Sounds & Stories (2022)

Cobar High School, Laura Andrew and Elizabeth Jigalin

with support from Outback Arts

this project was awarded Excellence in Music Education at the APRA/AMCOS & AMC Art Music Awards 2023

 
 

In August 2022, 16 students at Cobar High School engaged in a week-long creative music workshop
facilitated by music educator Laura Andrew and composer Elizabeth Jigalin.

Sounds & Stories was inspired by Cobar’s ‘Silver Tank’ that recently has been transformed by Australian composer Georges Lentz into the Sound Chapel.
As part of the program, students visited the Sound Chapel - recording their impressions of their experience. The students had the good fortune of meeting Georges and engaging in a conversation about his work.  

Known to locals as the ‘Silver Tank’, the 1901 water tank sits on top of the hill on the outskirts of Cobar. The Silver Tank was the first permanent water source in Cobar. Locals in Cobar remember the Silver Tank both with and without water. The Silver Tank was a site that brought people together.

Engaging with their broader community, students interviewed and recorded the Silver Tank memories of five local community members - Mary Madden, Issie Pretty, Shane Josephson, Leonie McCosker and Barry Knight. Through this interaction, students considered the history of the landmark and how it was remembered by the local community. Additionally, students collaborated with author and curator of The Great Cobar Museum Kaye Stingemore to explore Cobar’s history and consider conceptual themes that could underpin the sound installation.

Inspired by the stories, Cobar’s history and their own musical sketches, students composed and performed original works that evoke the mood of each story told by local community members. Students also created original field recordings and sound effects to form part of the sound installation. Jigalin drew on her experience as a composer sharing her composition and the work of other Australian composers, providing students first hand knowledge of contemporary composition practices that they could apply to their own work.

Listen below to eight pieces of music composed, performed and recorded
by the students of Cobar High School

One of the student group compositions Silver Tank Stories, was further developed by the class as a whole and expanded into five verses - each verse depicts a story from each local community member. This song was recorded by all 16 students. An incomplete version of the song was also recorded in collaboration with local musician (and Sounds & Stories interviewee!) Shane Josephson.

The students’ work was arranged into an 18-minute sound installation that celebrates community, creativity and history through sound.

Birds singing, ukuleles strumming, bike chains, gravel underfoot and the voices of five local community members are some of the sounds and music you will hear in Cobar High School’s Sounds and Stories. Sounds and Stories weaves together original student compositions, interviews and recorded environmental sounds to capture the tales of the old Silver Tank.

Location - On-site exploration at the location of Georges Lentz’s Sound Chapel allowed students to experience and appreciate the permanent art installation in their local town.

Storytellers - 16 interviewers, 5 interviewees and 1 story. Each storyteller brought their own unique and individual narrative, yet there was one common theme, the Silver Tank.

Process - Headphones on, instruments ready, and recording. Students worked collaboratively, and in small groups to compose original music.

 

Storytellers / Interviewees 


Leonie McCosker - A traditional custodian of the land, Leonie has a close connection to the land in which the Silver Tank resides. She remembers Uncle Tyrone showing her where the native bush tomato trees sit and fossicking for old gems.

Shane Josephson - Born and bred in Cobar (known as an “Iron Ringer”), Shane remembers rabbit trapping and climbing up the Silver Tank’s ladder. As a local musician, Shane accurately documents his experiences and the town’s history through music - sharing his creative expertise in the workshop.

Barry Knight - Born in Cobar, Barry is a proud Iron Ringer. Barry shares comparative stories about growing up in Cobar. Students recognised the similarities and differences in the way we share our childhood pastimes.

Issie Pretty - Issie was born in Hillston in 1936, and arrived in Cobar on a “stolen motorbike”. Her sister Margaret lived on the road that takes you past the Silver Tank in a weatherboard house. 

Mary Madden - Born in 1931, Mary lived on the outskirts of Cobar on a property and would ride her bike past the Silver Tank. The water she showered in was the water that came out of the Silver Tank. 

 

Facilitators / Creative Team


Elizabeth Jigalin (Composer/Sound Artist) Elizabeth’s practice often explores the process of collaboration to create unexpected encounters of music. Her music has been performed on the National Carillon in Canberra, explored in places ranging from the bush to recital halls and premiered at festivals around the world. 

Laura Andrew (Music Teacher) As a music teacher, Laura is dedicated to promoting the arts for young people in rural communities. Laura loves to help facilitate extra-curricular activities in composing, singing and taiko drumming to help enrich the whole student’s educational experience.  

Kay Stingemore (Curator, The Great Cobar Museum) Curator and author, Kay has written two books on aspects of Cobar’s history and regularly facilitates outreach programs to enrich students’ understanding of their local town. Kay has played an important role in the conservation and redevelopment of the museum and the Cobar Miners Memorial, helping bring history to life. 

Cassandra Best (Teacher, Ukulele) Cassandra is a passionate educator who has a love for all things creative. When she’s not in the classroom, you will find Cassandra playing guitar, ukulele and anything in between for Cobar High School’s musical performances. 

 
 

Sounds & Stories was supported by the Country Arts Support Program (CASP) - an annual small grants program, delivered by Outback Arts in partnership with Create NSW to support community arts and cultural development in regional NSW.