Behind Doors: Artists in Isolation

             
1. Pine Vale (Hilary Geddes & Oscar Henfrey)
2. Adjansur (Hilary Geddes & Oscar Henfrey)

Hilary Geddes, Electric Guitar
Oscar Henfrey, Drums
             
'Pine Vale' is the name of the dry-area farm where my father grew up near Binya in south-west New South Wales. I wrote this piece after spending a year living in the north of Germany, wanting to evoke the dry, unrelenting heat that defined the Summers of my childhood. Both Oscar and I still have family who live in rural New South Wales. This is the first time we have performed this work as a duet and we relished the opportunity to try and capture both the shimmers and the stillness that can descend over this part of the country when the temperature rises above 40 degrees.

'Adjansur' is a ditty-like improvisation that was named post-performance. The word describes the arrival of a large wave after a succession of smaller ones. We felt this aptly encapsulated the arc of this improvisation, which crests and soars, all the while retaining a sense of spaciousness through minimal melodic variation and constant pulse. Committing to a motif for an extended period of time and exploring the micro-progression(s) of an idea has been a central tenet of our musical relationship and approach to improvising. This piece is a strong embodiment of that notion. - Hilary Geddes

In 2018, Hilary graduated from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with First Class Honours, studying under renowned guitarists Carl Dewhurst, James Muller and Steve Brien. Hilary took part in the Australian Art Orchestra Creative Music Intensive in 2019, working and performing with artists such as Il Dong Bae, Daniel and David Wilfred and Sunny Kim. Hilary is also part of a number of Sydney-based bands including Bonnie Kay and the Bonafides, Jackie Brown Jr. and The Buoys. Also a graduate of the prestigious Jazz Program at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Oscar is a Sydney based session drummer and composer.

Executive Producer: Judith Neilson AM