an expression of wholeness,
of essences
both eastern and western,
clothed in myriad forms ..."
welcome to the homepage of purusa/peter schaefer
an australian sitarist/composer/artist with dual east/west training in the traditions of such teachers as indian sarode master the late ali akbar khan and composer peter sculthorpe, together with studies in western and chinese visual art ... consistent with his artistic philosophy of continuous evolution, the website will remain in-progress, with ongoing revisions/updates and additions of new pages and audio/visual material ...
please feel free to email with any responses or enquiries, a feedback page will be included soon ...
as performer and composer, he is committed to the interaction of acoustic and electronic forms -
from traditional indian raga performance, to wide-ranging western and world influences.
evolving from various early music experiences, his music now embraces three interrelated areas :
indian art music; contemporary linear/harmonic composition/improvisation; and mainstream concert hall/dance/film composition.
these and other world music elements are fused both within sitar performance
and current mainstream composition forms, which together with visual art, forms the basis of his work presently
compositions (and related awards) dating from this period include :
between the tides - mixed ensemble (c. 10:00) (1979)
toward - string quartet (30:00) (1980)
(awarded sarah therese makinson prize for composition, and chosen to represent australia at sixth asian music rostrum, korea, 1983;
and for australian iscm submission, world music days, 1984)
petal...silence - two pianos (20:00) (1983)
(awarded frank hutchens composition prize, 1984)
see - electronic composition (10:00) (1983)
(awarded 2mbs-fm radiophonic composition prize, 1985)
jian..still - orchestra (14:00) (1984)
(awarded fellowship to national young composers orchestral school)
top
concurrent with western music studies he began study of sitar and north indian art music in 1980, travelling to india on a commonwealth fellowship for further study with krishna chakravarty (disciple of ravi shankar) in 1984; and to america on an australia council grant for studies with sarode master ali akbar khan in san francisco in 1988
all of his sitar study has been within the maihar gharana, founded by allauddin khan (guru of ali akbar khan and ravi shankar), which he continued on his return to australia with another ali akbar sarode disciple, the late ashok roy ... most recently he has continued studies with another ravi shankar disciple, sitarist dr chandrakant sardeshmukh, absorbing to date a core repertoire of several hundred ragas ... as a sitar soloist he has performed in australia india and america
through this period he began developing compositions fusing diverse elements (indian/western; composed/improvised; acoustic/electronic) and an evolving conception of sitar performance : including traditional indian forms, diverse world music traditions (such as jazz, african, east asian and australian aboriginal musics), and modular modal/harmonic structures (for which he has coined the term "haraga")
in 1986 he formed a performance ensemble which has slowly evolved into a collective of artists/musicians focussed on a spiritual artistic conception ... specialising in concert/broadcast performances and workshops, activities to date include : a six month residency at the faculty of creative arts, wollongong university in 1992; collaborative projects with visual artists and dance, including commisioned audiovisual performances for 1995 and 1996 kiama jazz festivals ... countless other performances including : abc classic-fm 'sunday live' 1989, 1993, 1997; sima/jazzgroove/pitch jazz organisations; diverse music festivals around australia; tertiary campuses; new music foyer concerts (eg. seymour group); art galleries (such as art gallery of nsw / whiteley studio / hazelhurst / manly / wollongong galleries ... including audiovisual projects); and sundry club and concert venues.
