Nanjing Collaborations: Sparks and Synergies
Author Identifier (ORCID)
Jonathan R. Paget’s ORCID record 
Stewart J. Smith’s ORCID record Jamie Oehlers’s ORCID record Thomas O'Halloran’s ORCID record Nicholas Abbey’s ORCID record Christopher Tarr’s ORCID record Jeremy P Greig’s ORCID record Matthew Allen’s ORCID record Timothy White’s ORCID record Tonya Lemoh’s ORCID record Matthew Styles’s ORCID record
Research Statement
Research Background
This project constituted three concerts involving cross-cultural collaboration between staff from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts and Nanjing University of the Arts, as part of the visit of NUA music staff to Perth in 2024. The three concert programs showcased different forms of collaborations, including joint improvisation, and cross-culturing sharing of ideas relating to performance style. The project also made a series of interviews with performer-participants investigating the nature of the collaborations, which will feature in an upcoming documentary.
Research Contribution
This phase of the project explored inter-cultural knowledge exchange, exemplified by Australian musicians acquiring aspects of performance practice in the imitation of Chinese traditional music—including creative intonation, and application of portamenti (in imitation of Chinese flute or strings). Likewise, joint improvisation within original Jazz repertoire illuminated how differing understandings of time-feel, harmonisation, and virtuosity can catalyse surprising outcomes. As an experiment in cross-cultural collaboration, the project illustrated the potential of such endeavours to inspire and provoke fresh hermeneutic insights and elevated improvisatory virtuosity. It likewise demonstrated the communicative reach of music as an artform that transcends cultural barriers, with capacity to generate goodwill and shared tacit understanding.
Research Significance
The three programs (“Sparks and Synergies,” “East-West Alchemy” and “Ensemble Collaborations”) were presented at The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts in mid-2024. This project acquired added significance through the collaboration with a visiting contingent of renowned staff from Nanjing University of the Arts. The project was also supported by a grant from the Australia-China Foundation and received significant press coverage.
Keywords
cross-cultural collaboration, intercultural music, Australia-China collaboration, musical improvisation, jazz performance, music performance, performance practice, intercultural exchange, collaborative music-making, Chinese traditional music, Australian music, improvisation, knowledge exchange, transcultural performance, creative practice research, ensemble performance, musical communication, cultural exchange, performance studies, artistic collaboration, international partnerships, higher education collaboration, Nanjing University of the Arts, Australia-China Foundation
Non-Traditional Research Output
Live Performance
Document Type
Non-Traditional Research Output
Date of Publication
2024
Medium
Audio files
School
Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts
RAS ID
83762
Event Title
Nanjing Collaborations: Sparks and Synergies; Nanjing Collaborations: East-West Alchemy; Nanjing Collaborations: Ensemble Showcase
Event Dates
25/07/2025, 26/07/2025, 02/08/2025
Event Venue
Richard Gill Auditorium, Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts
Duration
210 mins
Recommended Citation
Paget, J., Smith, S., Oehlers, J., O’Halloran, T., Abbey, N., Grigson, F., Tarr, C., Greig, J., Li, S., Cao, C., Allen, M., Torrance, V., Zhang, D., White, T., Ling, K., Tang, Z., McMahon, J., Huang, C., Lemoh, T., Wang, M., Tang, T., Rowntree, Z., Boud, S., Browning, E., Styles, M., Ding, S., &Wang, J. (2024). Nanjing Collaborations: Sparks and Synergies [Audio files]. https://doi.org/10.25958/vkwv-8q02
Documentation Statement
This record presents a documented representation of the research output, including the research statement and associated contextual metadata. The creative work itself is not included. Where available, external links are provided to representations of the work.
Content Type
Documentation only
DOI Statement
The DOI refers to the repository metadata record only and serves as a documentation identifier.