Gethsemane March 29, 2010

The Song Company and Synergy Percussion presents
Song Company’s
Gethsemane
Monday 29 March at 7:30pm
A Cleansing Ritual for Easter Time

Music, movement and meditations on poverty: The Song Company opens its 2010 season with an epic journey to the streets of Calcutta in a special Easter performance, Gethsemane. Stark poetic images of poverty on the streets of Calcutta will be interwoven with music and ritualised contemporary dance when Australia’s premier percussion ensemble, Synergy Percussion joins the Song Company on stage at Riverside Theatres on Monday 29 March at 7.30pm.

The Song Company, Synergy Percussion and celebrated choreographer and renowned dancer, Martin del Amo are performing together for the first time this Easter. Conceived by Gerard Brophy, one of Australia’s most celebrated composers, Gethsemane interprets the traditional Jeremiah lamentations from the Old Testament through modern-day accounts of life on the streets of Calcutta to create a contemporary meditation on poverty, abandonment and compassion.

Artistic Director of Song Company, Roland Peelman said “Gethsemane refers to the garden in Jerusalem where Christ faced the realisation of his imminent death, and the provocative lamentations that become metaphors for grief, loss of dignity and pride. Brophy however paints a very contemporary picture of the human condition by drawing on his experiences visiting the poorest areas of India”.

Roland Peelman describes the breadth of the contemporary picture Gethsemane paints. “From the fate of a child carrying the responsibility of caring for the rest of his family to the demise of a solitary old man left to die on the streets, Gethsemane traces an epic and tragic journey, yet offers a message of hope and redemption.”

One of Sydney’s leading independent choreographers, Martin del Amo has worked across a range of art forms including dance, contemporary performance, storytelling, new music. He has also completed a series of experiments in Sydney, including walking blindfolded alongside Parramatta Road in peak hour and from Central Station to Circular Quay.

Peelman said the collaboration with del Amo and Saxophonist Christina Leonard and the long-awaited alliance with Synergy Percussion had enabled the Song Company to delve into fresh and exciting musical territory in 2010.

“The collaboration is exploiting the range of our multi-skilled vocal ensemble in unusually subtle ways,” said Peelman. “When you bring creative voices different from your own into the mix, the dynamic changes and almost anything is possible.”

The Song Company is Australia’s leading vocal ensemble committed to performing fresh and exciting interpretations of music works from all ages and stages of musical history.

BOOKINGS: Riverside Box Office 02 8839 3399 or riversideparramatta.com.au