his recorded compositions/performances have been featured on numerous contemporary music radio programs around the country, in particular on the abc
featured on-screen performance in film of acclaimed david williamson play ' emerald city"
the music of the ensemble fuses diverse genres - indian and western contemporary music; jazz and electronic media - within a flexible lineup, featuring collaboration with many leading australian musicians in the following various formats :
(with mp3)
sitar / tabla duo
(with mp3)
sitar / tabla / didjeridu
(with mp3)
sitar / percussion / bass
(with mp3)
larger ensemble (4 plus musicians)
the ongoing list of original ensemble compositions to date is as follows :
shimmering - ensemble with/out cd backing (c. 10:00) (1986)
* spans - ensemble and cd backing (c. 14:00) (1989)
expans series I - VII (1990 - 98) :
expans I - ensemble (c. 10:00)
expans II - ensemble and cd backing (c. 10:00)
expans III - ensemble (c. 20:00)
expans IV - ensemble and string quartet (c. 15:00)
expans V - ensemble and cd backing (i) pulse/flow (c. 18:00)
(ii) lovesong (c. 5:00)
expans V (flow) - ensemble (c. 10:00)
expans VI - ensemble (i) honey be (c. 7:00)
(ii) pulse (c. 10:00)
(iii) edgecolours (c. 10:00)
(iv) onya (c. 20:00)
(v) passages (c. 10:00)
(vi) haraga / curush (c. 15:00)
expans VII - ensemble (i) haraga / seven heaven (c. 10:00)
xiao yao you (c. 20:00)
(ii) saljan (for sitar and guitar) (c. 10:00)
(iii) haraga / aimless (c. 10:00)
(iv) heartshift (c. 10:00)
(v) throb (c. 15:00)
(vi) turnpoint (for sitar and guitar) (c. 10:00)
(vii) blue (c.10:00)
mantra / dao streams series I - VII (1998 - ) :
mantra I - ensemble (c. 10:00) / angelclaws
haraga / mantra II - ensemble (c. 10:00)
haraga / mantra III - ensemble (c. 25:00)
haraga / mantra IV - ensemble (c. 15:00)
mantra V - ensemble
haraga / mantra VI - ensemble (c. 15:00)
haraga / mantra VII - ensemble (c. 15:00)
dreamode
raga gaia / earthsong
raga komal re gaia
raga throb
raga purusa
raga samantra
raga mamantra
daoraga 6
daoraga 8
( * australia council commission )
top
paralleling this solo/ensemble performance/composition he has continued activities in mainstream concert composition, gradually developing a conception fusing these different levels ... this is now embodied in the ongoing dao streams series, embracing a layered approach to vocal/instrumental/electronic forms/media ... another significant influence in this respect is his deep interest and involvement in chinese daoist philosophy, stemming originally from study of the chinese internal martial art of taijiquan which he has practised since 1980
this work generates both concert pieces for ensembles of various size from soloists to orchestra, and electroacoustic music for use in dance/film projects ... in the dance field he has collaborated with a number of australian choreographers such as jenny brain and miki oikawa ... such projects also meld with the area of 'art film' where music and image interact equally to create anything from a narrative to a purely colouristic conception of sound and image; in which he has collaborated with various independent photographers/filmmakers such as france-based nadja bernhardt.
he is a represented artist at the australian music centre , the major national archive/resource centre for australian composers
(note : this amc profile/archive to be completely updated following present amc website restructure)
some of these more recent compositions include :
* time breathing (dance theatre piece) - mixed ensemble and cd backing (30:00) (1990)
* quartet vibra - electroacoustic composition (16:00) (1991)
* dao streams : wraiths of love 1995 - mixed ensemble and cd backing (c. 30:00)
'sister mist' (from dao streams : wraiths of love 1995) - soprano and (14) cello ensemble (c. 7:00)
'sister mist' (from dao streams : wraiths of love 1995) - soprano and double string quartet (c. 7:00)
* dao streams : double string quartet and didjeridu 1996 (c. 20:00)
dao streams : ensemble/orchestra 1997 (c. 30:00)
dao streams : shi fang 1998 - instrumental soloist with/out cd backing (c. 20:00)
dao streams : large orchestra/electroacoustic/layers project (1995 - ongoing >>> )
( * australia council commission )
'mainstream composition' mp3 excerpt : " quartet vibra "
(headphone listening recommended)
top
visual art
he also maintains a long-time pursuit of visual artwork, again fusing eastern and western elements : english/sanskrit text / chinese calligraphy/brush painting / music notation / imagery symbolism / colouristic abstraction / collage as an extension/expression of the relationship between sonic and visual timbre/tonality ... including chinese brush painting study with sydney master maurice lin , and representation at various private and public exhibitions, as well as interfacing painting and computer manipulation of imagery to create both art pieces and original cd artwork
top
>>> presently
following completion of a doctorate in creative arts (including advanced study with renowned australian composer barry conyngham) from the university of wollongong in 2002, he continues to work in all of the above areas, specifically : north indian art music performance; ensemble performance/composition; and mainstream composition for concert/film; and artwork
specifically he is presently especially focussed on recording, with numerous cds in-progress to document a growing catalogue of compositional/performance material, together with several new work composition projects
email contact :
pse@optusnet.com.au
top