Biography

ELISION is an Australian performing arts company of international significance. Having established a virtuosic profile for Australian new music performance ELISION is heavily engaged in experimenting with different modes of performance. The practice of the ensemble ranges from concert giving to cross-disciplinary projects with a range of new media and visual artists, installation-performance works, and the use of improvisational experiences as a creative tool to inform more structured and formally notated music.

International concert and recording engagements received include performances at the Hebbel Theater of Berlin, the Berlin Philharmonie and Konzerthaus, Wien Modern, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, the Westdeutscher Rundfunk, and Radio Bremen, Festival Ars Musica of Brussels, the Züricher TheaterSpektakel, Saitama Arts Theatre of Japan, IRCAM as part of the Agora festival in Paris and the Ultima Festival of Oslo. This activity complements an extensive programme within Australia marked by major appearances at the Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide Festivals and the release of several recordings with NMC, MODE, Etcetera and ABC Classics.

Recently the performance-installation work TULP, the body public with composer John RODGERS and new media artist Justine COOPER premiered at both Sydney and Brisbane festivals. Yuè Lìng Jié (Moon Spirit Feasting), a Ritual Street Opera by Liza LIM (music) and Beth YAHP (libretto) was premiered at the Adelaide and Melbourne festivals, and in 2002 toured to theatres in Berlin, Zürich and Japan. Other major projects have included the performance-installation works DARK MATTER and Opening of the Mouth with Richard BARRETT, Sight and Sound of a Storm in Sky Country with composer Timothy O'DWYER and indigenous visual artist Lilla WATSON, and glass house mountains with Liza LIM and indigenous visual artist Judy WATSON.

ELISION has premiered a significant body of work from composers such as Richard BARRETT, John BUTCHER, Aldo CLEMENTI, Chris DENCH, Franco DONATONI, Brian FERNEYHOUGH, Michael FINNISSY, Dominik KARSKI, Liza LIM, Timothy O'DWYER, John RODGERS and Matthew SHLOMOWITZ. ELISION has also engaged in major installation projects with visual artists Araya RASDJARMREARNSOOK, Per Inge BJØRLO, Justine COOPER, Domenico De CLARIO, Heri DONO, Craig WALSH, Judy WATSON and Lilla WATSON.

ELISION has recorded over fourteen compact discs, undertaken nineteen international tours to fourteen different countries and initiated thirty-four international commissions supported by organisations in England, Canada, Holland, France and Japan. Based at the Judith Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts in Brisbane it now consists of twenty leading musicians from Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Beijing, New York and Cologne making use of their varied and specialist skills in the areas of baroque music, Chinese and Japanese traditions, free improvisation, electronics and orchestral music.

July 2007

ELISION Ensemble gratefully acknowledges the core financial assistance of the Commonwealth of Australia through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body; the State of Queensland through Arts Queensland; the support of The University of Queensland through the Office of the Vice Chancellor, Professor John HAY; and the continued assistance of the Australian Music Centre.