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Sound Travellers Initiative – Grants Available For 2009 Tours

Sound Travellers is offering grants to professional Australian musicians working in the fields of improvised jazz, sound art/electronica, and contemporary classical music to help cover the costs associated with touring interstate.

Sound Travellers can assist with expenses including accommodation, airfares, living away from home expenses, vehicle and equipment hire as well as publicity and marketing expenses incurred directly for the tour.

Individuals and unincorporated groups are welcome to apply, as well as managers, music organisations and music networks on behalf of professionals working in the Australian music industry.

Eligible tours must comprise performances outside the applicant’s hometown and home region (generally considered to be within a 200 km radius) and at least one performance must take place Interstate.

Grant Applications Close: Monday 22nd September 2008
All details and application forms can be found at www.soundtravellers.com.au

Set up in 2007, Sound Travellers is an invaluable new project funded by the Australia Council’s Music Board to support artists working in the creatively vibrant fields of improvised jazz, sound art/electronica, and contemporary classical music.

This year Sound Travellers has supported 13 very successful tours (over 60 artists) including a knock out 11 city tour by Perth based big band, The Mace Francis Orchestra. This 13 piece band toured from Brisbane to Adelaide garnering excellent reviews, an appearance on ABC TV Sunday Arts program and a great many fans along the way.

“The support from Sound Travellers went beyond just financial. They helped in every way to make our tour a success and really understood what was needed to make a tour happen. The Sound Travellers team were efficient, hard working and so easy to work with. It was an honour to be a part of their first grant round,” says band leader Mace Francis of the Sound Travellers initiative.

“One of the problems that jazz ensembles face in Australia is that the size of the country and the cost of travel make it very hard to develop an ensemble through touring and intensive performance. The Sound Travellers program makes a positive step in the right direction, which I'm sure will be beneficial for the bands involved, and for the audiences who get the chance to hear them perform,” says Adrian Jackson, Artistic Director of the Wangaratta Jazz Festival and member of Sound Travellers’ artistic advisory panel.

Two more outstanding jazz bands, Misinterprotato (from Brisbane) and Way Out West (from Melbourne) will be touring later this year with the help of Sound Travellers. Misinterprotato’s October tour will take in Adelaide, Cairns, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Newcastle, Noosa and Byron Bay. Way Out West’s November tour will take in Melbourne, Canberra, Newcastle, Wollongong and Sydney.

For Full Details please visit www.soundtravellers.com.au