Harmonic Waves

This is a live performance from the 3MBS Performer of the Year Awards at the Australian National Academy of Music.

Gypsy Trio is a fiery piece that uses Gypsy scales and syncopated rhythms. It is filled with rhapsodic virtuoso passages which help to build the work to a climactic end. 

Gypsy Trio

Born spontaneously on a lazy Sunday afternoon, this piece marks the first of what will develop into a collection of vignettes for various ensembles. The aim for this piece and for the works that will follow it, is quite simply to build an impression of a moment. In this case, quite a lovely moment.  

This work can be purchased at https://ethanconnormcalister.bandcamp.com/releases

Sunday Afternoon || Vignette no.1 || for piano solo

“Inside the Meiji Shrine, the bustling, non-stop chaos of metropolitan Tokyo is a distant echo. The slick koi weave and dash through the water in a seemingly choreographed ballet. Long beaked birds duck in and out of the water, taking care not to interrupt the fish. The air is crisp and brushes past the leaves of trees overhanging the lake. Nearby the trains announce their arrival and the chitter-chatter of the city calls on.”


Alto saxophone - Holly Moore 
Bass clarinet - Thomas D’Ath 
Trumpet - Anthony Foon 
Shakere and vibraphone - Ollie Iacono 
Piano - Selene Messinis 
Double bass - Isaac Gunnoo 
Drum kit - Maddison Carter

Shinjuku

Young and Wandering is about a journey that doesn't travel from start to end. It is an aimless wander, enjoying the beauty in resonant sounds. The piece celebrates the timbral differences and similarities amongst the jazz quartet, in ways not often explored with these instruments. 

Alto saxophone - Holly Moore 
Piano - Selene Messinis 
Double bass - Isaac Gunnoo 
Drum kit - Maddison Carter

Young and wandering

Composed by Maddison Carter for Orchestra and Improvisers. 
Performed by the Victorian Youth Symphony Orchestra, Eugene Ball (trumpet), Julien Wilson (soprano saxophone), Theo Carbo (guitar), Selene Messinis (piano), Isaac Gunnoo (double bass), and Maddison Carter (drums), conducted by Ingrid Martin.

Fort Nest

The wonderful Flinders Quartet premiered this piece along with my other work "Exhale" in concert in Melbourne, December 2017. Originally written for the Goldner String Quartet, "The Rose that Wept" pays homage to the dark, Hans-Chrisitian-Andersen type films of my childhood.

"The Rose That Wept" - Live By The Flinders Quartet

Rising Tide is a section from my 1 hour suite for Sirens Big Band, entitled [A]part. It expresses my feelings on climate change; its sheer enormity and devastation, my fear that it is unstoppable, and heartache for our beautiful planet. This is a live recording by the ABC, from the 2017 Freedman Jazz Fellowships, in which I was a finalist. Performed by Sirens Big Band, mixed by Matthew Stuart.
The album recording of the full [A]part suite, which Rising Tide is only a small part of, is available here - https://ellenkirkwood.bandcamp.com/releases

Rising Tide

Premiere performance by DR VokalEnsemblet for Pulsar Festival 2019. 

In emptiness we speak
.
.
.

Speak

From Nat Bartsch Trio's new release, 'To Sail, To Sing' featuring vocalist Gian Slater.

Nat Bartsch - piano
Tom Lee- bass
Daniel Farrugia - drums
Gian Slater - voice

Missing Pieces - Nat Bartsch Trio feat. Gian Slater

Making Waves is a monthly series of curated playlists streaming one hour of quality, new composed music.  Founded in 2015, Making Waves shines a spotlight on the music of Australian composers. Fresh playlists are released on the first day of each month and older playlists are made available all year round via our archives; perfect for those with just a few minutes to explore one track or for hours perusing a myriad of diverse sound-worlds.


The project offers wider exposure to emerging composers, their music and the talented performers who champion it. We also provide an easy-to-access platform for listeners to sit back and enjoy a curated hour of exciting new music or explore our living composers more actively.  The playlist themes (and media through which they’re shared eg. Soundcloud, YouTube) evolve each month depending on the content received directly from our talented composers.

At its core Making Waves is a curated listening space. In 2016 we branched into producing our own content through a special project, Making Conversation, thanks to a successful crowdfunding campaign. Making Conversation: Australian Composers Project is a series of podcasts and vodcasts presenting the human side of living Australian composers, released on popular audiovisual and social platforms mid-2017.
Composers Lisa Cheney (Melbourne) and Peggy Polias (Sydney) are curating this project.

 Listeners, we encourage you to explore current and past playlists and discover more about our featured composers. 

Composers, we encourage you to send us links to your streamable audio via our website. Visit: www.makingwavesnewmusic.com for more information.

Jessica Lindsay Smith is a Melbourne-based composer who is passionate about music that crosses the boundaries of genre. Holding a Bachelor of Music (Honours) from the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, Jessica has worked with ensembles within local and international contexts to create music with a focus on vivid colours and unusual sounds. 

Jessica’s work has been performed in a variety of venues such as Arts Centre Melbourne, Ian Potter Museum of Art, The Paris Cat Jazz Club, and Melba Hall. As part of her Bachelor of Music (Composition) at Monash University, Jessica studied chamber music in Italy at the Prato Centre and Verdi Music School.

In 2016 Jessica was awarded an IgniteLab bursary and used this funding to create a curated concert of works that cross the classical and jazz streams with celebrated pianists Luke Howard and Nat Bartsch. Later in 2016 Jessica was commissioned to write a work for the Ian Potter Museum of Art which was be performed as part of the 'Architectonics' concert.

In the same year, Jessica's curated and had her work performed at 'Composure: Chroma Collective', a concert at Arts Centre Melbourne. In early 2017, Jessica completed the Tilde New Music and Sound Art Academy in Melbourne working with Liza Lim and Chris Dench. Most recently, Jessica's commission 'Cover Me' for Ensemble Goldentree was performed as a part of their 'Con Femine' concert in May 2018.

Jessica’s interests span from intricately written chamber music to largely improvised jazz, from film music to installation soundscapes. The common thread being a search for novel colour palettes and an intrigue for curious textures.

Young and wandering

Jessica Lindsay Smith - Composer

Related tracks