Queensland Conservatorium Jazz students teamed up with the immense talent of the Invenio ensemble this month for an improvisational workshop and concert.
Invenio, led by Australian vocalist and composer Gian Slater, was born following rave reviews and a standing ovation at the Melbourne Jazz Fringe Festival.
The improvising and contemporary ensemble has since released their debut album, received an ARIA nomination and performed alongside the likes of singer-songwriter Lior.
The group visited the Con to share their talent as part of the Jazz department’s visiting artists program — with some fun results.
“We were making bird noises, insect sounds, slug-like squishing, high pitched bursts of sound and melodic phrases among other irregular noises!” says Bachelor of Music student Kayleigh Pincott.
“Everyone was so open minded to creating such strange sounds that the exercises really worked.
“It was a great way to discover how many sounds the human voice is capable of and opened my mind to how I could apply similar manipulations of sound to my regular singing.”
Fellow student Mikaela Ward describes the benefit of being able to perform Gian’s renowned ‘Gone, without Saying’ alongside her, Invenio and Invoices during the lunchtime concert.
“Through learning this piece we were able to learn some of the composition techniques Gian employs.”
“She uses plenty of really interesting compositional elements, and seeing them in concert showed us the true scope of what they could do.
“It was really enjoyable to hear the unique sounds that each person would come up with, and see the endless material that can be created through collaboration with other musicians.”
Kayleigh completely agrees: “The rest of the concert was amazing — it was so breathtaking to witness Invenio’s tight arrangements and Gian’s beautiful writing.”
Invenio then extended their stay, making a special guest appearance alongside the jazz students at the Green Jam Sessions at QPAC in South Bank that evening.