100 CAPES. 100 STORIES.
a choral installation
We walk through a field of red capes. We might be in bushland, an old house, a gallery, or a stone courtyard. The capes float above and around us like so many invisible girls as we hear stories of women’s lives braided together with a stirring chorus of women’s voices.
A folktale born of our time, 100 CAPES 100 STORIES is an installation that was handstitched by 100 women from across the country, and brought to life by music inspired by their stories.
During the 2020 lockdowns, 100 women from rural, regional, and metropolitan Australia were mailed a cape-making kit. As they pieced together the garment they were interviewed about their life by one of 15 young women who brought their stories back to The House. These stories of girlhood dreams and meaningful, vital, and ordinary life feature in the original soundtrack that accompanies the 100 capes installation.
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For more info about how the work was created and what it means to those involved please view the Program for the Deniliquin 2023 exhibit:
The National Art School, 2021
composed by
Jessica O’Donoghue | Yunyu Ong | Pru Montin | Audrey Ormella | Leahannah Crimmins | Aija Draguns
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In 2021 Jessica received the top performance award in the APRA/AMCOS AMC Art Music Awards and in 2018 she was the recipient of an Australian Institute of Music Fellowship for her “outstanding contributions” to the nation’s music industry. She harnessed a prestigious classical training that included Sydney University, Victorian College of the Arts and London’s Covent Garden into an extensive and eclectic musical career that spans opera, medieval music, pop, jazz and cabaret. A long-term advocate for the democratisation of music, she is committed to engaging with audiences by creating bold, sonic experiences like no other.
Pru Montin is a Melbourne/LA-based composer and sound designer fast creating a name for herself as a dynamic and inventive composer of film and media scores. With a gift at sampling, she sculpts evolving sonic worlds from any sound source, into meticulously orchestrated emotional journeys. Her unique approach has led to features by ASCAP as Composer to Watch, APRA AMCOS's World IP Day Innovator and the coveted biannual APRA AMCOS Professional Development Award for Film and Television in 2019. Her most recent film credits include the AACTA-nominated Australian family feature Moon Rock for Monday whilst her proudest installation is an immersive sonic-collaged multimedia retrospective on Madonna presented in New York.
Yunyu is an award winning film, games and installation composer. She
won the best score for short film in the international Film Sound and
Music Festival for the short film Drover's Boy (2015). As a singer-songwriter, Yunyu won Triple J's unearthed and was feature
artist in the Australian Independent Records. Yunyu has also co-written the musical Jungle Hideaway, which has been workshopped/presented internationally in theatres including NIDA, La Salle Singapore. Currently, Yunyu is undertaking research into Spatial music formats, her research is supported by Dolby Australia, in University of Technology Sydney.
Leahannah (she/her) is a composer, vocalist, flautist and performer from Naarm/ Melbourne, Australia. Leahnnah brings with her 20 years of experience as a vocalist and flautist, having performed in numerous bands over the years ranging from jazz, contemporary, to progressive/experimental and folk. Leahannah is passionate about creating unique, emotive music that blends vocals, and acoustic instruments with electronic soundscapes. Leahannah’s sound can be best described as ethereal, emotional, and immersive.
Aija Draguns is a Sydney-based emerging composer. She has a passion for choral music and is heavily influenced by her Latvian heritage. Growing up Aija studied piano and saxophone, and sung in various ensembles in the Latvian community. Aija attended the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, completing a Bachelor of Music (Composition), and a Bachelor of Music Studies (Composition Honours). Aija has since worked with Sydney Youth Orchestra and Ensemble Apex. Aija’s compositions have been programmed by Sydney Philharmonia choir Vox, Sydney Conservatorium choirs, Konzertprojekt, Trinitiy Grammar School choir, the Australian Latvian Cultural Festival, The House that Dan Built, and Melbourne Latvian choir Daina. Aija's work has recently been presented in Sydney Town Hall and at the Sydney Opera House.
Audrey Ormella is an emerging Sydney-based composer, living and working on Wangal land. She is interested in experimenting with both live and pre-recorded musical ideas, and has previously worked with ensembles such as the AYO, the Australian Voices, Gondwana Choirs, and TheHouseThatDanBuilt Performers. She is currently in her second year studying Composition at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.