Marking an exciting new development in the creative leadership model for the company, Chamber Made Opera is delighted to announce Tamara Saulwick’s appointment to a new role of Artistic Director to work alongside CEO and Creative Director Tim Stitz.
Chamber Made Opera Chair, Michael Bink, said the company is delighted with Saulwick’s appointment, “This new role is a logical next step in evolving the collaborative model that the Committee of Management found so compelling when Tim was first appointed in 2013. We keenly anticipate the artistic program that is emerging from this collaboration.”
Saulwick and Stitz will share the artistic and operational leadership of Chamber Made Opera, working with a host of highly accomplished collaborating artists to create new works located at the nexus of music, performance and design.
With over 20 years experience and a focus on how sound contributes to live performance, Saulwick is a multi-award winning and highly regarded performance-maker and director with works presented on national and international stages. Saulwick’s works created with Chamber Made Opera include Permission to Speak (2016) in collaboration with composer Kate Neal and she was dramaturg on Wake (2014).
“I am thrilled and honoured to accept the Artistic Director position at Chamber Made Opera, a company whose work I have followed throughout the last 25 years and with which I have had the fortune to work with the past three years,” said Saulwick.
“Chamber Made Opera occupies a unique place in the Australian music and performance landscape and I look forward to working closely with Tim and collaborating with many artists associated with the company in shaping the next phase of its evolution,” explained Saulwick.
“This is a continuation of the strategic vision we’ve developed over the last few years. Central to our approach is a constant interrogation of what artistic framework and operational model will best service this interdisciplinary company, our artists and audience,” Stitz added.
Currently, Chamber Made Opera is focused on the delivering its latest work, an international collaboration as part of Asia TOPA – Between 8 and 9 (Chengdu Teahouse Project), which will premiere at Castlemaine State Festival (21 – 25 March) followed by a season at the Melbourne Recital Centre (29 March – 1 April).
Saulwick joined Chamber Made Opera in 2014 as one of four Artistic Associates alongside Sarah Kriegler, Christie Stott and Erkki Veltheim, who will continue as collaborating artists with the company on various projects. Stitz explained that Kriegler, Stott and Veltheim have been instrumental in the formation and implementation of Chamber Made Opera’s artistic model over the last three years.
“Sarah, Christie and Erkki have produced a suite of compelling works, including Captives of the City (2015), Another Other (2014), Wake (2014) and Intimately Epic (2015),” said Stitz. “Each of these artists has brought remarkable talent and an extraordinary depth of experience to their roles and we look forward to a continued association with them as collaborating artists.”
Tamara Saulwick is a multi-award winning artist who creates contemporary works for theatres, public spaces, installations and radio. With over twenty years experience, working across and between artforms, Tamara has presented her work nationally and internationally. For Chamber Made Opera Tamara has worked as creator/director (Permission to Speak) and dramaturg (Wake).
Other recent works include: audio walk Newport Archives (The Substation); audio-visual installation Alter (Arts), audio-driven performance piece PUBLIC (Big West Festival) and Endings (Sydney Festival/Performance Space & Arts House) which was nominated for the ‘Best New Australian Work’ Helpmann Award and received the ‘Design and Realisation’ Green Room Award. Endings tours to Canada and the UK in 2017 & 2018.
Tamara’s solo work Pin Drop, premiered at Arts House in 2010, was remounted at The Malthouse then toured nationally with Mobile States and internationally to Tramway in Glasgow. Tamara has a PhD in Performance Studies from VUT (2015) and was a recipient of the prestigious Australia Council Theatre Fellowship (2015 /2016).
For more information, visit: www.chambermadeopera.com for details.
Image: Chamber Made Opera Artistic Director Tamara Saulwick and CEO and Creative Director Tim Stitz – photo by Pier Carthew