Ensemble

The Artemis Project 2019

WAYJO's Young Women in Jazz Program Leader Gemma Farrell presents the Artemis Project - a new platform for Perth’s leading female jazz artists.

Showcasing music by Australia’s great female composers and arrangers, the Artemis Orchestra, joined by some of WA Youth Jazz Orchestra's emerging female performers, will open your ears to fresh new sounds.

We briefly spoke to Gemma ahead of the upcoming show, Saturday 19 October, at the Ellington Jazz Club in Perth.

Why/when did you start Artemis Orchestra?
I formed the Artemis Orchestra in 2017. I was preparing for that year's Young Women in Jazz workshops with Kate Pass, Talya Valenti and Alana Macpherson, three phenomenally talented jazz musicians and composers. I was reflecting on the work we do for the workshops, how much I enjoy working with these women, and how there is not enough opportunity to showcase the music of the incredible female jazz musicians we have in Perth. It was also the height of the #metoo era, so I wanted to create a safe space for women to make music together, and for their work as performing musicians and composers to be celebrated. I also think a lot about my own students when I put projects together. Normally, when you go out to see a big band in Perth, you see a band full of straight, white, able bodied men, and maybe a few women. I wanted to create a more diverse band so that all of my students could look at the band and think "yeah, I could do that one day." Most Perth boys have that already, but unfortunately I think with the way things are at the moment, a young girl is likely to look at your average Perth big band and think "wow, it's really hard to be a women in jazz." It's not that we don't have the talent either, as you will see from our gig, but it's just that no one else is shining a light on it.

Why did you call the ensemble Artemis?
I was uncomfortable with the idea of having the word "women" in the title, because we're not exclusive. As much as the project does showcase the work of Australian women, we don't have anywhere near as many women as men in the Perth jazz scene, so if we need the help of men I want them to feel welcome (in this concert we have two lovely men joining us). I would also warmly welcome any transgender or non-binary band members. I wanted to go for a Greek name to salute our Sydney friends, the Sirens big band, who did this a long time before we did. Eventually I read about Artemis, the goddess of hunting, wild animals, childbirth and protector of young women. The last part in particular seemed very apt, and I also liked the fact that there was the word "Art" in there as well.

Who's performing?
The band for the Saturday concert is made up of women who are professionals playing in the Artemis Orchestra, women who play with Artemis regularly but are also members of WAYJO, and WAYJO members. In putting the band together, I offered the opportunity to all the female members of WAYJO. When I found out how many were available, I looked at the gaps we had and hired members of Artemis to fill those gaps. We had two more gaps after that, there were no female drummers in WAYJO and Artemis' regular drummer was unavailable. We also needed another trombonist, and so to fill those gaps, we have the amazing Julius Rogers and Alex Parkinson from WAYJO's WNO joining us.

The full band is:
Vocals - Laura Igglesden and Lucy Iffla (Artemis and WAYJO)
Alto 1 - Tessa Campbell (Artemis and WAYJO)
Alto 2 - Shaniqa Ratnasigam and Holly Forster (WAYJO)
Tenor 1 - Claire Keet (Artemis and WAYJO)
Tenor 2 - Dee More (WAYJO)
Baritone - Jemima Mills (Artemis and WAYJO)
Trombone 1 - Alex Parkinson (WAYJO)
Trombone 2 - Holli Hatherley (Artemis and WAYJO)
Trombone 3 - Halle Mitchell (WAYJO)
Bass Trombone - Yvonne Gygli-Howell (Artemis)
Trumpet 1 - Charlie Teakle (Artemis and WAYJO)
Trumpet 2 - Jess Fiocco (Artemis)
Trumpet 3 - Jenny Bylund (WAYJO)
Trumpet 4 - Julia Wallace (Artemis and WAYJO)
Guitar - Candice Susnjar (Artemis)
Piano - Kirsten Symczycz (Artemis)
Bass - Kate Pass (Artemis)
Drums - Julius Rogers (WAYJO)
Percussion - Imogen Thompson (Artemis)

What might audience members most enjoy about this show?
We are performing some incredible compositions which they will likely have never heard before, some composed by members of the band including Candice Susnjar and Kate Pass. Everyone who wants to have a go at soloing is soloing. It's a going to be a real showcase of home grown talent. There a lots of powerful numbers, some Latin charts (my personal favourite thing is whenever Imogen whips out her triangle), it's two sets of bangers.

I'm so grateful to WAYJO for agreeing to do this once a year and I hope to see as many people there supporting this initiative as possible.

by WAYJO Marketing