Multitudes

Brisbane-born, but now Hobart-based Katie Yap has been busy! A Freedman Fellowship in 2022 sparked a wealth of composition, culminating in concerts in Melbourne not so long ago. In the audience was Dots+Loops Executive Director, Connor D’Netto, who vowed he would one day showcase Katie’s work in her home town. Dots+Loops (an artist-led non-profit) has a mission to encourage creative collaboration, combining classical and experimental music and bringing it to a wider community by presenting it in underground club venues and urban spaces. It’s an intriguing mash-up, and VENTspace – an industrial warehouse in South Brisbane – was the perfect place to hear Katie’s new work. You could feel that Katie was thrilled to be back performing in Brisbane. Her parents were in the crowd, and it felt like there were many friends present too – a great homecoming atmosphere, aided by the welcoming Dots+Loops and venue crew. 

Multitudes was presented as a four-concert gig over three days. ‘Concert 1: Night Herons’ on Thursday night featured Katie on the viola and Emily Sheppard on violin, and ‘Concert 2: Passenger Pigeons’ included the Bowerbird Collective – Simone Slattery (violin) and Anthony Albrecht (cello). ‘Concert 4: Black Cockatoos’ on Saturday night featured Donald Nicolson on harpsichord and synths. Each gig was named for and included music inspired by Judith Wright’s bird poems, and each included a DJ set with either Julian Barnsley or Oliver McIntosh. There were also Q&As and workshops with the artists after each gig. I wish I had been able to attend all four concerts, because the one I attended – ‘Concert 3: Migrant Swift’ – was outstanding. It featured Katie on viola and Mindy Meng Wang on guzheng, the multi-string Chinese zither. Through traditional folk tunes and new compositions, the two musicians explored musical ideas, their shared Chinese and Australian heritage, and the strength and symbolism of ‘migratory birds’. The combination of the viola and guzheng is stunning – an exciting fusion of sounds. The duo started with ‘Mo li hua’, a traditional Chinese song that has been described as an unofficial national anthem. The next piece, ‘Creaking – Flying’ by Mindy and Katie, was rhythmic and hypnotic, woven from their love of improvisation, alternate tuning, and embracing the sounds that are often discarded as ‘mistakes’. Mindy introduced the next pieces – ‘High Mountain Flowing Water’ and ‘Yangguan sandie’ – two beautiful traditional Chinese tunes featuring water and rain, the last one with a deep theme about friendship and music. This was so apt as, on the opening notes, Brisbane’s skies decided to provide a percussive accompaniment with heavy rain on the VENTspace tin roof – the sounds of rain and thunder were embraced as part of the show by these two improv-attuned creatives. There was a buzz in the air during the interval, and many people took time to catch up with the artists and try the signature ‘Katie’s PineYAPple Martini’ at the well-stocked bar. In the second part of the concert, Katie soloed for JS Bach’s ‘Allemande from Cello Suite no. 6’ and Leilehua Lanzilotti’s Hawaiian ‘ko’u inoa’. The duo reunited for their joint composition ‘Migrant Swift’ inspired by the Judith Wright poem. The combined strings of the viola and guzheng capture the flight of the bird and the piece is reminiscent and as moving as Vaughan Williams’s ‘The Lark Ascending’. To close, Teri Young’s poem, ‘Prayer’, provided lyrics for a lilting piece that Katie used to involve the whole audience, split into sections for three-part harmony. It was a lovely way to finish a gorgeous and engaging programme of exciting work, which I hope to see in full next time!

Find out more: www.dotsandloops.com.au

Beth Keehn

Photographer: Reuben Fenemore