23 Oct 2018

Women centre stage for Stroma concert Vox Fem

From Upbeat, 1:00 pm on 23 October 2018

Works composed by women are the focus of a concert in Wellington this Thursday evening. Vox Fem is a programme of music by New Zealand and Australian women, performed by contemporary ensemble Stroma and jazz ensemble The Jac.

Stroma and The Jac present Vox Fem:  music by women composers

Stroma and The Jac present Vox Fem: music by women composers Photo: Stroma

Stroma will perform the music of Jasmine Lovell-Smith, Sarah Ballard, Alison Isadora, Antonia Barnett-McIntosh, Eve de Castro-Robinson and Lisa Illean in a high-octane cross-genre and cross-cultural collaboration with leading jazz octet The Jac, soprano Barbara Paterson, and a quartet of players of traditional Indian instruments.

Jasmine Lovell-Smith says it was initially challenging to figure out how to approach the piece, due to preconceived ideas about what would be appropriate for Stroma, but John Psathas advised her not to worry about that and just do something she liked, and she's very pleased with the end result.

“It needed space for improvisation,” she says. “I’ve composed material for Stroma to play during improvised sections for the Jac. But it’s just one big conversation with 13 people.”

Jasmine Lovell-Smith composer and saxophonist

Jasmine Lovell-Smith composer and saxophonist Photo: Supplied

Women are significantly underrepresented in music composition and having a performance like Vox Fem allows more women’s musical voices to be heard.

Lovell-Smith says "I think there are aspects of my work that would be viewed as feminine in terms of being emotional or intuitive or veering towards gentler sounds at times, but I feel uncomfortable with the idea of women composers sounding a different way. We should be free aesthetically to be whoever we are, regardless of gender.”

Barbara Paterson says in newer music it’s hard to decipher if it’s written by a women or not. But she can usually pick it in 19th century music. “In some older music I can hear a difference,” she says. “It’s probably a question of education and how women were encouraged to write.”

Soprano Barbara Paterson

Soprano Barbara Paterson Photo: Supplied

It’s the newer compositions that Paterson finds challenging and engaging. “It’s a privilege to work with stuff that’s being written right now,” she says. “It’s exciting and important.”

Vox Fem is part of the ongoing 125 year celebrations since women won the right to vote. The concert is a reminder for Lovell-Smith and Patterson of the importance of that history. “It’s such a hard won privilege,” Patterson says. “[it’s about] the power of voting, not taking votes for granted. The right to vote can be lost in the passage of time regarding that privilege.”

“It’s something we take for granted,” Lovell-Smith says. “It’s a reminder of how far we’ve come.”

Vox Fem: Hannah Playhouse  Thursday 25 October