Concave City @ Meat Market
Imagine going to a concert where instead of seeing a piano concerto, you see a car concerto that features two dancers animating two real vehicles to tell an urban love story.
Dead Horse Productions presents Concave City at the Meat Market on February 10 and 11. Featuring new works from emerging and established composers the event incorporates film, dance, cars, a string orchestra and miniature changing cityscape.
Dead Horse invited composers Brett Dean, Anthony Pateras, Kate Neal, Wally Gunn and Biddy Connor to create works for Concave City. The company has also collaborated with designer Phillip Naughton of design Inferno to construct a miniature, changing cityscape within Meat Market¹s Main Hall, and includes a large projection screen, to be moved throughout the performance. Small, mixed ensembles, a string orchestra, harpsichord, two cars, prerecorded sound-scape and new short film will all be featured in an extraordinary show.
Kate Neal, Artistic Director of Dead Horse Productions, says that in addition to supporting composers and encouraging new works, the company wishes to dismantle preconceptions about what constitutes a performance. “The show is full of surprisesŠ”
Dead Horse will present Concave City as one cohesive show rather than a series of pieces. By presenting Concave City in the Meat Market they aim to create an extraordinary experience for the audience. At the concert..
a monolithic screen slowly rolls back, revealing more and more of an indoor cityscape where players are perched on risers, like the tops of skyscrapers, performing new works inspired by urban skylines.
images are screened to the sounds of amplified harpsichord, electronica, and processed manic laughter
a car concerto (conducted by Brett Dean) and two dancers animating two amplified vehicles tell an urban love story
Wally Gunn, Composer and Member of Dead Horse says “the title Concave City parallels the chaos and confrontations of a city with those of within us: our internal cities. This also explores the idea of cities within cities, like Russian dolls. For example, we enter a city building to find, in miniature, the skyscrapers and streets of the city outside. It is also suggestive of a city in decline, portraying a groaning, metallic mess, slowly imploding.”
Kate Neal and Wally Gunn established Dead Horse Productions in 2003 to present and promote new Australian music composition. The company¹s primary objectives are to support composers and encourage the creation of new work. The company aims to create an extraordinary experience for the audience, and, as a result, hopes to attract a larger and broader audience to new music.
Concave City Program and details:
Kate Neal (AUS)
“Concave City” and “A Love Story For Two Cars”
String orchestra and two amplified cars (conducted by Brett Dean) and dancers
Wally Gunn (AUS) “The Hive” world premiere
Viola, percussion and tape
Arnoud Noordergraaf (NDL) “Pong” Australian premiere
Amplified harpsichord, electronics and film
Biddy Connor (AUS) new work world premiere
Two bass clarinets, trombone and video
Brett Dean (AUS) “Etuedenfest” Victorian Premiere
String orchestra and cameo harpsichord solo
Anthony Pateras (AUS) new work world premiere
Recorder, viola, trombone, harpsichord and percussion
Kate Neal (AUS) new work world premiere
Dead Horse Band (viola, Cello, Drums, Bass, Guitar)
Date: Friday February 10 and Saturday February 11
Ticket Price: $20 & $18
Time: 8pm
Venue: Meat Market, 42 Courtney St, North Melbourne
Bookings: 03 9687 4053
