the music box project
Sydney-based ‘the music box project’ is a curious collective of musicians presenting creative, community driven and collaborative musical experiences. Increasingly recognised as keen instigators of creative music making, the music box project has premiered over 40 works of local, national and international early-career composers whilst continuing to re-invent established works in a new light. Known for their open mind and collaborative drive, the music box project is a thriving part of Sydney’s local music scene having shared music outside the usual order of things monthly at The Glebe (2017-2019), presented a multi-theremin performance and audience workshop at Extended Play Festival (2018) and sonically activated a range of spaces including cockatoo island, a pub, carparks, caves and an art storage unit. in 2020, the music box project were awarded the apra amcos/amc award for ‘excellence in experimental music” for their project shallow listening (2019) deemed by panelists as “a concert experience demonstrating ability to facilitate, curate and perform experimental music at the highest level.”
Since the collective’s inception in 2014, the music box project has facilitated various successful collaborative and participatory projects. These include project: in: 4 (2015) - a work composed by 40 composers from around the world that was curated from over 100 submissions in response to the project, project: sustain (2016) - a set of miniatures composed for additive ensemble by six local early career composers, project: OPERA +ORNAMENTS (2017) - two new pieces collaboratively composed in response to an exhibition at Conny Dietzhold Gallery and project: anonymous (2018) - an anthology of anonymous text-based scores drawn from over 70 submissions for publication and performance in Sydney. Other highlights include an artist residency at Bundanon Trust (2019), performances at the Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music (2019), the collaborative composition of soundtracks for nine new silent films by local artists (2018), participating in an open workshop/performance with Grammy award-winning ensemble Eighth Blackbird (2017), opening for New York ensemble yMusic (2016) and collaborating with Sydney’s Splash Percussion (2016).
we’re thankful to have played, explored, made music with and made the music of many friends (in particular as part of the monthly ‘upstairs@the glebe’ series) including: jaslyn robertson, jasmin wing-yin leung, danica hobden, laura andrew, constantine stefanou, elia bosshard, james hazel, hannah kim, ellen kirkwood, holly conner, marcus rook, chris higgins, sonya hollowell, toby graham, will hansen, tommy mats, mark xiao, natasha effendy, liz cheung, solly frank, kezia yap, milan monk, harry burgess, joseph manton, james guest, adrian kingwell, damian barbeler, dan thorpe and more…
the music box project is: Elizabeth Jigalin, Naomi Johnson, Tina Stefanou, Joseph Lisk, Joseph Franklin, Jane Aubourg, & Peter Leung.
Image by Andrew Kaineder