Digging into a cluster of projects in 2024 and the way they interact offers some answers.
The story begins at Ngutu College, an independent, not-for-profit, socially-just college on Kaurna Country based in Woodville North, South Australia. The School, which opened in 2021, has been participating in a Music Education Residency Program, delivered by Musica Viva Australia, for the last three years. This is a comprehensive program offering performances, instrumental tuition and an ensemble program for students alongside professional development and mentoring for teachers, to build a self-sustaining music program for the future. A music-rich future, even.
At the beginning of 2024 Musica Viva Australia State Manager Sandra Taylor met with Ngutu College teaching artist Stephanie Insanally to plan activities for the year. Steph mentioned an instrumental teacher who was exploring circular breathing, a sophisticated breathing technique now used by elite brass and woodwind performers, but also at the core of yidaki, or didgeridoo, playing. The students, she said, were inspired by this challenge; a number of boys were learning yidaki and a local Elder, Uncle Phil, had come out of retirement to meet the demand.
This led to the idea that Ngutu College participate in Strike A Chord, the national school-age chamber music competition run by Musica Viva Australia’s Emerging Artist program. It would be a fun goal to aim for and an exciting first for the school. Only one problem: where do you find chamber music for an ensemble of yidakis? The answer came from Uncle Phil, aka Ngutu music tutor Phillip Allen:
'Ever since time can be remembered, Aboriginal people have been storytellers that told how things were, how things are, and how things will be; this is our recording of history, law, and lore. With this in mind, and with limited time to prepare, we had a skeleton outline of a story that needed to be developed.'