Audio Foundation is pleased to welcome two extraordinary, idiosyncratic and joyous improvisors from Wellington. Simon O'Rorke & Chris Prosser perform in a variety of ensembles and combinations over 3 days, ending with a duo performance to showcase the remarkable musical dialogue they have been developing over the last 3 decades.
SIMON O’RORKE/CHRIS PROSSER RESIDENCY
THURS 28 Nov - 8pm
- Tashi Stewart / Finn McNeil / Chris Prosser / Simon O'Rorke
- Hermione Johnson / Simon O’Rorke / Paul Buckton
- Chris Prosser / Ryan Tomov / Darren Hannah / Wren Probett
Fri 29 Nov - 8pm
- Simon O’Rorke & Chris Prosser w True Bliss Experience
- Outer Space Food Fight w Simon O’Rorke
- Chris Prosser / Jeff Henderson Duo
Sat 30 Nov
1pm – Simon O’Rorke MEL Office Ambience
4pm - Simon O’Rorke / Chris Prosser Duo
Simon O’Rorke discovered improvised music while a student in London. After emigrating to New Zealand, from 1992 he formed free improv ensembles in Wellington, at a time when activity in the genre appeared to be otherwise non-existent in the city. Simon’s openness to collaboration and his singular approach to spontaneous music making influenced a generation of New Zealand improvisors, his playing sessions becoming somewhat a right of passage for younger musicians exploring free improviastion.
Since the improv scene took off in the 1990’s, O’Rorke has collaborated with many of New Zealand’s leading improvisors. Originally a bass guitarist, he has specialised in percussion since 1997 and then, from 2010, synthesizers and software instruments.
O’Rorke has recently started to create software electronic works with a sequencing/composition application he is developing. Against the Tyranny of 4, the resulting work that has been published so far, can be found alongside collaborative improvisations at https://soundcloud.com/simonor.
Chris Prosser started improvising in idiomatic contexts: jazz-rock fusion with Maori band Tearoha in 1970s Christchurch and with free jazz bands e.g. The Bowing Jets in 1980s Wellington; also, a klezmer-ish duo with Jonathan Besser on piano. In recent decades he has played regularly at Eddie Prevost's Improvisation Workshops at the Welsh Chapel and with the London Improvisers Orchestra. Currently he plays at the Pyramid Club Wellington, and Simon O'Rorke is a long-standing collaborator. He also composes music for violin, see https://chrisprosser.bandcamp.com/ and participates in fringe theatre including solo shows which mix violin playing with voice.
O’Rorke’s recent albums on Bandcamp are Audio Foundation Improvisors Series Vol.1 https://audiofoundation.bandcamp.com/album/audio-foundation-improvisors-series-vol-1, Audio Foundation Improvisors Series Vol. 2 https://audiofoundation.bandcamp.com/album/audio-foundation-improvisors-series-vol-2 and, with The Margins, 21-04-24 https://layyourburdensdown.bandcamp.com/album/21-04-24. Among the collaborative improvisations on O’Rorke’s SoundCloud site https://soundcloud.com/simonor are two duo albums with violinist Chris Prosser: Streets https://soundcloud.com/simonor/sets/streets and Chris Prosser, Simon O’Rorke https://soundcloud.com/simonor/sets/chris-prosser-simon-ororke.
