Phonetic Orchestra

Phonetic Orchestra was formed in Narrm/Melbourne in 2012 as a vehicle to explore the relationship between notation and sound. The unique ensemble brings together musicians from such diverse backgrounds as contemporary classical music, electro-acoustic music and experimental improvisation to create work that embraces site-specificity, extreme durational performances, the fluid borders between composition and improvisation, and the individual and the collective.

Phonetic Orchestra has undergone residencies in Norway and Portugal, and has performed 8-hour marathon sleep concerts at the Museu Serralves (Porto, 2017), Pirelli Hangar Bicocca (Milan, 2018), and Kunstquartier Bethanien (Berlin, 2019). The Orchestra has collaborated with some of the most singular voices in Australian and European experimental arts practice. Collaborators include the Kitchen Orchestra (Stavanger), Srosh ensemble (Porto), Peter Knight (Australian Art Orchestra), Jim Denley, and Dale Gorfinkel.

Phonetic Orchestra’s 2020 project, Silent Towns, was a 24-hour live-streamed performance, with musicians in Melbourne, Perth, and Berlin performing together using low-latency audio networking software, JackTrip. Silent Towns received the 2021 APRA/AMCOS Art Music Award for Jazz/Improvised Work of the Year.

In 2022, Phonetic Orchestra presented Tower Lake Temple in the Elisabeth Murdoch Hall at the Melbourne Recital Centre.

The Phonetic Orchestra:
Jon Heilbron - Double Bass
Callum G’Froerer - Trumpet
Simon Charles - Saxophone, Electronics
Brett Thompson - Guitar
Jenny Barnes - Voice
Andy Butler - Piano, Harmonium
Rebecca Lane - Flutes
Michiko Ogawa - Clarinets
Reuben Lewis - Trumpet
Joseph Houston - Piano
Michael McNab - Drums, Percussion