Kaleidoscope

VERY EARLY NEXT month, Arafura Music Collective and Sugarbag Festival have joined forces to present Kaleidoscope – The Music of Australian LGBTQI+ Composers. 

^{By Kate Conway}

Featuring works from composers Robert McIntyre, Cheryl Durongpisitkul and Felicity Wilcox, the multifaceted performance has a distinctly Territorian flair with an exciting collaboration between Arafura and quirky local muso Alice Cotton.

A project over 12 months in the making, the idea to collab on a LGBTQI+ program was born from a conversation between Sugarbag Festival Producer Ben Graetz and Arafura Coordinator and Creative Director Claire Kilgariff. The annual festival championing queer arts and culture went hand-in-hand with the chamber music ensemble’s innovative approach to programming.

“We honour all music traditions, and we’re keen to reflect the wonderful cultural life of the NT. Some of the Arafura values are diversity and inclusivity so we’re always looking for ways that we can intrigue, delight, entertain and challenge our audiences,” Kilgariff says.

Enlisting Melbourne-based creative Ben Opie to curate the program, the accomplished composer, musician and artistic director is renowned for an effortless storytelling ability. In Kaleidoscope, Opie draws inspiration from three members of the LGBTQI+ community and their experiences of being queer in the NT.

“He weaves different aspects of their stories and relates it to the music throughout the whole performance. As he describes it, ‘prepare to be dazzled on a journey through a spectrum of emotions, colours and melodies’,” Kilgariff says.

Set to perform four numbers from her debut self-titled EP, singer-songwriter Alice Cotton worked with Arafura musician Clare Gorton to create string quartet arrangements to accompany her signature indie sound.

With two performances in Darwin and Palmerston, Kilgariff says the concert offers audiences the opportunity to embrace different perspectives and be immersed in beautiful compositions from some of Australia’s most prominent LGBTQI+ composers.

“It’s not just about music, it’s about diversity, equity and opening up our minds to understand the creative people of Australia.”

Kaleidoscope – The Music of Australian LGBTQI+ Composers

WHEN SAT 1 JUN | 3.30PM
AT GRAY COMMUNITY HALL, PALMERSTON
COST $24.50 | $20 CONC | $22 BYO YOGA MAT | YOUTH 10-12 $10

WHEN SUN 2 JUN | 4PM
AT NT SUPREME COURT 
COST $39.50 | CONC $34.50

INFO facebook.com/arafuramusiccollective

^{Photo: Paz Tassone}