Classical genius Mozart was quite the ladies man, and UQ’s Big Band are out to expose him.
It's Mozart with a twist – the traditional symphonies we know and love intertwined with a theatrical narration of risque letters written by Wolfgang Amadeus himself.
“Not many people know that he had this weird relationship with his younger cousin, who the letters are written to. They're probably more suggestive if anything else, and full of childish rhymes and wordplay,” UQ Big Band President Jack Biggs says.
“It's quite a unique concept in that it's a combination of classical, jazz and performance – it's also never been performed in Australia before.”
The project's experimental nature is nothing new to director and award-winning trumpeter Clint Allen.
“Clint has got such a vast experience doing lots of different projects, such as the Zappa Big Band, where he got a big band together and performed arrangements of Frank Zappa charts. He also did the same with Bjork charts.
“Because of the age of the members we are probably more receptive to doing experimental music and pushing the boundaries in the jazz forum, so to speak.”
Diversity is rife in the band, with members streaming in from various faculties.
“There's a wide array of people from different study backgrounds. We've got students studying law, commerce, dentistry and quite a few engineers.
“It's a great opportunity to work with someone of the calibre of Clint Allen and grow as a musician. So many people put down their instruments and never play them again after [high] school, and the band provides an opportunity for those who aren't music students to continue their musical development.”
“[In the future] we want to keep trying these projects. Last year we did a night called 'Jazzimation' with a screen playing animation footage in the background. So lots of Looney Tunes inspired music, themes from ‘Batman’ and ‘Family Guy’. The second thing that we are keen to do is to get our names out there and hopefully do a bit of touring.”
The UQ Big Band perform at the Princess Theatre October 26.
