Lina Andonovska

BINARY is a program of dynamic new music for two flutes, performed by Janet McKay and Lina Andonovska. Comprising of performances and masterclasses in Brisbane, the program aims to generate interest in contemporary repertoire for flute duo as well as educating flutists on contemporary flute performance practice and tecniques.

The project brings together two of Australia’s vibrant and prominent contemporary flautists. The two musicians are helping to pave the way for innovative flute performance in their own active careers as soloists and collaborators. Janet McKay has been bringing contemporary classical flute works to new audiences over the last decade, including dozens of commissions and premieres; Lina Andonovska is quickly building a profile as one of Australia’s most exciting emerging artists. Together, they will collaborate as flute duo BINARY, performing recent compositions by living composers. A performance will take place in Brisbane and a masterclass will be conducted uncovering some of the mysteries surrounding extended techniques on the flute.

The performance showcases a diverse yet cohesive collection of compositional voices and genres that makes use of concert, alto and bass flutes. It will bring together works by of some of the world’s most exciting living composers, including Australians Dominik Karski and Matthew Shlomowitz as well as works by Philippe Hurel, Hitomi Kaneko and Mario Diaz de Leon.

This project responds to the growing interest in new music for flute within both the compositional and flute fraternities, and addresses the current lack of a professional contemporary flute duo in Australia. The concept behind BINARY has been inspired by other established innovative duos such as Clocked Out, Liam Viney/Anna Grinberg, and more specifically the flute duo ‘Wired’ (Claire Chase and Eric Lamb, NYC). Looking beyond 2014, the artists hope that additional repertoire will be generated through the workshops with emerging and established composers . This will be available to the next generation of flautists, both in Australia and abroad.

The two musicians (McKay and Andonovska) are forging portfolio careers as classically trained flautists without being aligned with a major orchestra or ensemble. Both artists are well known, respected and lead diverse careers in their field as solo independent artists. It is challenging to create a sustainable career as a solo flautist in Australia, and this collaboration will give the two artists the opportunity to expand their knowledge of the duo repertoire that is currently being performed worldwide.

It is envisaged that BINARY will continue to produce diverse and engaging programs for flute duo throughout and beyond 2014.

KEY OBJECTIVES
*To bring exceptional new music to a wider audience
*To perform exciting, innovative, new and/or rarely-heard works for flute duo with a focus on Australian composers
*To involve emerging composers alongside established and mid-career composers
*To address the current lack of a professional contemporary flute duo in Australia.
*To establish creative connections between performers in different states
*To nurture and strengthen strategic partnerships between local composers, performers, students and arts patrons
*To encourage open dialogue between performers and audience through artist talks and workshop sessions
*To generate new works for inclusion in future BINARY performances

This campaign will fund the inaugural season for BINARY that will launch at the Judith Wright Centre in Brisbane on the 8th May 2014. The funds will be used to cover artist airfares, accommodation for the duration of the rehearsal period, venue hire including lighting and technical staff of the Judith Wright Centre (Brisbane) and audio/ video documentation of this project so that resources are made available to the public following the performance as well as archival purposes. This collaboration will mark the beginning of the BINARY project; the artists hope to continue to commission works for this duo combination as well as run composer workshops and masterclasses in the future.

"We would love to be able to cover the costs of putting on this particular performance, as a way to launch what we are capable off as BINARY. This is a challenge, as we have to largely fund our projects ourselves or find grants and funds to access to make our dreams come true. It is extremely hard and challenging to survive as an independant artist not afiiliated with a large artistic organisation such as an orchestra or ensemble that receives ongoing funding. However, we are bursting with ideas and inspiration that we want to share not only with other musicians and colleagues, but the community."