Skyglass is a trio of violin, guitar and shakuhachi performing original music. From spacious soundscapes to driving polyrhythms, each instrumentalist incorporating sung and spoken word into engaging and moving performances that explore the fragility of existence.
Emily, Anne and Yyan have collaborated in various combinations since 2015 bringing together influences of finger-style acoustic steel string, Japanese Zen, Celtic folk and classical. The music that Skygalss create is contemplative while incorporating fun rhythms and fabulous harmonies, creating music that is highly accessible to diverse audiences. Their use of voices woven within the texture of their blown, bowed and plucked instruments make for compelling melodies. Most of their music is inspired by time spent in wilderness or beneath the night sky, and their presentations are engaging, leaving audiences keen for more.
Anne lives in Victoria and Yyan and Emily in Tassie, so sometimes they perform in duo combos and sometimes all three together. Following an Arts Tasmania wilderness residency in Hastings caves in 2017, the trio performed to sold-out audiences in wilderness areas around Tasmania. In 2019 they presented their ‘Heart Moon’ program weaving original music and poetry inspired by the moon and cosmos in another acclaimed and sold-out concert tour of Tasmania. At the end of this tour they chose the name Skyglass for their trio. In January 2020 Skyglass received a standing ovation at the Cygnet Folk Festival and gave their second subterranean performance in Hastings Cave in March, followed by a day of workshops in song-making and whacky ostinati on “boings” and “dongs” with a performance at Dream Farm. COVID lockdowns then cancelled our concert tour of Victoria in late April/ early May 2020.
To Book Skyglass please email Anne.
The Performers
Emily Sheppard is a violinist, violist, improviser and composer performing in various contemporary folk bands and improvisation ensembles. Trained in classical music at the Australian National Academy of Music in Melbourne, she also plays with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and Van Diemen’s Band. Emily has been part of performance and recording projects with Paul Kelly, Katie Noonan, DJ Spooky, Michael Kieran Harvey and the Australian Chamber Orchestra.
Yyan Ng is a multi-instrumentalist, improviser, composer, and collaborator. He has played with and/or supported acts such as Emma Anglesey, Daniel Champagne, Shaun Kirk, Jeff Lang, Ben Salter, The East Pointers and Brian Ritchie and performed all over Australia including Hastings Cave, MONA FOMA, Dark MOFO, Woodford Folk Festival, Cygnet Folk Festival, Junction Arts Festival, Festivale, Marion Bay Falls Festival, Taste of Tasmania, Jackey’s Marsh Forest Festival and Amplified Awards.
Anne Norman is a shakuhachi (bamboo flute) performer and composer, performing traditional & contemporary Japanese, European and Australian art music, to cross-over fusion and free-form impro with musicians, dancers and artists of various genres and cultural heritages. Anne first trained on flute and then in Japan on shakuhachi . She has recorded on many CDs and performed in major festivals across Australia and in Japan, America and Europe.
Video & Audio clips
Skyglass on LINKTREE
more sound and video…
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- Innisfree – Video clip. Yyan & Emily.
- Pale Blue Dot – Rosny Barn, Tas. Emily, Yyan, Anne.
- Memory Palace @ Austins Ferry Studio
- SKYGLASS on BANDCAMP
Audience Reviews
Last night’s concert was sublime in its purity and beauty. Anne Norman’s mastery of the shakuhachi and creative explorations of its possibilities combined with Emily Sheppard’s virtuosic string playing was mesmerising. Yyan Ng’s guitar and voice blended perfectly. Their original compositions were played with sensitivity, spaciousness and great expression. Rich textures were created by each member adding their voices to the mix. Their music spoke of the beauty and the fragility of existence that was profound, yet humble. The concert was re-affirming of one’s deeper self, values and place on this ‘small blue dot’. Steven Grainger, Rosny Barn, 2019.
Beautiful, sensitive, mesmerising. Lynne Griffiths, Rosny Barn, 2019.
