For the past decade Andrew has been developing a very personal and clearly identifiable compositional style. His passion for both the classical and flamenco worlds of music, song, and dance have resulted in compositions that stylistically draw inspiration from greats as diverse as Manolo Sanlucar, Steve Reich, and Manuel de Falla while retaining a clearly individual lilt. Deeply rhythmical, harmonically adventurous, and unashamedly lyrical , the architecture of Andrew's compositions reflect his ability to seamlessly join the rigorous research of a topic with the emotive goal and direction of a lyric or melody.
"..Andrew Veivers composition and arrangement is outstanding.." (Lloyd Bradford Syke, Curtain Call, Sydney)
"..In fact, the whole affair is deeply musical. Andrew Veivers’s early cante jondo composition is exquisite, desolate stuff.." (Darryn King, TIME OUT Sydney)
"..Andrew Veivers’ music creates that beautiful syncopated Spanish rhythm and pace.." (Whitney Fitzsimmons, Stage Whispers, Sydney)
"..Each moment in this performance was a spectacle, each song a triumph and all of the dances were superb and electrifying. It made me sad to know that this was such a short lived run in Brisbane, but what a run, what a show. It is not in my habit to completely praise every aspect and element of something that I view and it surprises me with the degree to which this show was outside my comfort zone to be giving it a well deserved and highly enthusiastic five stars and faultless review.." (Brent Downes, Theatre People)
R E C E N T C O M M I S S I O N S
Guitarra y Cuarteto
A few kind words from the promo team for this exciting project:
Experience the rhythmical fusion of classical and flamenco music through Andrew Veivers' captivating compositions for guitar and string quartet in Guitarra y Cuarteto. This groundbreaking concert program performed with the hauntingly beautiful Black Square Quartet showcases a harmonious blend of Andrew's original compositions and iconic Spanish works. Inspired by musicians such as Manolo Sanlucar, Steve Reich, and Manuel de Falla, Andrew's compositions for Guitarra y Cuarteto exhibit a unique and individual charm.
Formed in 2018, The Black Square Quartet is dedicated to championing new and Australian music, offering a fresh perspective on classical compositions that is both inspiring and unforgettable. Don't miss this new collaboration from some of Queensland’s finest string and guitar musicians.
Experience the rhythmical fusion of classical and flamenco music through Andrew Veivers' captivating compositions for guitar and string quartet in Guitarra y Cuarteto. This groundbreaking concert program performed with the hauntingly beautiful Black Square Quartet showcases a harmonious blend of Andrew's original compositions and iconic Spanish works. Inspired by musicians such as Manolo Sanlucar, Steve Reich, and Manuel de Falla, Andrew's compositions for Guitarra y Cuarteto exhibit a unique and individual charm.
Formed in 2018, The Black Square Quartet is dedicated to championing new and Australian music, offering a fresh perspective on classical compositions that is both inspiring and unforgettable. Don't miss this new collaboration from some of Queensland’s finest string and guitar musicians.
People Puppets Fire Volume 1
Tah Dah!! My year long covid lockdown recording project - People Puppets Fire Volume 1 - is ready to share. It’s available on all of the usual streaming services (click on the album cover for links).
As the title might suggest, this collection of tunes is from my work over the last decade as a Composer and Festival Orchestra Director for the Fire Event – the ceremonial closing of the Woodford Folk Festival.
For those of you who haven’t been to the Fire Event, the album cover (by wonderful photographer Steve Swayne) sets the scene perfectly….
- PEOPLE….Lots of people (on average a 70 – 100 piece orchestra, 200+ choir, 150+ actors/dancers/ puppeteers and an audience of 15,000 - 20,000)
- PUPPETS…An amphitheatre sized stage full of all sorts of action, sets and drama (including giant puppets who are typically the main characters of the epic Fire Event sagas and whose movements and emotions are the focus point of my compositions)
- FIRE … a giant bonfire that closes the show.
