COMPILED BY MITCH FRESTA FOR THE QUEENSLAND MUSIC FESTIVAL, INTRO AND EDIT BY CUTCOMMON
Some years ago, prolific Australian composer John Rodgers contracted meningitis. It left him unable to speak.
In this, the Australian music community speaks for him. And he shines.
John’s music will be celebrated at this year’s Queensland Music Festival in an event titled The Genius of John Rodgers. The Queensland Symphony Orchestra will unite with talented guest artists, some of whom offer their reflections on the composer.
John Rodgers has had a major influence on all who’ve known him. Not only his genius musicianship, but also his passionate and all-embracing mind, as well as his maverick spirit, have touched his friends and our wider community.
Eugene Gilfedder
The two years we toured and performed with John were some of the most stimulating and inspiring shows we’ve ever done. It seemed we would learn something from him every night. He’d switch between flamenco guitar, thundering piano, pop synth, and virtuosic, gritty violin. It was like having a human orchestra added to our duo. In his playing and composing, John’s musical intellect is matched by a staggering ability to be emotionally expressive. He is a true iconoclast, and we consider ourselves incredibly lucky to be among his collaborators.
Kate Miller-Heidke and Keir Nuttall
I was still at university [when I first worked with John], and was immediately struck by how someone so gifted in all aspects of music had chosen such an unconventional path through life. John subsequently became a huge influence on the way I think about both music and life, with every collaboration and conversation invariably leading to new ideas about playing, composing, and improvising. I’ve been lucky to have had a chance to work with John on many different projects.
Erkki Veltheim
John Rodgers’ heart is dark and sweet in equal measures. That is one of the crucial elements that makes his music so compelling. He shines the torch everywhere in the human soul, always with a peculiar tenderness.
Pearly Black
I knew John by reputation way before I met him […] He eschewed the dominant music pathway in favour of the road least travelled, working with young people and Indigenous artists, with contemporary artists across the whole sector of creative practice, and with communities. He was genuinely committed to all of them. He never stinted, and strove to make everything more possible by his presence. John believed in the power of joyful, ruthless storytelling, and connecting people to their landscape and to each other.
Sean Mee
I first met John when I was cast in the 2003 Queensland Music Festival production of Bobcat Dancing. I was 19, and was asked to audition for this musical theatre show that was going to be in Mount Isa later that year. I was a little murri kid, who grew up in Mount Isa, with no formal training. I have loved music as a child, and I listened to a lot of genres of music. I learnt music at school in the school music program, and learnt how to play the organ […] but learning from John took it to the next level. Music and learning to sing is so much more than someone giving you a guitar and showing you three chords. John expanded on my love of music; taught me how to write meaningful lyrics, taught me about weaving the intricate melodies to showcase the lyrics. My great teacher is also a great friend.
Megan Saramardin
Madness, mayhem, irreverence, yet incredible intelligence, compassion and musical ability: the man is my hero. Those bordering on genius can often be pretentious, egotistical, and very difficult to work with. John had crossed that border — way past genius, in my view. Empathy, humour, patience, and joy seemed to overtake musical elitism. Classical, new music, country, punk, flamenco, he approaches it all with the same respect and discipline. The influence and inspiration he has had on me is immeasurable.
Scott Tinkler
See The Genius of John Rodgers as part of the Queensland Music Festival, 7.30pm July 13 at QPAC. Full line-up and more information online.
Images and quotes supplied.
