This weeks APRA/AMCOS & AMC Art Music Awards was really interesting and enlightening for a few reasons. I feel that it’s always good to be at these things whenever you can; not only to see what people are doing, but get a sense of how they’re doing it, and why.
I was nominated for the Excellence in Music Education award; and thrilled to even be a finalist amongst other people and organisations just doing brilliant work.
It’s just really good to be in the room actually
Why is it good?
You get to have interesting conversations with interesting people.
It’s unexpected, often.
It’s given me pause for reflection on some of the conversations actually. Why is it that Australians (generally speaking) are not good at talking themselves up? Tall Poppy Syndrome still persists apparently. Are we somewhat lacking confidence to proudly explain what we do? Sometimes, sure. But, I was bowled over when I heard the most perfect elevator pitch that was so cleanly articulated. It was such a left-of-field idea that was delivered so confidently it made me interested in what that person was going to achieve. It made me want to go to that show.
In some conversations it still appears many of us feel like we are on the fringes of the scene, and don’t really “belong”. Could this be an advantage? Or a hindrance?
Another thing that I found was that looking around the room, it appeared to be quite a small scene. A small scene of dedicated fearless individuals who do superhuman work, no less. But still, I couldn’t help notice there was a certain fragility to the collective.
I also got a sense of the Sisyphean-type struggle people engage with every day; as well as the frustrations and unnecessary obstacles in peoples way. I got a sense of people’s resilience in fighting decades old issues. I left that particular conversation wishing that they didn’t have to put on their armour just to do what they do.
But;
It’s good to be in the room actually because you get to shake someone’s hand and say to their face:
“Thanks for the work you are doing, you are really making a difference. Keep going, keep fighting the good fight”.
and
“Back yourself. Trust your instinct”
and
“Tell me about the next big crazy idea that you are working towards”
and
“If you were king/queen for a day, and you could click your fingers and make something happen, what’s one thing that you would change that could help the creative scene?”
and you get to catch up with people that you haven’t seen in a while and have a bit of a rave about the importance of good music notation; expectation, challenge and differing approaches to music education; the importance (or irrelevance) of tonality, melody and harmony in Art Music and where Jazz fits into those parameters.
The actual winning is being part of a community that stands by you and sees what you do.
Being surrounded by friends when you’re toey before the announcement is great. When your name is read out as a finalist and there’s a bit of a ripple of some claps and some “whoop whoops” that support feels pretty good.
Introducing two people who have never actually met face to face yet know of each other and have a large overlapping Venn diagram is fun.
One of the best speeches of the night really gave an insight into what it takes: To back oneself; the fortitude it takes to look failure in the eye and laugh; and the “F#&K YOU attitude” of “you said it’s impossible but we’re going to do it anyway”. It was super fun watching the excellent Auslan interpreter physically demonstrating this attitude.
Reinforced: That Hope is the Antidote to Despair
Trying new things is good. Works that are situated in specific places/spaces outside of the traditional performance space and traditional ensemble configurations can be really successful because an audience can approach the experience without preconceived ideas.
It’s good to run into old friends that tell you that the thing you did/established/fought for/advocated for still stands even though you’re not in that workplace anymore. It gives me confidence that the rationale, beliefs and values I have for particular programs is based on sound judgement that is proven to be successful and engaging.
A really great Welcome To Country (done by James Brown) is a wonderful thing. It is not a tick-the-box exercise. It means something. You learn things. You feel things.
Creating safe and inclusive places for diverse people is not just a requirement, it is cool when done well.
I learned that when you watch a montage of a person who receives a significant prize such as the Richard Gill Award for Distinguished Services to Australian Music (the amazing Liza Lim), it is really about doing a lot of smaller things consistently for a long period of time.
Never giving up. Keeping on Keeping on.
So, as I said earlier, I already feel like I “won” because I got to be in the room. As promised, for what it’s worth; here’s what I was going to say:
I’d like to say thanks to APRA, AMCOS and the Australian Music Centre for this acknowledgement and the encouragement and endorsement and validation that comes with it. This is fuel for the next lot of ambitious work. I’d also like to shout out Ensemble Offspring, Speak Percussion and Wollongong Conservatorium; they are equally deserving winners for the fantastic work that they are doing.
The AJRB now has over 1800 tunes from more than 320 artists and is more inclusive and diverse than ever before. It fills me with great joy that the next generation have the opportunity to play Australian works in their VCE and HSC exams, that they are developing an understanding of what has come before so they can stand on the shoulders of giants; and most importantly that the inspiring stuff going on around them is increasingly visible; independent of algorithmic discrimination.
Most of all I’d like to say that this award is not about me. It’s about the incredible creative people that are represented in the Australian Jazz Real Book. It only exists because people keep making bloody great things that deserve to be celebrated. They do it despite, and in spite of the challenges they confront. They show up, they keep on keeping on in a Sisyphean type struggle. So this award is really for every single person in this room and all the people who continue to try to realise the sound they hear in their head and do whatever it takes to get it out into the world. Keep on fighting the good fight.
Onwards and Upwards people!
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.