Resonance + The ConChords

** Due to unforeseen circumstances, Kristin Berardi is no longer able to travel to Australia. Michelle Nicolle will take her place for this performance.

Resonance brings together four world-renowned improviser-composers who use their collective voice to shatter against the glass ceiling. Co-leaders Sandy Evans (saxophones) and Andrea Keller (piano) stand among Australia’s most distinguished contemporary jazz musicians. They are joined by special guest and internationally renowned Australian jazz vocalist Michelle Nicolle, and Jenny Barnes, whose vocal practice grows out of her deep study of linguistics in improvisation.

The suite draws on their shared experience of building a creative life while caring for partners, children, aging parents and community. It speaks to the demands placed on women, and to a jazz scene, and a society, still slow to recognise them. Lyrics for the project were commissioned, premiering new works by Michele Morgan, Hazel Smith and Andrea Keller alongside poems by Sara Teasdale and Jeanie Greensfelder.

This project will inspire meaningful conversations about gender, creativity, and the challenges faced by women in the arts.

With

The ConChords + Michelle Nicolle and Jonathan Zwartz

Lead by acclaimed vocalist, arranger and choral director Naomi Crellin, The ConChords is a dynamic ensemble of emerging vocalists from the Sydney Conservatorium, bringing together some of the next generation of jazz singers in Australia.

A graduate of the Elder Conservatorium’s Jazz Voice program, Naomi has been a member of acclaimed vocal ensemble The Idea of North since 2002, becoming the group’s Musical Director in 2004 and contributing extensively to its repertoire through her writing and arrangements.

With a passion for the art of ensemble singing, Naomi has taught vocalists and choral students of all ages and abilities for many years. She became director of the ConChords in 2022, bringing her wealth of performance, arranging and conducting experience to one of Sydney’s leading young jazz vocal ensembles.

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The pairing of Jonathan Zwartz and Michelle Nicolle in a duo format has taken way too long. They both fly in rare air and are at the peak of their respective careers. Jonathan on acoustic bass and Michelle on vocals are the definition of musicians’ musicians, possessing flawless technique, tone and taste. Above all this however, is their shared ability to express at the deepest level, music, song and beauty.