This music was composed over the years as the soundtrack to many of the larger than life Fire Event characters and their narratives…heroes, monsters and flights of fancy dreamt up by directors Joey Ruigrok van der Werven (2012/13 & 2013/14) and Alex Podger (2014/15 onwards…although I think he’s been at, and had a hand in, every Fire Event since birth….) and brought to life by the many musicians, singers, puppet and lantern makers/operators, painters, costume designers, actors, prop makers, set builders who make the annual pilgrimage to Woodfordia year after year.
Given the ceremonial nature of the Fire Event, and that year to year there are many and varied musical contributors, any notion of formally documenting a full music score through a studio recording seemed impossibly complex to even begin to consider. Unlikely as it may seem, the opportunity to realize just such a recording project emerged during the first Australian COVID lockdown. Via a very deep dive into the world of subtle, inspiring and very real sounds, samples and cinematic scoring tools designed for the film industry.
Along with the majority of Australians in early 2020, I was sitting around the house in my pj's getting thoroughly spooked by the tragedy of the health crisis unfolding around the world, while at the same time receiving news of cancellation after cancellation of music and arts festivals around the country. As 2020 rolled on, the prospect of not being able to gather en masse in a festival setting for the foreseeable future really started to sink in - i.e. in regards to my career and livelihood, my dance card was suddenly not at all full!?! What better time for a new and suitably improbable recording project to start to take shape?
People Puppets Fire Volume 1 is ultimately a little exercise of glass-half-fullnesses (?!?). A little nudge to my brilliant collaborators and co conspirators, festival participants (performers and audiences) far and wide, all 'n sundry, in these strange and unsettling times to recall and enjoy the memories of the outrageously ambitious, fantastically impractical and intensely exhilarating antics we've been getting up to in the Fire Event amphitheatre over the years - and use those memories to dream up what we might get up to as soon as the COVID cloud disperses.
The album features the amazing voices of Angela Iimura, Lizzie O’Keefe, Shannon Sol Carroll and Karl S. Williams. Mixing and mastering voodoo by Paulie B. at Yama- Nui Recording Studio. All compositions, arrangements, production and programming by yours truly at A Handful of Buttons studio.
Thanks to my project supporters – performing arts company Red Chair and the Regional Arts Development Fund [RADF] a partnership between the Queensland Government and Sunshine Coast Council to support local arts and culture in regional Queensland.
I really hope you enjoy People Puppets Fire Volume 1
Volume 2 coming soon….
Forest to Sea
by Andrew Veivers
My four movement composition ‘Forest to Sea’ is intended as a reflection on the continuity of community on the Sunshine Coast. The musical themes and lyrics explore and reference stories, traditions, dreams and histories of indigenous, farming, family and tourist communities and their connection with, and response to, the diverse natural environment of the region. The composition is arranged for and draws from the textures of solo and choral voices, string and wind ensembles and solo and ensemble guitars and is arranged in 4 movements; Gathering, Canopy of Blue, Footfalls Echo in the Memory, and A Rivers Restless Heart. Although incorporating observations of human experiences of the region; gathering for feasts, walking through the landscape, falling in love - be it with another person or the landscape itself, the central character of the composition is the river. This character serves to both reinforce the actual physical connection between the mountains, farms and sea as well as being a metaphor for community; constantly flowing, changing, dreaming and building. The river travels from the mountains; an area of ancient story(dreams), traditions of working the land to produce food, an environment both rewarding and heartbreaking. A destination and a starting place. It moves restlessly, passing through gently rippling fields containing local crops (with a sweet kiss - sugar cane and a healing touch - ginger), sustaining a rich harvest of fish (in the twisted nets in the shallows) before arriving at the sea; whose vastness represents a future of endless possibility, the ultimate rewards of which are renewed via rain on the mountains. An endless cycle. The continuity of community.
This composition was made possible through generous support from The Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF). RADF is a partnership between the Queensland Government and Sunshine Coast Council to support local arts and culture in regional Queensland.
