Monthly Archives: April 2014

Westfield to join Ruthless Jabiru as Associate Sponsor

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Global retail giant Westfield is to join Ruthless Jabiru as an Associate Sponsor of the orchestra’s appearance at the Australia & New Zealand Festival of Literature & Arts. As part of a wide entertainment and leisure offer, Westfield is a keen supporter of arts and culture in London, regularly playing host to cultural and musical events at its London centres and supporting both local and international artists. The recently established Westfield Presents platforms further secure the centres as a high profile destination for events and celebrity performances.

Myf Ryan, Director of Marketing for UK & Europe said: “Westfield, as a long term supporter of music and culture in London, is delighted to support Ruthless Jabiru through their performance at the Australia & New Zealand Festival of Literature & Arts. We are also incredibly proud of our support for aspiring and established artists on our Westfield Presents stages and we look forward to welcoming Ruthless Jabiru to that platform.”

Ruthless Jabiru will perform at Kings College London for the Australia & New Zealand Festival of Literature & Arts on 31 May. Booking for the event is now open at the festival website.

Ruthless Jabiru to headline Australia & New Zealand Festival of Literature & Arts

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Ruthless Jabiru will be a lead collaborator in the inaugural Australia & New Zealand Festival of Literature & Arts in London next month, performing a programme honouring Australian poet and political activist Oodgeroo Noonuccal on Saturday 31 May.

The programme will centre around The Past, an orchestral song for countertenor by Australian composer Andrew Ford, combining Oodgeroo’s poem of the same name with James Cook’s diaries of his contact with the First Australians. The programme will include Altjiranga Mitjina by Chris Williams, its title translated from the Arrernte language as “the timeless dimension of dreams”; an idea at the heart of Oodgeroo’s poem. The two Australian works will be offset by British music in Neoclassical style by Michael Tippett and Tansy Davies, alongside the world premiere of Sandhi Prakash by Egidija Medekšaité, commissioned by Ruthless Jabiru through the Sound and Music Portfolio scheme. The orchestra will perform in the Grade I listed Chapel at Kings College London, joined by award-winning Australian countertenor Russell Harcourt. Booking for the event is now open at the festival website.

Stay Ruthless

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As one could imagine, moving to London, England for three months after growing up in Boise, Idaho seemed a bit daunting. Not only was I being thrown into classes and daily life in the heart of the city, I was taking on an Internship that I knew nothing about until the very last minute. However, the stars must have been aligned. I was introduced to Kelly, Ruthless Jabiru’s Artistic Director, through a mutual connection at the beautiful Southbank Centre and so began our work together through the FIE Internship Programme.

A little known fact about Kelly: she is an independent coffee shop connoisseur. Unfortunately, I didn’t share her expert knowledge navigating the city and ended up sending SOS messages every time I got lost on the way to meetings! Each work day we met at one of her hidden gems for coffee and conversation about ideas, plans, and research. Kelly set tasks that allowed me to learn through a combination of research and experience and I was able to put forward my own ideas for new ways to expand the orchestra’s brand. My tasks included everything from making spreadsheets and emailing contacts to researching crowdfunding platforms and laughing out loud at their promotional videos. Kelly also set up some external meetings for me. I was introduced to staff from the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Philharmonic, as well as sitting in on some company meetings. Being both passionate about the music industry and an avid Lord of the Rings and Star Wars fan, these were amazing opportunites!

I am so grateful for my time with Ruthless Jabiru, and the opportunity to take an inside look at the orchestra and watch it grow. Although I’ve now had to return to the United States, I wish Kelly and the players nothing but the best and am excited to watch the orchestra’s success from afar. Stay ruthless!