Richard has an extraordinary ear for finding talented musicians, such as Yaw Derkyi, a Ghanaian percussionist, and Shohrat Tursun, a recognised master in 1,000-year-old song cycles using voice and Dutar, a traditional long-necked, two-stringed lute found in Iran and Central Asia. (Check them out on Facebook for more examples. Hear music clips on Cultural Arts Collective).
Richard, whose first musical inspiration was Bon Jovi, is inspired by the coming together of diverse voices as he creates opportunities for artists from a wide variety of styles, backgrounds, ages and life experiences to shine together. The Sydney Sacred Music Festival, an initiative of Richard, is an exemplary celebration of many cultures coming together.
One of the events in this year’s Sydney Sacred Music Festival, September 2-18, is called “Worlds Collide”. You can hear a Uyghur bard, South East Asian underground beats, hip hop rhymes and searing vocals, Latin rhythms, African chants, and electronic dance, fused into a journey of sound among art installations by Khaled Sabasabi, Marian Abood and Ghasan Saaid. Seven cultures, one sound, premiering Saturday September 3 on a rooftop (Wentworth Street Carpark, Level 8, 2-10 Wentworth Street, Parramatta).
The festival opens on Friday September 2 with a “Gathering Ceremony at Marrong” (Prospect Hill), the highest landmass in the Sydney Basin, the place where the warrior Pemulwuy observed the coming devastation and led the resistance against the burgeoning colony, and featuring William Barton on the didgeridoo.
There are 11 events in all, including a concert in the three decommissioned ammunition chambers in Sydney Olympic Park, featuring Sun Yi on violin (September 10), and traditional pieces inspired by nature, the human condition, and music and dance specifically composed for the worship of the divine at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music performed by the Balinese Music Ensemble and Chinese Music Ensemble (September 17).