‘Forest to Sea’ was premiered by Alan Kelly, Cool Harmonies Choir and Andrew Veivers at the event Storyplace Mudjimba Island 2017 (as part of the 2017 Horizon Festival) - photography by Amanda Williams.
by Andrew Veivers
My four movement composition ‘Forest to Sea’ is intended as a reflection on the continuity of community on the Sunshine Coast. The musical themes and lyrics explore and reference stories, traditions, dreams and histories of indigenous, farming, family and tourist communities and their connection with, and response to, the diverse natural environment of the region. The composition is arranged for and draws from the textures of solo and choral voices, string and wind ensembles and solo and ensemble guitars and is arranged in 4 movements; Gathering, Canopy of Blue, Footfalls Echo in the Memory, and A Rivers Restless Heart. Although incorporating observations of human experiences of the region; gathering for feasts, walking through the landscape, falling in love - be it with another person or the landscape itself, the central character of the composition is the river. This character serves to both reinforce the actual physical connection between the mountains, farms and sea as well as being a metaphor for community; constantly flowing, changing, dreaming and building. The river travels from the mountains; an area of ancient story(dreams), traditions of working the land to produce food, an environment both rewarding and heartbreaking. A destination and a starting place. It moves restlessly, passing through gently rippling fields containing local crops (with a sweet kiss - sugar cane and a healing touch - ginger), sustaining a rich harvest of fish (in the twisted nets in the shallows) before arriving at the sea; whose vastness represents a future of endless possibility, the ultimate rewards of which are renewed via rain on the mountains. An endless cycle. The continuity of community.
This composition was made possible through generous support from The Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF). RADF is a partnership between the Queensland Government and Sunshine Coast Council to support local arts and culture in regional Queensland.
‘Forest to Sea’ was premiered by Alan Kelly, Cool Harmonies Choir and Andrew Veivers at the event Storyplace Mudjimba Island 2017 (as part of the 2017 Horizon Festival) - photography by Amanda Williams.
The People's Orchestra @ The Cairns Festival 2014
Commissioned by The Cairns Festival, RADF,
Commissioned by The Cairns Festival, RADF,
BONFIRE & BIG SING
Commissioned by Neil Cameron and the Festival Of Voices - July 8th to 11th 2014.
To compose for and direct a community based brass and percussion ensemble to perform at Tasmania's Festival Of Voices signature event, The Bonfire & Big Sing.
The event is the climax of the festival and is designed to "..warm your heart and inspire your imagination, the Bonfire & Big Sing return to Salamanca Place as part of our special ten year celebration, directed by Festival founder Neil Cameron, master of surprise and spectacle..."
Led by world renowned artists and hundreds of choristers, we invite you to join us and share the stage with our Festival guests, The Exchange and Spooky Men’s Chorale, as we unite in one voice for the Big Sing and create a choir of thousands for a mid-winter night’s magical evening unlike anything you’ve ever experienced.
Commissioned by Neil Cameron and the Festival Of Voices - July 8th to 11th 2014.
To compose for and direct a community based brass and percussion ensemble to perform at Tasmania's Festival Of Voices signature event, The Bonfire & Big Sing.
The event is the climax of the festival and is designed to "..warm your heart and inspire your imagination, the Bonfire & Big Sing return to Salamanca Place as part of our special ten year celebration, directed by Festival founder Neil Cameron, master of surprise and spectacle..."
Led by world renowned artists and hundreds of choristers, we invite you to join us and share the stage with our Festival guests, The Exchange and Spooky Men’s Chorale, as we unite in one voice for the Big Sing and create a choir of thousands for a mid-winter night’s magical evening unlike anything you’ve ever experienced.
Departures
by Andrew Veivers
New works for solo Spanish guitar.
Commissioned by The Sunshine Coast Council through The Regional Arts Development Fund - June to August 2013.
This commission will result in the composition and recording of a 40min work of original compositions for solo Spanish guitar.
The pieces will be reflections on people, places, and projects that have been pivotal in my development as a musician and composer over the past 20 years. Some of these pieces already exist as short thematic sketches, some as short composed themes that have been used within recent theatrical productions, and some in the earliest stages of creation i.e. the topic that will inform the structural narrative of the piece has been identified and a broad plan in regards to the style and structure has been developed.
