Viewing the performance footage of Menindee Bop above,( USB 6.2, trk 20 Menindee Bop .mov) it is clear that Helen Bub–Connor conducting, knows how to keep the young students focused, …. by bringing a game into music performance! To begin the piece, a multi skilled student percussionist had to ricochet a tennis ball onto the keys of the painted piano. Ms Bub-Connor would throw the ball to the students positioned on stage, close to the piano. they were then required to ricochet the ball from off their djembe drum onto the piano keys! Sometimes it took awhile for the piece to begin.

After the ball had struck the piano, three student pianists improvised with me on variations of a Paakantji corroboree song⁴⁷² . These improvisations continue throughout the piece. The rhythm is provided by the djembe players with a pre-recorded rhythm track that combined to produce the gradual crescendo. After the peak of intensity, the Menindee women begin to sing a chant melody about their land, composed by Helen Bub-Connor. The chant uses the Paakantji words marnti ngamakana – ground of our mother, and kirra kirra ngamakana – country of our mother. After several repeats of the chant….suddenly, the painted piano boogie starts up and the choir sings ‘got to get to Sydney, to hear that piano groove’. It was clear we were uplifted by the spirit of the Menindee folks’ contributions to OUR MUSIC ‘12 that day.

I composed the Painted Piano Suite as a tribute to the young artists of Menindee central school. The dynamism at which they took to the task of painting the piano panels was breathtaking. I know their teacher Rick Ball was very proud.

The first movement Swirls musically depicts the energy and the sense of movement in the paintings. I have been inspired to compose music on the Stuart piano that compliments the swirling figures in the paintings. They seem to describe youthful boldness and a sense of grounded natural energy. Some of the images are illustrated in the file Swirls.mov. (file 24 of the USB 6.2) The musical swirls are energized and powerful. The vibrant energy in the music is sustained for the entire movement.

^{472     2}Gummow.