Combatting stereotypes that organs are strictly for classical music, 28-year-old Sydney composer Austin Buckett has composed a special contemporary piece for the grand organ at Sydney Town Hall.
The 10-minute minimalist piece Imitations was written to mark the 175th anniversary of the formation of the City of Sydney, the 2nd oldest council in Australia.
Austin’s work explored our organ’s many unique characteristics with experimental techniques. His immersive composition of repeated melodic and rhythmic patterns was played with nuts and bolts from his dad’s workshop. This was set against ‘change ringing’ variations used historically in celebratory church music.
Austin Buckett is a composer and artist working in different mediums that explore the perception of sound through repetition. His practice spans concert settings, audio-visual installations and the production of studio albums. His work includes Grain Loops (Room40), a 12” vinyl for thirty 1-minute, looped snare drum works.
The composer’s work has been featured at Carriageworks, Melbourne Festival, MSO’s Metropolis Festival, Melbourne Recital Centre, The Now Now Festival, Vivid and ANAM Quartetthaus. Austin’s composition Aisles (2016), premiered at Sydney Festival and is a finalist for Instrumental Work of the Year in the 2017 APRA Art Music Awards.
Published 1 September 2017, updated 10 July 2018