Although initially drawing on the technical and rhythmic language of the flamenco art form, that has been the basis of my own 20 year performance career, recent compositional engagements with The Sydney Theatre Company, Woodford Folk Festival and Floating Land Festival have heavily influenced the continued development of a very personal and clearly identifiable style - one that draws on the strengths of the compelling rhythmic interpretation of the flamenco idiom combined with a thematically driven lyricism that supports corresponding structural narratives. This project reflects my desire to capture these elements within the relative constraints of the subtle textures available to compositions for solo Spanish guitar.
by Andrew Veivers
New works for solo Spanish guitar.
Commissioned by The Sunshine Coast Council through The Regional Arts Development Fund - June to August 2013.
This commission will result in the composition and recording of a 40min work of original compositions for solo Spanish guitar.
The pieces will be reflections on people, places, and projects that have been pivotal in my development as a musician and composer over the past 20 years. Some of these pieces already exist as short thematic sketches, some as short composed themes that have been used within recent theatrical productions, and some in the earliest stages of creation i.e. the topic that will inform the structural narrative of the piece has been identified and a broad plan in regards to the style and structure has been developed.
Although initially drawing on the technical and rhythmic language of the flamenco art form, that has been the basis of my own 20 year performance career, recent compositional engagements with The Sydney Theatre Company, Woodford Folk Festival and Floating Land Festival have heavily influenced the continued development of a very personal and clearly identifiable style - one that draws on the strengths of the compelling rhythmic interpretation of the flamenco idiom combined with a thematically driven lyricism that supports corresponding structural narratives. This project reflects my desire to capture these elements within the relative constraints of the subtle textures available to compositions for solo Spanish guitar.
Stillness And The Moving
by Andrew Veivers
Commissioned by the Sunshine Coast Council for the Floating Land Festival - 1st to 8th June 2013.
Inspired by the festival theme of Nature's Dialogue, I wanted to explore the structural nuances of a simple conversation. Of course, even simple conversations are never all that simple or straight forward. Not really. There are always subtle layers of meaning; humour, sadness, gentle advice, hidden disappointment, teasing innuendo, a little whisper for help. So, even upon my first investigation of the theme, and how it might manifest itself in a piece of music, the apparent simplicity of one conversation revealed the reality of many conversations - between the flora and the fauna, between day and night, between mother nature and us pesky humans, between the physical senses and the imagination, and maybe even the ultimate little chat - between all of the above and time.
The compositional style and instrumentation that I chose to use for this piece are a symbolic representation of many of these themes. The short percussive sounds of the marimbas evoke the scampering, fluttering, scratching, digging, and general busyness of wildlife - the insects, crabs, birds, bugs, and even humans going about their life, while the long, sustained notes and phrases of the strings represent the rising and setting of the sun and moon and the slow, powerful and inevitable growth of plant life; constantly reaching. These abstract notions are brought more clearly into focus and unified by the human voice, with lyrics drawn from the poem's 'Five Senses' by Judith Wright and 'Time' by Nate Hawk.
To further my investigation of the notion of a dialogue, I have both combined elements of the compositional ideas of minimalism within a simple binary form, as well as included a conversation within the orchestration; both within the voices of each ensemble as well as between the ensembles themselves.
Finally, this piece is intended as an underscore or accompaniment to the artworks and the natural setting that they are inspired by, drawn from, and will be located in, during this year’s festival.
The People's Orchestra
Commissioned by The Woodford Folk Festival - Dec. 27th 2012 to Jan. 1st 2013.
A large scale (100 + instrumentalists) community based orchestra consisting of festival patrons who, after rehearsing daily during the one week festival, contribute to the live soundtrack of The Fire Event - A huge outdoor theatrical performance involving a team of hundreds of artists, performers, singers, dancers, technicians, volunteers and an audience in excess of 25,000 people.
This year's Fire Event was directed by Joey Ruigrok van der Werven. Musical direction by Nick Lavers with The Fire Choir directed by Beat Lehmann and Angela Little.
