Arrkanala Lyilhitjika: The Joy of Singing, July 5

AWNY and Olsen Gruin present: ‘Arrkanala Lyilhitjika: The Joy of Singing’ – the Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir in concert.

This event includes a 60 minute choral performance followed by a rare Q&A with members of the choir, Morris Stuart; the Choir’s Conductor and musical director and Naina Sen; the director/producer of the documentary The Song Keepers, moderated by Australian media personality and author Gretel Killeen

Event Details

Date: Thursday, July 5th
Time: 6pm for a 6:30 start
Address: Olsen Gruin Gallery, 30 Orchard St, New York, NY, 10002, Ph: 646 525 6213
Cost: $10 AWNY members/$15 non-members
Tickets and RSVP: via the American Australian Association – members will need to log in to access the special member’s ticket price.

About the Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir

The Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir has become a musical ‘tour de force’ since their historic and highly acclaimed concert tour of Germany in mid-2015. This acclaimed Central Australian ensemble is made up of 25 women (and three men) spanning four generations and from six remote communities in Central Australia, across a 1000km radius.

Arrkanala Lyilhitjika: The Joy of Singing

In this performance, the Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir, tell the remarkable but largely unknown story of over 100 years of choral heritage and practice in remote Central Australian Aboriginal communities. The story is told through a unique musical repertoire consisting of German sacred poetry encased in baroque arrangements sung in Western Arrarnta and Pitjantjatjara languages – two living languages of the Northern Territory and South Australia, that are over 40,000 years old.

This choral tradition, first introduced to Central Australia over 140 years ago by the Germans, was a natural ‘fit’ to a people with a long history of transmitting their culture, wisdom and knowledge through song and ceremony. Today this largely unknown canon of music is not simply one that the choir inherited but is now unquestionably their own: Sung by a remarkable group of women – singers, artists, weavers, mothers, grandmothers, elders and stateswomen, giving audiences an intimate insight into these women, their culture, identity and world. Here is a glimpse of their song: https://vimeo.com/ 174609790 

Created by musical director and choir conductor Morris Stuart and accompanied by multimedia projections by award-winning documentary filmmaker and video artist, Naina Sen, ‘Arrkanala Lyilhitjika’ is an immersive journey into the sights and sounds of Central Australia and gives rare insight into a unique body of knowledge, music and experience.

As the choir makes their debut New York performance, we invite you to an evening of remarkable song, history and cross-cultural collaboration!

The performance will be followed by an intimate Q&A session with senior members of the Choir, conductor Morris Stuart and filmmaker Naina Sen.

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