Incredible musicians, each with a sublime and far-reaching creativity… these are musicians that musicians listen to and follow. Setting new standards for Australian music in the acoustic and art music categories, the instrumental virtuosity and aesthetic sensibilities of each member are clear to any listener. This trio can render complex polyrhythms with such comfortable ease that the listener barely notices the underlying complexity of the music. Each is a composer and lyricist with text weaving in and out of their instrumental excursions. Be prepared to be taken on a journey, not only through well-crafted soundscapes but also through the imagination. Steve Gadd, Franklin house concert 2019
Wow! What amazing musicianship! Your playing was so appropriate to the misty, ethereal realms on top of the mountain. The combination of voice and shakuhachi, and diversity of sounds that were obtained from a violin astounded me. Mark Loveridge, Mt Wellington observation shelter, kunanyi 2019
It was magical walking down to the shelter in the mist. And quite different to walk into a dark space, and leave again, without really knowing who else was there. Vicki, kunanyi 2019
I enjoyed the performance in so many ways: originality of the compositions, concentration and expertise of the players, intriguing use of voice, the Purcell lament with amazing new harmonies. It was beautiful, unique and memorable… a joy. Anne John, kunanyi 2019
An unbelievable music feast… such an exceptional program. I am greedy for more. The music flowed and was seamless… completely blown away. Brenda Roan, kunanyi 2019
Intensely raw, sweet, ethereal. Transcending time and place, connecting the same. Sublimely perfect. Jane Hepple, kunanyi 2019
Loved the beautiful instruments and voices blending so perfectly together. There is something magic and spiritual about connecting music with nature. Aleah, Hastings Cave, 2017
It was magic! …hearing live music in the natural reverberation of a cave had a great effect on one’s being. Mieka, Hastings Cave, 2017
Stunning, original, haunting music. Philip Harrington, Mt Wellington, kunanyi 2019
The combination of voice and instrument… the ease and naturalness of performance. You invited us in. Music and story… evocative. Edwina Powell, Scottsdale, Tas, 2020
Skyglass performance schedule 2020
Tasmania
Jan 8-9 2020, in a recording studio in Hobart
Jan 10-12 2020, Cygnet Folk Festival, Tasmania. Skyglass trio: Emily Sheppard (violin, viola, vocals), Yyan Ng (guitar, vocals), Anne Norman (shakuhachi, vocals).
Jan 21 2020, 12:30pm-2:30pm Skyglass at MONA Outdoor Stage. Hobart.
Jan 22 2020, 6pm Skyglass at Scottsdale Hall, 11 Kings st Scottsdale, NE Tasmania. Bookings
Mar 10 2020, Tues 1:05pm Skyglass, Lunchtime series Hobart Town Hall
Mar 14 2020, Sat 3pm Skyglass perform in the Newdegate Cave, Hastings, Tasmania. Reviews from 2017: “I felt far more connected to the music than in a conventional venue. Loved the beautiful instruments and voices blending so perfectly together” Aleah. “I loved the formations and the drip-drip of the surroundings. The acoustics were amazing and looking up into the stalactites” Lindsay. Humanitix
Mar 15 2020, Sun 9:30-3pm Community Forest Choir – Day workshop at Dreamfarm Eco-Arts Retreat, Huon Valley, Tas. Workshops conducted by Skyglass – teaching two choir pieces for singing enthusiasts, and those interested in playing tuned percussion riffs or plucked strings. Details/bookings: Trybooking
Apr 20 2020, 7pm Yyan and Emily Album Launch – VIRTUAL LISTENING PARTY. Join us in your place of self-isolation, get comfy, and lets listen to this beautiful music by Emily Sheppard and Yyan Ng, with featured artists Anne Norman (shakuhachi), Rob Manley (cello) and Gillian Marsden (cello).
Melbourne and rural Victoria
THIS TOUR HAS BEEN CANCELLED. We look foreword to organising it all again with even more gigs in a post COVID-19 world… whenever and whatever that is… Thanks for checking out our webpage. May you stay well.
Apr 23 2020, Thurs 7pm Abbotsford Convent in the Oratory, 1 St Heliers St, Abbotsford, presented by the BOITE.
Apr 24 2020, Fri 7pm, Peninsula Hot Springs, Amphitheatre stage, 140 Springs lane, Fingal. Bookings: http://bit.ly/skyglass
Apr 26 2020, Sun 10:30am Skyglass underground in Walhalla Gold Mine. Bookings: https://events.humanitix.com.au/skyglass-underground POSTPONED due to COVID-19 precautions.
May 1 2020, Fri 8pm Skyglass performs with the Pollyphonics choir in the Castlemaine Goods Shed, 11 Kennedy St, Castlemaine.
May 2 2020, Fri 5:30-7:30pm Open Studio Skyglass with Georgia Shine, 204 High Street, Northcote
May 6 2020, Wed 7:30pm Mozart Hall, 2 Gilles St, Warrnambool Skyglass with local choristers Khinkali and Friends sing our songs: Memory Palace and takayna found.
May 7 2020, Thurs 8pm The Platform, 60 Little Malop St. Geelong VIC. Presented by NEAL.
May 8 2020, Fri 8pm Skyglass and the Sweet Mona’s perform a double bill at Ballarat Trades Hall, 24 Camp St Ballarat.
Follow Skyglass on FaceBook
Venues & Festivals interested in booking Skyglass, please email Anne.
feature image: “Walk to the Sky”
a composite of photos by
Tasmanian photographers
Tim Cooper and Dan Hennessy.
Many thanks for your support.