Andrew Pekler (Kranky, ~scape, Staubgold)
Spartak (hellosQuare, Sound&Fury)

Sunday July 13th
The Front Cafe & Gallery, Canberra
Wattle St, Lyneham

starts 8pm :: $10 @ door

The National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) announced the program for the inaugural Sound Day to be held at the NFSA’s Canberra headquarters on Wednesday 18 June.

Sound Day is a new addition to the national cultural calendar, where the sounds of Australia will be celebrated by many sectors of the music industry, broadcasters, journalists and the public alike.

“Sound Day is a wonderful opportunity for all Australians to share in the past, present and future of recorded sound as one of the most fundamental activities of our everyday lives,” said the NFSA’s Director, Paolo Cherchi Usai. “Whether it’s our favourite Top Ten hit or the sounds in our backyards, we want to stimulate discussion and debate about how we listen to sound and inspire us to open our ears to the many sources and functions of sound all around us.”

Highlights of the diverse program include the announcement of the 2008 entries to Sounds of Australia, the presentation of the inaugural Thomas Rome Lecture and a string quartet of robots and their musical avatars breaking new boundaries of sound.

The centrepiece of the day will be the announcement by the Hon Peter Garrett AM, MP, Minister for the Arts, of the 2008 entries into Sounds of Australia, the national registry of recorded sound.  Each year, the NFSA invites the public to nominate Australia’s most important sound recordings, and a panel of industry experts then recommends a list of 10 of these nominations to Sounds of Australia. Debate is sure to follow about what has been included and what was excluded from this year’s listing.

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The Canberra International Music Festival 2008 offers fine music lovers a dynamic and varied program, featuring over 20 visiting composers, 50 musicians and 30 concerts in venues across the city for 12 days of autumn music making. This year’s program which runs from the 7th to the 18th of May showcases the full spectrum of chamber music, from early music through to contemporary jazz, and just about everything in-between: music-theatre, chamber opera, world, cabaret, multi-media and experimental -all performed at the highest level and designed to attract a diverse audience nationally.

The line-up of performers include:
The Canberra International Music Festival 2008 features a diverse line up of artists from around the world, many of whom have never performed in Australia: the Czech diva/songstress and violinist Iva Bittova, New York’s Grammy-nominated Don Byron Ivey-Divey Trio, the phenomenal percussion quartet So Percussion and the worlds’ best theremin player Rob Schwimmer with his cabaret trio Polygraph Lounge. (more…)