Camping with Emily Sheppard in the takayna/ Tarkine wilderness area in NW Tasmania in a smouldering old-growth forest burnt out by dry lightning strikes… its warming up in Tas. Time spent listening to nature and learning about the plants and animals of this region… putting our experience into music and poetry to share with our audiences. Many thanks to the Bob Brown Foundation for support. See my TARKINE blogs
few birds sing or dart
through absent undergrowth
and brittle canopies;
no quolls lope, nor devils lurk;
but ferns unfurl green spiral scrolls
crowning wiry charcoaled skirts;
and stately gums all clad in black,
like father of the bride,
adorn their chests
with buttonholes of verdant life…
Husshh… hearing takayna
Anne Norman (shakuhachi, poetry), Emily Sheppard (violin) with Andrea Breen (viola) in Hobart gigs only.
- Apr 1: Design Tasmania Centre, Launceston
- Apr 2: Baha’i Centre, Hobart
- Apr 3: Mt Wellington Observation Shelter, Hobart
“…evocative and quite overwhelming. I was easily transported … trees swaying; ash around me… very vivid… The music and poetry were highly complimentary… it was beautiful how you moved around the space; it gave us a sense of being in the forest.” Anne Bliss, audience member
“an overwhelming sense of this precious life always morphing and changing, and we are a part of that… but the forest is suffering … a deep tragedy… I am very touched.” Hania Watt, audience member
Apr 9 2016, Melbourne Didgeridoo and Cultural Festival. Wombat Bend, Templestowe, Vic.
May 6 2016, “The Way of the Flower: Stillness in a World Gone Mad.” Ikebana, music and poetry. Shoso Shimbo ikebana; Brandon Lee koto; Anne Norman shakuhachi. The Boite Matsudo Week. Box Hill, Vic.
May 13-25 2016, TAIKO Drums and Flutes, Brisbane QLD.
the long road North…
The ceiling decorations in this bedroom move!
Oh to keep my eyes open
Jun 22- Jul 15 2016, driving from Vic through SA and NT in my newly purchased old Nissan X-Trail, learning about country and the irresistible power of the night sky…
miles of mallee scrub
silos stand in golden sky
wide, flat wheat country
trails of coral spore;
and a somersaulting emu
populate the sky
i want to sleep, but
galaxies, nebulae, stars
call to me all night
Jul 16-24 20l6, Administration with Anisha Angelroth & preparations for Tunnel Number Five in Darwin.
Jul 25-Aug 11 2016, performing in schools in Perth, WA. Nexus Arts
Aug 6 2016, Cantillations concert in Fremantle, WA. Shakuhachi, voice and eco-poetry – Anne Norman with Sarah Wilmot (improvisational singer); Peter Grayling (cello); Sanshi (didgeridoo). Fibonacci Centre.
“… torrents of rain on the tin roof, thunder and the sounds of logs burning in the open grate intensified the elemental spell of Cantillations: Shakuhachi, voice and eco-poetry. Magical!” Annamaria Weldon
“Your performance really brought the poetry to life. I left with vivid images and soundscapes of birds, places and emotions I never before visited. I loved the collaboration with the vocalist and didgeridoo. Listening to you play shakuhachi with Peter Grayling on cello was absolutely magical.” Tineke Van der Eecken
Release of a new Album “Beneath the Surface” music; poetry; sparkling impro collabs; and a dragon! – recorded in Tunnel Number Five in 2015. Demo video clip
“The music and poetry flows effortlessly from the first to the last track to create a mesmerising journey rich in colours, pace and emotion… exceptional power of collective and spontaneous creativity… The last track is so rich in audio images… like an artistic cinematic soundtrack condensed into a timeline of less than 7 minutes.” Le Tuan Hung, Sonic Gallery.
Aug 16-20 2016, Tunnel Number Five: Festival of Underground Music. Five concerts staged inside Darwin’s WWII Oil Storage Tunnels, curated by Anne Norman. Intimate, unplugged music in a reverberant subterranean venue; contemporary and traditional; contemplative and unusual. Anne Norman shakuhachi; Anja Tait violin; Netanela Mizrahi viola; Ernie Gruner violin; Jason Gurruwiwi & Sebastian Burrawanga Yolngu songmen; Henk Rumbewas West Papuan song and dance; Sarah Hopkins cello, harmonic voice, whirlies, hand-bells.
“One felt that Norman’s ears, eyes and pores were open to the tunnel and her colleagues whenever she appeared on stage… the highlight of the evening was the amalgamation of [Yolngu] songmen and shakuhachi – the audience responding overwhelmingly to this fusion … an inspired series from Norman… who clearly worked tirelessly and passionately to bring her vision to fruition – not only recognising her own dreams, but allowing others to dream also.” Roslyn Perry, Managing Editor, Off The Leash.
the long road South…
rock pool to rock pool
life cascades down ancient pathways
through sacred land
Aug 24-Sept 27 2016, driving, camping, meeting folk, hiking, adventures in the centre… and wonderful encounters with birds: Alone in Nature – my blog
Sept 17 2016, Sculpted Silence — solo shakuhachi and eco poetry in the gorgeous acoustics of the underground Serbian Orthodox Church, Coober Pedy, South Australia
Oct 20 2016, Lisa Gerrard “The Blank Page” Melbourne Festival, Hamer Hall. Lisa Gerrard’s backing band: Astrid Williamson keyboards/vocals; David Kuckhermann percussion; Gabriella Smart keyboards; Helen Mountfort cello; Anne Norman shakuhachi: with Arf Arf sound poets: Marisa Stirpe, Frank Lovece and Michael Buckley.“Her musicians were attired as medieval courtesans, or maybe angels, offering cello, bamboo flute, congas and keys to the sonic cathedral where the high priestess channelled her message of love. Yep, channelled. “Singing” doesn’t describe the way Gerrard commands the air to behave, rumbling from the deep and soaring to astonishing contralto highs, ringing in endless caverns of reverb, somehow more revelation than invention.” Michael Dwyer, The Age, Oct 22
“Lisa Gerrardとの共演，とても感動しました！ 新しい世界観。一つでも何かが欠けると駄目になるバランス感覚。あの中に尺八がいることが何よりも嬉しかったです！” I was so moved by the ensemble performance with Lisa Gerrard. It was a glimpse into a whole new world. Whenever I felt that somehow the sense of balance was lacking, shakuhachi would enter and I would be filled with an indescribable joy. Yoshinori Kamizono 神薗善規 audience member.
Oct 27-28 2016, TAIKO Drums and Flutes of Japan in Canberra Nexus Arts
Nov 2016, an excerpt of Anne’s poem Sculpture Park is published in the Tarkine Artist’s Journal published by the Bob Brown Foundation. 
Nov 19 2016, playing music with Emily Sheppard at the bush wedding of Yyan & Katie, Tasmania.
Dec 29 2016, Husshh… a private house concert with Emily Sheppard in Mornington, Vic
Dec 31 2016 New Years Eve Chanting & Meditation with Jarek Czechowicz. Jarek (guitar, song); Maddison Carter (percussion); Costa Hagi (Bass); Diana Clark-de Vries (harmonium, song); Anne Norman (shakuhachi). Augustine Centre, Hawthorn, Vic.