F I V E E L E M E N T S
A MUSICAL JOURNEY THROUGH THE ELEMENTS
Five Elements will take you on kaleidoscopic journey through the Australian landscape that traverses universal concepts linking humanity to our natural environment and spiritual core through music.
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Drawing inspiration from the belief in many ancient cultures that the entire universe was made of just five fundamental elements, earth, air, water, fire and ether, Riley Lee and the Enigma Quartet have commissioned and selected music from Australia’s finest compositional voices to present a strikingly original concert.
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The program allows audiences to experience new sound worlds created through the union of the meditative sounds and gestures of the shakuhachi and the rich harmonic palette of the string quartet, a convergence of Eastern Zen Buddhism with Western Classicism.
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Five Elements features pieces by composers such as Ross Edwards, David Hirschfelder, Anne Boyd and Katy Abbott amongst many other luminaries and alongside existing music by Peter Sculthorpe.
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T H E P R O J E C T
R O S S E D W A R D S ' V O I C E O F T H E R A I N '
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R I L E Y L E E
SHAKUHACHI
Riley Lee began playing Shakuhachi (bamboo flute) in Japan in 1971, studying with Chikuho Sakai and Katsuya Yokoyama
He was given the rank of Dai Shihan (grand master) in 1980
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His training methods included practising barefoot in the snow, blowing his flute under waterfalls and in blizzards until icicles form at its end, and running the Boston Marathon and then playing Taiko drums at the finish line
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Has performed & toured internationally including with the Boston and Sydney Symphony Orchestras and in venues such as the Kennedy Centre
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Co-founded Taikoz with Ian Cleworth in 1995, Australia's dynamic festival drum group
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Has released over 60 albums since 1980 and has millions of listens and downloads on Spotify and other social platforms ​
Performed alongside five other musicians atop the majestic 'sails' of the Sydney Opera House sails on January 1, 2000 broadcast across the globe
Has been instrumental in creating a professional presence of traditional Japanese music in Australia and founded the Australian Shakuhachi Society with his wife Patricia
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Received his PhD from the University of Sydney, was made an honorary fellow of the University of Western Sydney and is currently lecturing as Visting Fellow at Princeton University
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Lives with Patricia in beautiful Manly which faces both the Tasman Sea and Sydney Harbour
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IN THE STUDIO