BY CELINE CHONG, LEAD WRITER (QLD)
Imagine creating your very own concert series. Sound like something your future self might do?
Starting up a series from scratch certainly isn’t a walk in the park. But for Brisbane arts administrator, violinist, and teacher Flora Wong, it’s been more of a curious, inspiring, and somewhat unexpected wander through the woods.
That is, the woods of conceptualising, curating, event managing, financing, planning, emailing and organising…and the list goes on.
After months of hard work, this impresario is about to launch her first event, Hidden Dome: Beginnings.
More than just a concert series, Hidden Dome looks to celebrate diversity in the arts, and provide a platform to showcase the work of Brisbane’s under-represented artists – whether they be composers, performers, or even improvisers.
“I just thought…looking at my passion and my skillset and my interests as a musician, if I put on a concert series that gives people whose work might not have as many opportunities to be performed, that’s one way that I can really meaningfully support diversity in the arts,” Flora explains.
And as she says, having a diverse representation of artists is also a way of supporting Brisbane’s growing arts community, emerging performers from diverse backgrounds, as well as the next generation of musicians.
“[Visibility] is how young people see people and think, ‘Oh, I could do that!’ you know?” Flora says.
“And it became clear to me, talking to people at all different kinds of gigs, that people want to see more of it.”
Flora is hesitant to call this a “chamber music” gig, in the strictest sense of the genre. Hidden Dome will feel much more fluid, where the performers and the audience can have an intimate and interactive experience.
The name Hidden Dome itself implies a space, and as Flora says, the series will be a safe and inclusive performance space for all people – audience and artist alike.
“Those kinds of concerts have always been the ones I loved the most because you can actually feel the audience respond to the music being performed…and I really love the idea of using this intimate environment to support all these amazing these musicians in Brisbane who are doing great work.”
And, though classically-trained herself, Flora (in the true spirit of diversity!) isn’t letting genre define her series.
“What I really want to explore is that music is music. We have all these different styles and music from different cultures…and with this series, I would really like to ignore those boundaries that normally exist.”
For the first concert Beginnings, Flora has lined up composer, improviser, and erhu player Jasmin Leung, contemporary folk singer-songwriter and cellist Monique Clare, and newly formed neo-classical trio Sprout; who bring jazz, minimalist, and improvisatory elements to their music.
“The common thread is that they’re all string instruments…but you’ve got such different approaches to music making from each of the artists, and it’s nice to actually hear totally different textures in the space of a night” Flora says.
“I think audiences will really like that.”
Hidden Dome seeks simply to be a place where ideas can be exchanged by artists with no reservations, regardless of their cultural background, gender, or anything else. Eventually, Flora hopes to take the series even further, collaborating with dancers, visual artists, and even poets.
Having overcome the challenges of creating an entire concert series, not to mention funding it entirely out of her own pocket, Flora’s advice would be that collaboration is key.
“When you talk to people, you realise what’s important to you and also what’s important to others and the community,” she says.
“I don’t think this would’ve happened without any of the hundreds of conversations I’ve had, and that feeds into your own practice as a musician.”
As for the future of Hidden Dome, the sky isn’t the limit – it’s only the beginning.
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