Other Interests: pursuing your passion

QWO were brilliant!

Congratulations to the performers, conductor and organisers of Queensland Wind Orchestra's "Theatre Music" concert last Saturday night at the Princess Theatre.

The program was: Cave (R. Peck); Pineapple Poll Suite (A. Sullivan arr. C Mackerras); Cloudburst (E. Whitacre); Curtain Up! (A. Reed); Godzilla Eats Las Vegas (E. Whitacre); Scootin' On Hardrock (D. Holsinger); Oklahoma! (O. Hammerstein arr R.R. Bennett); Wedding Dance (J. Press arr F. Fennell).

The second half in particular was a standout.

Set design was great. And visuals by Anna for Godzilla Eats Las Vegas and Scootin' On Hardrock complemented the music.

And the award goes to...

Anna won the Queensland Poetry Festival Filmmaker Challenge 2009!

Her 5 minute film "Of Ochres and Ruins" is a beautiful combination of a poem she wrote with visuals from her photographs of words and other objects and a soundscape from music and other sounds she created.

The award presentation and the showing of the other finalists was well done. There were many inventive, creative and thoughtful visual expressions of a range of poetry which we thoroughly enjoyed.

Anna's work selected for 2 competitions

Anna was a finalist last weekend in the Olive Cotton photographic portraiture award at the Tweed Shire Council Art Gallery.

Next weekend she will be showing a short film at the Queensland Poetry Festival Film Challenge

Hearing our father's stories

There comes a time in our lives when we need to hear our father's stories.

I recently read two totally different books with similar themes: Barack Obama's Dreams From My Father and Art Spiegelman's Maus 1: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History.

Obama's is the story of his search for the father he didn't know, culminating in a visit to his family home in Kenya. It is well-written and reflective on issues concerning race and family.

Spiegelman's story is told through words and pictures. Even though Spiegelman's father is still alive, what he has to say is so painful, Spiegelman has to turn it into a cartoon. But the words accurately reflect his father's language and story about the Holocaust.

Both are worth reading.

Showing the passion and the difference

It's hard to get frequent plane travellers interested in the usual announcements but this steward does it

Avi's Tropfest short

Avi Lewin didn't win Tropfest 2009 but he was a worthy finalist!

His movie Left Unspoken is on YouTube here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_xy7am7cRI

Anna Jacobson exhibits Doll Awakenings videos

Anna is showing some video works at the 123 Days Photo-media exhibition at the Queensland Centre for Photography from 28 February to 29 March 2009.

Exhibiting Artists:

"Doll Awakenings" by Anna Jacobson, "Birds" by Marian Drew, "Natural Progression" by Paul McCann, "123 Days" by Adrianne Hayward and Aaron Burton, and "Under Currents" by Lindy Wissler.

Anna Jacobson Photographer

Anna now has a website at www.annajacobson.com.au.

Worth a look.

Tropfest 2009

I'm delighted that my nephew Avi Lewin is one of the 16 finalists (out of 600 entries) for this year's Tropfest short film festival.

Avi is the only Queensland finalist. (Interview in The Australian).

Results will be announced on 22 February.

Obama

The election and inauguration of US President Barack Obama are sign of change embraced internationally.

So I've adopted an Obama Icon in support of hope.