Ian Cleworth
Performance
Thursday 26 September
Join Synergy Percussion for a program of curiosity, virtuosity, and wonder, showcasing the evolution of percussion through an evening of repertoire spanning nearly six decades. Experience Netty Simons’ innovative Design Groups I (1967), the Australian premiere of Yvonne Wu’s evocative Violent/Tender (2017), and the playful, imaginative Creature Feature (2024) by Sydney-based composer Holly Harrison. The concert culminates in an immersive finale with Fritz Hauser’s Le Souvenir, an extraordinary sonic and visual experience crafted by the composer/performer in residence at BOOM! Festival 2024.
Friday 27 September – A SOLO FOCUS Ian will join Fritz Hauser, Louise Devenish, Paul Tanner, Joey Eng and Gabrielle Lee in a concert of short solo works that explore the breadth of percussion and the artistry and styles of each artist.
WAVES Solo for Kanade-okedo (2017) Ian Cleworth
The musical potential of the taiko instrument called kanade-okedo inspired the composition of Waves. Based on the traditional rope-tuned okedo-daiko, the kanade-okedo has a unique system of tuning that allows for each side of the taiko to have its own distinct pitch. The bass tone on the left and the high-pitched tone on the right lend itself to playing independent lines, and after spending time improvising on the instrument, I settled on a musical theme that exploits this particular quality. Polyrhythm is also a percussionist’s tool of trade and so the kanade-okedowas perfectly suited to this type of playing, too. The title refers to a series of phrases that are wave-like in their construction.
Ian Cleworth co-founded Taikoz in 1997 with shakuhachi Grand Master Riley Lee and has been the ensemble’s Artistic Director since. In 2005 he became full-time with the group after having spent 20 years as Principal Percussionist with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and 16 years with internationally acclaimed Synergy Percussion.
Ian is a performer, composer, teacher and a creative force. He has performed all over the world and collaborated with leading composers and performers for the the past 40 years. As Artistic Director of Taikoz has collaborated and composed works for and with artists and companies as diverse as John Bell and the Bell Shakespeare Company, taiko greats Kenny Endo, Kaoru Watanabe, Eitetsu Hayashi and Eitetsu Fuun no Kai, and choreographers Meryl Tankard and Anandavalli. In 2012, Taikoz
collaborated with Japan’s legendary taiko ensemble Kodo on a nationwide tour of Australia.
With Taikoz, Ian has also appeared in concerto works with the Sydney, Melbourne, West Australian and Queensland
Symphony Orchestras, as well as the Dresden Sinfoniker in Europe. In 2016, Ian composed music for Chi Udaka, a collaboration with Lingalayam Dance Theatre that toured Australia and India to critical acclaim and most recently produced Land – Sea – Sky – Home in celebration of the Taikoz 20 year anniversary, Toward the Rain the award winning short music film, a new full length work Seven Flowers premiered at the City Recital Hall in Oct 2019 and a four hour non stop music Meditation Marathon featuring Taikoz and guests soloists for International Make Music Day 2020. In 2007 Ian received the APRA-AMC Classical Music Award for Long-term Contribution for the Advancement Of Australian Music, and in 2016, the
Japanese Foreign Minister’s Commendation for his contribution towards promoting friendship and goodwill between Australia and Japan.