Repertoire for The People's Orchestra consisted of original composition and direction by Andrew Veivers ,with 'spontaneous' arrangements of both instrumental pieces and choral accompaniments developed throughout the week by collaborators/section leaders Mal Webb, Andrew Clermont, and Matt de Boer.
A project that pushes established musical boundaries, excites sensory receptors, and suggests a version of an orchestra that you may never have considered - think session bar meets Wagner.
Commissioned by The Woodford Folk Festival - Dec. 27th 2012 to Jan. 1st 2013.
A large scale (100 + instrumentalists) community based orchestra consisting of festival patrons who, after rehearsing daily during the one week festival, contribute to the live soundtrack of The Fire Event - A huge outdoor theatrical performance involving a team of hundreds of artists, performers, singers, dancers, technicians, volunteers and an audience in excess of 25,000 people.
This year's Fire Event was directed by Joey Ruigrok van der Werven. Musical direction by Nick Lavers with The Fire Choir directed by Beat Lehmann and Angela Little.
Repertoire for The People's Orchestra consisted of original composition and direction by Andrew Veivers ,with 'spontaneous' arrangements of both instrumental pieces and choral accompaniments developed throughout the week by collaborators/section leaders Mal Webb, Andrew Clermont, and Matt de Boer.
A project that pushes established musical boundaries, excites sensory receptors, and suggests a version of an orchestra that you may never have considered - think session bar meets Wagner.
- This footage is from an enthusiastic festival patron:
FLAMENCO FIRE - GYPSY PATHWAYS
Commissioned by Red Chair and Brisbane City Council through The Creative Sparks Programme - February 2012.
Celebrating the epic nature of this great migration, Gypsy Pathways looks to the elements of the rich and diverse cultures that the Romani people both brought with them, with their kathak traditions, and encountered and integrated with their own during their travels through Persia (now Iran), and North Africa. Many of these influences were ultimately to come together when they arrived in Spain, arguably adding the most crucial ingredients to what was to become flamenco.
Featuring the stunning talents of special international guests kathak dancer/singer Sulagna Basu, flamenco dancer Francesca 'La Chica', and flamenco percussionist Andrej Vujicic alongside some of Australia's finest flamenco artists, including dancers Simone Pope and Sebastian Sanchez, guitarists Kieren Ray, and Andrew Veivers, violinist Shenton Gregory, and singer James Paul, Flamenco Fire's Gypsy Pathways distils from eight centuries of tradition a compelling, passionate, and vibrant show that captures all of the excitement and drama of this part of the great Romani story.
Director - Andrew Veivers
Choreographic Design - Simone Pope
Commissioned by Red Chair and Brisbane City Council through The Creative Sparks Programme - February 2012.
Celebrating the epic nature of this great migration, Gypsy Pathways looks to the elements of the rich and diverse cultures that the Romani people both brought with them, with their kathak traditions, and encountered and integrated with their own during their travels through Persia (now Iran), and North Africa. Many of these influences were ultimately to come together when they arrived in Spain, arguably adding the most crucial ingredients to what was to become flamenco.
Featuring the stunning talents of special international guests kathak dancer/singer Sulagna Basu, flamenco dancer Francesca 'La Chica', and flamenco percussionist Andrej Vujicic alongside some of Australia's finest flamenco artists, including dancers Simone Pope and Sebastian Sanchez, guitarists Kieren Ray, and Andrew Veivers, violinist Shenton Gregory, and singer James Paul, Flamenco Fire's Gypsy Pathways distils from eight centuries of tradition a compelling, passionate, and vibrant show that captures all of the excitement and drama of this part of the great Romani story.
Director - Andrew Veivers
Choreographic Design - Simone Pope
BLOOD WEDDING - Federico Garcia Lorca - translated by Iain Sinclair
Commissioned by The Sydney Theatre Company.
Directed by Iain Sinclair.
A word from the Artistic Directors of The Sydney Theatre Company, 2011
Federico Garcia Lorca's Blood Wedding is a classic of the Western twentieth century canon; a beautiful, brutal masterpiece for the stage. Few playwrights combine the prosaic nature of village life and flights of mythological fancy with quite the same deftness of touch and clarity of vision.
