Speak Percussion are an Australian

percussion ensemble A percussion ensemble is a musical ensemble consisting of only percussion instruments. Although the term can be used to describe any such group, it commonly refers to groups of classically trained percussionists performing primarily classical m ...

led by artistic director Eugene Ughetti. The original five members, including Ughetti, came together in 1999, to join a recital by Minako Okamoto while they were undergraduate students at

Victorian College of the Arts The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) is the arts school at the University of Melbourne in Australia. It is part of the university's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music. It is located near the Melbourne city centre on the Southbank campus of the ...

. The following year, they formed Speak Percussion and made their debut at Musica Viva's ''Ménage'' music nights at

Chapel off Chapel Chapel Off Chapel is a theatre venue in Prahran, Melbourne. Located near Chapel Street and opened in 1995, the venue consists of the 255-seat Chapel Theatre, the 150-seat Chapel Loft and a visual arts gallery. Chapel Off Chapel is particularly ...

. Later that year the line-up of Okamoto, Ughetti, Justin Marshall and Rory McDougall performed

Fritz Hauser Fritz Hauser is a Swiss musician and composer from Basel, Switzerland. Principal compositions *On Time and Space (for 50 cymbals) *Die Klippe (for marimba and 3 cymbals) *Der Pendler (for drum kit) *Le souvenir (for 4 snare drums, 2 tr ...

's ''Double Exposition''. In 2002, the group split up due to financial and creative strain, with Ughetti the only one wishing to continue. Since then they have operated as a collective, with an ever-changing lineup. Since forming, they have collaborated with

Oren Ambarchi Oren Ambarchi (born 1969) is an Australian musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays mainly electric guitar and percussion. Biography Oren Ambarchi was born in Sydney to an Iraqi Jewish family. Ambarchi has been performing live since ...

Anthony Pateras Anthony Peter Pateras (born 1979) is an Australian-born composer, pianist and electronic musician. He has released several solo albums and collaborated with other artists. Pateras has performed and recorded in Australia, North America and Euro ...

Jon Rose Jonathan Anthony Rose (born 19 February 1951) is an Australian violinist, cellist, composer, and multimedia artist. Rose's work is centered in the experimental music known as free improvisation, where he has created large environmental multimed ...

Ethel Ethel (also '' æthel'') is an Old English word meaning "noble", today often used as a feminine given name. Etymology and historic usage The word means ''æthel'' "noble". It is frequently attested as the first element in Anglo-Saxon names, b ...

, and glass artist Elaine Miles. In 2018, Norwegian record label Sofa released ''Before Nightfall One'', an album with Speak Percussion and

Ingar Zach Ingar Zach (born 29 June 1971 in Oslo, Norway) is a Norwegian percussionist and businessman, known from several recordings. Career In the 1990s Zach played within Chateau Neuf Spelemannslag and 'Harnihomba', while studying music at the Univer ...

. This was followed by ''Percussion Works'', an album with Thomas Meadowcroft released on

Mode Records Mode Records is an American record label in New York City that concentrates on contemporary classical music and other forms of avant-garde music. The label was founded by Brian Brandt in 1984, with a goal of releasing music composed by John Cage. ...

in 2020. They have been nominated at the APRA's Art Music Awards each year from 2011 to 2017 and 2019–2021, and have won five awards between 2015 and 2021. In 2021 Kaylie Melville became Speak Percussion's assistant Artistic Director https://speakpercussion.com/new-assistant-artistic-director-kaylie-melville/

Members

Credits: * Eugene Ughetti –

maraca A maraca (), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas (from Guaraní ), also known as tamaracas, were r ...

s, percussion,

xylophone The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Like the glockenspiel (which uses metal bars), the xylophone essentially consists of a set of tuned wooden keys arranged in ...

* Minako Okomoto –

glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone. The glo ...

( 2000, 2002) * Justin Marshall –

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

( 2000-2002) * Rory McDougall –

marimba The marimba () is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the timbre ...

( 2000,2002) * Harry Arvanitis – ( 2002) * Ashley Hribar –

prepared piano A prepared piano is a piano that has had its sounds temporarily altered by placing bolts, screws, mutes, rubber erasers, and/or other objects on or between the strings. Its invention is usually traced to John Cage's dance music for ''Works for p ...

( 2005) * Peter Neville –

tom-toms A tom drum is a cylindrical drum with no snares, named from the Anglo-Indian and Sinhala language. It was added to the drum kit in the early part of the 20th century. Most toms range in size between in diameter, though floor toms can go as l ...

, wood-blocks, pod rattle ( 2005) * Timothy Phillips – tom-toms, wood-blocks, pod rattle ( 2005)

Discography

* ''Speak Percussion @ BMW Edge'' (live video album, 2005) – Contemporary Arts Media * 2015 ''Sleepwalker’s Conviction'', Oren Ambarchi featuring Speak Percussion (Black Truffle) * 2018 ''Before Nightfall One'', Speak Percussion with Ingar Zach (Sofa) * 2020 ''Percussion Works'', Speak Percussion with Thomas Meadowcroft (Mode Records)

Awards

* 2012 Melbourne Fringe Festival Award, Best Music * 2014

Green Room Award The Green Room Awards are peer awards which recognise excellence in cabaret, dance, drama, fringe theatre, musical theatre and opera in Melbourne. The awards were started in 1982 when Blair Edgar and Steven Tandy formed the Green Room Awards A ...

, ''Fluvial'' * 2015 APRA Art Music Award, Victorian State Award for Excellence by and Organisation * 2016 APRA Art Music Award, Excellence in Experimental Music * 2017 APRA Art Music Award, Excellence by an Organisation * 2019 APRA Art Music Award, Performance of the Year * 2021 APRA Art Music Award, Luminary Award: Organisation (National)

References

External links

Official Website

Speak Percussion of Discogs

Australian Music Centre entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Speak Percussion Percussion ensembles Australian percussionists