Austria; Katarzyna Mycka, founder of the Kataryna Mycka International Marimba Academy; as well as the University's own James Bailey, Head of Percussion at the Elder Conservatorium, who has performed and taught around the world.

For further details and to book tickets for the public performances on the opening and closing nights of the Australian International Marimba Festival, visit its website.

• It's "Viva Las Vegas" later in October, with Conservatorium percussion students jetting off to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, by invitation of Dr Tim Jones, a University of Adelaide graduate who

Mr Bailey, who put the trip together after he went to Nevada as a guest lecturer last September, said the exchange will enrich the experience of musicians from both universities.

"This trip gives Elder Conservatorium students the chance to integrate into the Nevada curriculum and for the students to really exchange ideas. The course there is regarded as one of the best in percussion in the world, so this is a great opportunity for everyone involved," he said.

"The Nevada exchange has also been timed so the Adelaide students can attend the International Percussion Convention in Columbus, Ohio, immediately after their time in Las Vegas.

They will experience four days of concerts, masterclasses and performances at what is recognised as the premier event in the
percussion calendar."

Story by Lisa Reid