Have You Heard: Louise Devenish

Percussionist, Louise Devenish's performance Electroacoustic Performance For One Percussionist will be alongside fellow composer and electronic artist, Stuart James. 

It's an interesting scenario for Devenish in between her teaching duties and Zimbabwean Marimba ensembles. 

“The thing that’s unique about this program is it's five pieces by living Australian composers, which is unusual. I think a lot of people think of composers as 200-year-old dead white men writing for the orchestra,” Devenish says.

Working closely with composers, Devenish will be melding live percussion with electronic music and digital programs. It’s a tricky thing to navigate as a percussionist and new ground for Devenish. She admits it’s something she’s had to pick up along the way. 

“When I went through my undergrad, we didn’t have electronic music courses at the university. But people who are doing their undergrad courses now, all of them have access to digital music courses. I got into it basically by collaborating with other people. Meeting other composers or sound artists or performers who were using electronics in some way and saying, 'can I have a go?'"
Admittedly, the music will be challenging to the lay listener, but Devenish is passionate in her rallying call to music fans to expand their horizons. For her, exploration and experimentation is a fundamental experience, not just of music, but of life in a much more general sense. 

“It’s easy to like what you already know but if you don’t try something you haven’t heard before how do you know you’re not missing out on something really amazing? That’s all kinds of experiences, whether you go to a movie you haven’t seen or a music venue with a different type of music than you’ve seen before. I’ve found when people come to these experimental music concerts not knowing what to expect they’ve enjoyed it. 

“I think it’s about having an open mind about everything. Not sticking to the forms that you know or the instruments that you know but having a go at absolutely everything. Exploring outside of your comfort zone. That’s what this project is for me. I’ve done no solo projects with electronics before. Keep experimenting with new things and know that you’ll never stop learning.” 

Originally published in X-Press Magazine.