Tura are honored to be recognised at the APRA AMCOS Art Music Awards 2022, winning in the category of Excellence in a Regional Area for the Sonus3 Tour of the Kimberley with Marrugeku.
The Sonus3 Tour was presented with a program that spoke directly to the places and communities of the Kimberley. Tura and Marrugeku artists collaborated for over two years and Sonus3 was a celebration and first presentation of this collaboration. All artists, renowned in their own right, came together to present a wealth of original new music and dance, as well as captivating collaborations with local artists.
The tour featured Kimberley singer-songwriter Stephen Pigram with a cross-cultural ensemble of instrumentalists, Iranian percussionist Esfandiar Shahmir, cellist Tristen Parr and flautist Tos Mahoney. For the first time, Sonus3 celebrated a collaboration between Tura and Marrugeku, an intercultural dance company based in Broome and Sydney. Marrugeku’s co-Artistic Director Dalisa Pigram and dancer Tara Gower featured in the tour.
The workshops hosted by Tura in schools was an integral part of the Sonus3 Tour, engaging primary and secondary music students with content from the tour, connections and opportunities to learn from all the artists and a performance with music students in addition to the concerts presented in each community.
Artistic Director Tos Mahoney said Tura’s award-winning Regional Programs are committed to community engagement, drawing on a 20-year history of connection and shared learning.
“From interactive school workshops to collaborations with local artists as well as cultural exchanges with Traditional Owners, the Sonus tours are very much a two-way process with touring artists being powerfully influenced by the people and places they meet and experience,” he said.
“Performing alongside dance groups such as Marrugeku and the Waringarri performers in Kununurra – this exchange of music and knowledge has formed a dialogue of artistic collaboration, providing a new platform for communities to celebrate the sounds of their country.”
Sonus3 was a meeting of cultural forces, ancient and contemporary, through song, music and dance reflecting the breadth of Australia. Tura thanks Marrugeku for their partnership, the communities they engaged with along the way and to the Tura supporters who made this tour possible.
A special congratulations also goes to Summers Night Project Mentor Olivia Davies for winning the category of Work of the Year—Large Ensemble.
Congratulations to all the winners and nominees and to the APRA/AMCOS AMC team for bringing together artists and organisations from around the country in celebration of the incredible output from the art music community.
The Sonus3 Tour was presented with a program that spoke directly to the places and communities of the Kimberley. Tura and Marrugeku artists collaborated for over two years and Sonus3 was a celebration and first presentation of this collaboration. All artists, renowned in their own right, came together to present a wealth of original new music and dance, as well as captivating collaborations with local artists.
Images: Michael Jalaru Torres
Tura acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians and Traditional Custodians of the lands where we live, learn and create. We pay our respects to Elders past and present. With solidarity and friendship we say thank you.
