Australia’s leading Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performing arts company, Bangarra Dance Theatre, has announced Gamillaroi woman Amelia Thompson and Jaadwa man James Howard as the 2024 David Page Music Fellows.
Inaugurated in 2017, the David Page Music Fellowship provides Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander composers and musicians with paid opportunities to collaborate on various projects with the company.
Proud Munaldjali and Nunukal man, Roy David Page was Bangarra Dance Theatre’s Songman, Composer, and Music Director. His legacy lives on in perpetuity as the musical heartbeat of the company to which he dedicated so much of his life.
During the Fellowship, recipients will enhance their creative, composition, and production skills, participating closely in every stage of Bangarra’s unique Creative Life Cycle under the mentorship of acclaimed composers Steve Francis and Brendon Boney.
From research and cultural consultation, through the collaborative creative processes, fellows will be able to contribute to the creation of new scores for Dance Clan in late 2024.
Amelia Thompson is a proud Gamillaroi composer, vocalist and electronic artist raised on Dharug Land in the lower Blue Mountains. A graduate from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, her experience extends to radio hosting, event production and she has also released her own EP under the artist name, THOM.
“I am overjoyed and so humbled by this opportunity. Working on Dance Clan with Bangarra is such a dream as a young musician. I am so excited to work with other young Aboriginal creatives and to see the outcome of such an inspiring collaboration,” said Thompson.
James Howard is an emerging Jaadwa composer, producer and lecturer and has composed a variety of works for several significant institutions including Australian Dance Theatre, The Australian Ballet, Melbourne Fringe Festival, RISING Festival, YIRRAMBOI Festival, and the Australian Centre for Contemporary Arts.
He holds a PhD (Indigenous Arts and Culture), from the University of Melbourne; Composing Cultural Reclamation: Reconnecting to an Indigenous Cultural Heritage through a Music Practice (2022).
“I’m thrilled to be joining the Bangarra community as part of the David Page Music Fellowship to be able to grow as a composer within a space that centres Indigenous self-determination and creative excellence,” said Howard.
“I can’t wait to begin working alongside other emerging artists, to learn from established industry professionals, as well as to contribute my own creative impressions onto Bangarra’s ongoing storyline.”
The David Page Music Fellowship is generously supported by the late Robert Albert AO and Elizabeth Albert. For more information, visit: www.bangarra.com.au for details.
Image: James Howard (supplied) and Amelia Thompson (photo by Megan Donnelly)