Collaborations with the Indigenous applicants for OUR MUSIC ‘14 began in preparatory sessions for the auditions. This preparatory collaborative work is at the heart of the OUR MUSIC process, and would be the activity of the non- Indigenous students if the OUR MUSIC program was part of an undergraduate urriculum. In these preparatory sessions, the musical ideas and visions of the Indigenous performer’s music are closely shared with the non-Indigenous colleague, and both collaborators combine their crafts to shape the piece into a collaborative work. Ms Cheetham commented on my collaborative arrangements –

His endless capacity to explore all possible nuances in each arrangement was the driving force behind a totally engaging process and performance.⁴⁹³

My application of the Stuart & Sons piano sound to the performers’ music added another dimension to the collaborations. The application of the new instrumental sounds of the Stuart piano made of Australian woods with the music, was quickly understood by my Indigenous colleagues as being an integral part of the collaboration. This was especially apparent when the extreme registers of the piano soundscape were implemented as abstract depictions of environment and spiritual aspects. The Stuart piano sound is the mediating artefact in all my research into Indigenous cross-cultural collaborations.

My collaborative activities were varied for OUR MUSIC ‘14. I assisted in reviving hymns composed in 1930s at Sydney Aboriginal La Perouse Community with an elder of that community Dr Peter MacKenzie. I also collaborated with MacKenzie on his song ‘Stand Up’ for recognition song. Dr MacKenzie is a PhD at University of Western Sydney, his research specialized on Indigenous songwriting in urban Australia. He is a prolific songwriter. A project we started working on was the development of a song line from LaPerouse down the south coast from Sydney to Wreck Bay. I collaborated with singer songwriter Charlie Trindall arranging his songs for the accompanying ensemble including classical strings. The Indigenous hip hop rap singer Rhyan Clapham and I collaborated on two of his compositions ‘Sausages’ and ‘Black Graduate’ that contained strong social comment. Clapham also played drums in the accompanying ensemble. I collaborated again with Buruberongal singer Richard Green and the children’s choir from Mt Druitt in Sydney’s Western suburbs of Sydney on the Australian anthem ‘I Am Australian’ sung in the Indigenous language of Sydney. I was thrilled to collaborate with songwriter-singer Corey Kirk and her family band. This band formed a good nucleus for the large ensemble in accompanying all the performers. The perspectives of contemporary music from the Gamargal areas on the north side of Sydney were portrayed in the songs of Michael Birk. Guest performers Brenda Gifford and Matthew Doyle collaborated with me in traditional language pieces, Gadhu from the Dhurga language groups in Wreck Bay, and Wirritjirribin, the story of the creation of the Lyrebird, from the Dharawal area south of Sydney.

⁴⁹³ Deborah Cheetham email interview with author, 3rd April 2015.