Ossa Music Prize-winning jazz group SymmeTrio will undertake a five-concert statewide tour from Monday, highlighting their collaborative compositions.
Bachelor of Music students Louis Monaghan (piano), Jode Brewster (saxophone) and Joshua Ford-King (trumpet) will take their original works and imaginative reinterpretations of classics to regional Tasmania with performances across all regions of the state.
SymmeTrio was awarded the Ossa Music Prize last month, valued at more than $10,000 and including the fully funded tour.
“We hope to bring audiences a type of music that they probably don’t get the chance to hear live very often,” Mr Brewster said.
“It’s a more acoustic style of jazz without a rhythm section. We hope it’s an interesting new texture for audiences to explore.”
The tour begins in Queenstown on Monday before shows in Burnie, Launceston, Swansea and Hobart.
Louis, Jode and Joshua have been performing together as a trio for just four months. They compose collaboratively, focusing on harmonic and acoustic exploration, influenced by Australian composers Sam Anning and Andrea Keller.
“We’ve tried to do something a little bit different and it’s opened a whole new bunch of possibilities for us,” Mr Ford-King said.
“We want to try to educate people about our compositional process, what goes through each other’s heads and how we react to each other’s playing.”
Ossa Music Prize judging panel chair and Lecturer in Contemporary Music Alistair Dobson said audiences could expect an exciting young jazz trio with a maturity beyond its years.
“That’s what impressed us so much, that maturity in their composition, their interaction with improvisation and just their ability to put on a fantastic performance,” he said.
The Ossa Prize is named after Tasmania’s highest mountain peak. It was established in 2018 by University alumnus Dr Rod Roberts and Mrs Cecile Roberts, who contribute $10,000 to help students pursue excellence in musicianship. The performance in Queenstown is included in memory of Margaret Stoermer, thanks to support provided by her family.
Tickets for next week’s performances in Queenstown, Burnie, Launceston and Swansea are available at: utas.edu.au/events. Tickets for the Hobart performance on September 28 will be available soon. The performances are free but bookings are essential as seating is limited.
Tour dates
Queenstown – Paragon Theatre, Monday 2 September, 7.00pm
Burnie – The Makers, University of Tasmania, Tuesday 3 September, 7.00pm
Launceston – Annexe Theatre, University of Tasmania, Wednesday 4 September, 7.00pm
Swansea – Swansea Town Hall, Thursday 5 September, 7.00pm
Hobart – Ian Potter Recital Hall, The Hedberg, Saturday 28 September, 7.00pm