Translated from the original Spanish text and directed by Iain Sinclair. A new text that vividly evokes our time and place while remaining true to the spirit of the original.
In the hands of a strong cast, lead by the wonderful Leah Purcell, this production of Lorca's rural tale of love, death, spark, and flare.
Set to a soundtrack by musician and composer Andrew Veivers, and performed on a set designed by Rufus Didwiszus...
Working from both the original Spanish text and Iain Sinclair's translation, a musical score was composed by Andrew Veivers and performed live throughout a season of fifty performances. The score consisted of fifteen individual, yet thematically linked, pieces for voice, Spanish guitar and percussion, and included solo and ensemble songs as well as instrumental motives that returned thematically supporting the dramatic narrative.
This clip was filmed during rehearsal:
Commissioned by The Sydney Theatre Company.
Directed by Iain Sinclair.
A word from the Artistic Directors of The Sydney Theatre Company, 2011
Federico Garcia Lorca's Blood Wedding is a classic of the Western twentieth century canon; a beautiful, brutal masterpiece for the stage. Few playwrights combine the prosaic nature of village life and flights of mythological fancy with quite the same deftness of touch and clarity of vision.
Translated from the original Spanish text and directed by Iain Sinclair. A new text that vividly evokes our time and place while remaining true to the spirit of the original.
In the hands of a strong cast, lead by the wonderful Leah Purcell, this production of Lorca's rural tale of love, death, spark, and flare.
Set to a soundtrack by musician and composer Andrew Veivers, and performed on a set designed by Rufus Didwiszus...
Working from both the original Spanish text and Iain Sinclair's translation, a musical score was composed by Andrew Veivers and performed live throughout a season of fifty performances. The score consisted of fifteen individual, yet thematically linked, pieces for voice, Spanish guitar and percussion, and included solo and ensemble songs as well as instrumental motives that returned thematically supporting the dramatic narrative.
This clip was filmed during rehearsal:
FLAMENCO FIRE - Al - Andaluz
Commissioned by the Australia Council for the Arts, Arts Queensland, and Red Chair - July 2010.
The evolution of flamenco from the last Moorish King (1492)
to it's 'golden age' in Seville in the 19th century
Al-Andaluz, the name of the area of the Iberian Peninsular that was to become Spain.
Drawing from the rich influences of over five centuries of Music, Dance and Culture, Al-Andaluz celebrates the evocative mix of the sacred and secular music of the Moors, the Sephardic Jews, the Gypsies and the Northern Europeans and role they provided for the foundation of the great art of flamenco.
An epic story in it's entirety, Al-Andaluz' narrative is an interpretation through music, dance and song of key pivotal points throughout the 500 year evolution. As a reflection of flamenco itself, Al-Andaluz doesn't follow a neat historical, chronologically linear format. It is many stories told together, almost always glancing backwards in time, with only gentle sense of movement through the centuries.
Director - Andrew Veivers
Choreographic Design - Simone Pope
Commissioned by the Australia Council for the Arts, Arts Queensland, and Red Chair - July 2010.
The evolution of flamenco from the last Moorish King (1492)
to it's 'golden age' in Seville in the 19th century
Al-Andaluz, the name of the area of the Iberian Peninsular that was to become Spain.
Drawing from the rich influences of over five centuries of Music, Dance and Culture, Al-Andaluz celebrates the evocative mix of the sacred and secular music of the Moors, the Sephardic Jews, the Gypsies and the Northern Europeans and role they provided for the foundation of the great art of flamenco.
An epic story in it's entirety, Al-Andaluz' narrative is an interpretation through music, dance and song of key pivotal points throughout the 500 year evolution. As a reflection of flamenco itself, Al-Andaluz doesn't follow a neat historical, chronologically linear format. It is many stories told together, almost always glancing backwards in time, with only gentle sense of movement through the centuries.
Director - Andrew Veivers
Choreographic Design - Simone Pope
