Sydney-based the music box project is an award-winning, artist-run collective of musicians presenting creative, community driven and collaborative music experiences.
Yvonne Chen (2023)
Increasingly recognised as keen instigators of creative music making, the music box project has premiered over 40 works of local, national and international early-career composers whilst continuing to re-invent established works in a new light. Known for their open mind and collaborative drive, the music box project is a thriving part of Sydney’s local music scene having shared music outside the usual order of things monthly at The Glebe Hotel since 2017, with a shift to online shows during the Covid-19 pandemic. This regular concert series has built a strong regular audience through creating an approachable space to participate in exploratory music.
They have also presented a multi-theremin performance and audience workshop at Extended Play Festival (2018) and sonically activated a range of spaces including Cockatoo Island, carparks, caves and an art storage unit. In 2020, the music box project was awarded the APRA AMCOS/AMC Art Music Award for ‘Excellence in Experimental Music’ for their project Shallow Listening (2019) deemed by panellists as “a concert experience demonstrating ability to facilitate, curate and perform experimental music at the highest level.”
Since the collective’s inception in 2014, the music box project has facilitated various successful collaborative and participatory projects. These include:
In 4 (2015) - a work composed by 40 composers from around the world that was curated from over 100 submissions
Sustain (2016) - a set of miniatures composed for additive ensemble by six local early career composers
Opera+Ornaments (2017) - two new pieces collaboratively composed in response to an exhibition at Conny Dietzhold Gallery
Project: anonymous (2018) - an anthology of anonymous text-based scores drawn from over 70 submissions for publication and performance in Sydney
Other highlights include an artist residency at Bundanon Trust (2019), performances at the Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music (2019), the collaborative composition of soundtracks for nine new silent films by local artists (2018), participating in an open workshop/performance with Grammy award-winning ensemble Eighth Blackbird (2017), opening for New York ensemble yMusic (2016) and collaborating with Sydney’s Splash Percussion (2016) for a performance of Steve Reich’s Drumming.