Matthew Dewey played the lead role of Douglas Mawson in Joe Bugden’s new opera ‘The Call of Aurora’ in a concert version at the Peacock Theatre on Saturday the 17th of November. The performance was conducted by Gary Wain, directed by Robert Jarman and featured the vocal talent of Michael Lampard, Michael Curtain and Pamela Andrews.
Joe Bugden Biography
JOE BUGDEN was born in Sydney in 1961. He has worked as director of the Tasmanian Writers’ Centre since April 1999. Since that time the TWC’s membership base has increased from 123 to almost 500. Joe has worked as an administrator and manager and in the capacity of Board member in the arts since 1993.
Joe was general manager of the Tasmanian Readers’ & Writers’ Festival from 1999 – 2003, and was artistic director for the 2000 and 2003 Festivals. Joe was Treasurer on the Board of Island Magazine from November 1999 until March 2001, and served on the Board of Ten Days on the Island from November 1999 until June 2001. Prior to moving to Tasmania Joe served as Treasurer on the Board of Directors of Varuna Writers’ Centre in the Blue Mountains, whilst employed as Operations Manager with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra in Sydney.
Joe worked at the Australian Museum in Sydney from 1993 – ’95, then until 1998 at the Centre for Contemporary Craft, most recently as Assistant General Manager and associate editor on Object Magazine. At that time Joe held the positions of Vice-President and Treasurer on the Board of Arts Training (NSW), and State Secretary for the NSW Campaign for the Arts.
He has experience in general administration and financial management of arts organisations, program & events development and implementation, human resources management, development of funding applications, editing and critical writing in the arts, and in dealing with government departments in relation to arts organisations’ activities.
Joe holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Sydney, (with a double major in Literature and Music), a Master of Letters degree (in American Literature), from the University of New England, and a Post-graduate Diploma in Arts Management from the University of Technology, Sydney. Joe has had some of his short stories published in Island Magazine, Famous Reporter and GetOut Magazine.
Joe also composes music and has written works for string quartet, solo guitar, guitar and string trio, guitar & mixed ensembles, and voice & mixed ensembles. In June 2001 Joe’s first chamber opera, Death By Defenestration, was premiered by the IHOS OPERA Company, in Hobart, Tasmania. In 2002 Joe was invited to compose another work, Butterflies Lost, for IHOS OPERA. In 2002 a new work, The Listening Post (elegy, for solo viola) was commissioned by the Hobart City Council and has been included in a soundscape as part of the Hobart City’s Memorial to recipients of the Victoria Cross. Joe’s first string quartet, String Quartet in Three Colours was premiered by the Rubio Quartet (from Belgium) in May 2004 at the Canberra International Chamber Music Festival.
Joe is currently working on a new opera, The Call of Aurora, which is based on the story of the Antarctic explorer, Douglas Mawson. On this project Joe is working under the guidance of Italo-Australian composer, Raffaele Marcellino, with financial support from Arts Tasmania.
