G’day!

I’m Jodie, a classical music composer, and I moved to Burra in 2022. I live in the old Redruth Methodist Church with my husband Emlyn and our two dogs.

In 2026 I’m going to create a new classical piece of music with the people who live here. Together we’ll make a piece that’s truly about Burra. 

This will be something a bit different for our town. I’ve done similar projects before, writing music with a big group of people, but writing music with a whole town is the biggest project I’ve ever done, so that’s pretty awesome.

There will be lots of different ways you can get involved. If you have any other ideas, please let me know. SEND AN EMAIL

Here’s the plan so far:

WRITING WORDS - February t0 April

To collect our Burra stories, phrases, or even just a few words, I’ll put up interactive boards around town where people can write and read each other’s words. Then I’ll take words, phrases, and snippets from these boards to shape the lyrics for the new music.

What you can do

  • Host a board. Do you have a place that could host a board, somewhere people pass by, with a wall space? Somewhere you can keep an eye on to prevent vandalism? SEND AN EMAIL

  • Suggest another idea. Do you have another idea for collecting stories about life in Burra? SEND AN EMAIL

MUSIC WORKSHOPS - May t0 July

Once the words are ready, I’ll hold a few workshops to come up with ideas for the music. I’d love to do a session/s with the kids at school, and another session with adults.

We’ll jam ideas for melodies and think about what sort of instruments could form our “Burra orchestra.”  The Men’s Shed have already started making some brand-new instruments, and we could use other things like old farm gear, water tanks, or anything that makes an interesting sound.

After these workshops, I’ll take the ideas and compose the music.

What you can do

  • Get involved in a workshop. Everyone will be welcome. If you’re a muso, you can jam ideas. If you’re not a muso, you can listen and give feedback. SEND AN EMAIL

  • Suggest ideas for instruments. SEND AN EMAIL

PREPARING AND PERFORMANCE - August to October

Chamber Music Adelaide are applying for funding to bring a weekend-long chamber music festival to Burra in October 2026.
If that goes ahead, our new piece will premiere as part of that festival, and we can perform it with the visiting professional musicians.
If the full festival doesn’t happen, we’ll organise for a professional ensemble (like a string quartet) to join us for the performance. Because I’ll write the music for us, I’ll make sure it’ll be something we can do, and have fun doing.

What you can do

  • Let me know if you’d like to perform or help. SEND AN EMAIL

  • Let me know if you’ve got good ideas for venues or people I could talk to about a Burra Chamber Music Festival. SEND AN EMAIL

THANK YOU

I’m really excited to make our very own piece of classical music for our town! We’ve got good stories to tell.

This project is supported by NEOEN through their Community Benefit Fund. Thank you Neoen!