The Living Room Theatre in association with Kawai presents

On the Telephone is the debut duo of Uma Volkmer (trumpet) and Naoko Uemoto (saxophone). They are interested in crafting heartfelt sounds that parallel the ways in which they experience cloud gazing — by stretching out the evolution of ideas, moulding textural landscapes and finding abstraction. Their music serves as a gentle invitation for collective listening and feeling.

Artists: Uma Volkmer, Gabriella Hill and Naoko Uemoto

Naoko Uemoto is a saxophonist whose improvisatory practice has been largely fostered by organisations in Boorloo — Outcome Unknown, Tone List, Sound Exploration Fremantle, and The Blueroom Theatre — as well as mentorship programs with KISS Club, the Australian Art Orchestra (VIC) and Ensemble Offspring (NSW).

Naoko finds meaning in the communities of care and curiosity created by exploratory art practices. Her projects are guided by ongoing thoughts around playfulness, liveness in electronic music, and the role of place to inform listening. This thinking has extended into her involvement in programming work for KickstART Festival and the Walyalup Weekend of Improvised Music (WWIM).

Uma Volkmer is a musician and artist working on Gadigal land in Sydney, Australia.Her practice is experiment driven with a focus on collaboration, connectivity and an explorative dialogue between visual and sonic forms. Most recently, Uma has been exploring texture, abstraction and materiality within her creative practice and as a trumpet player. Since being introduced to Sydney’s exploratory scene through Splinter Orchestra in 2023 Uma’s love of improvisation has grown and in February 2024 she released debut album Burst with band Bad Photography (Jim Denley, Alex Tucker). She is currently in her fourth year of studying a Bachelor of Music Composition.

Gabriella Hill is a Sydney/Eora based saxophonist, clarinetist, improviser and composer, currently in her 3rd year of studying jazz at the Sydney Conservatorium. Current ensembles/projects include Double Trouble (with Aidan Wong, Alex Tucker, Daniel Raymond), Hayley Chan Trio (with Uma Volkmer, Hayley Chan), Mosaic Jazz Collective (as guest artist), JAG (with Alex Tucker, Jacques Emery), Splinter Orchestra.

Delay 45

 Delay 45 is an acclaimed jazz & improvisation quartet led by trumpet/composer Tom Avgenicos, alongside close collaborators Roshan Kumarage (piano), Dave Quinn (bass), and Ashley Stoneham (drums). With a musical relationship that stretches back as far as their high school years, Delay 45 have created a performance style that flows seamlessly between structure and spontaneity. Simple, recurring motifs interspersed with tight-knit interplay and textural dynamism characterise their performance style. Their sophomore release Flux and their multidisciplinary music-dance work Ghosts Between Streams expands yet refines their innovative and individual approach to performance with remarkable agility, musicality, and finesse, demonstrating how they are one of the most exciting ensembles to emerge in recent years from Australia’s jazz and improvised music scene.

They have performed at some of Australia’s most prestigious concert venues and festivals including Sydney Opera House, Phoenix Central Park, The Melbourne International Jazz Festival, Melbourne Recital Centre, and MONA.

“a bold new chapter in Australian jazz”. – Sydney Morning Herald

“The four members of Delay 45 have developed an approach to performing that is creative and individual…” – Loud Mouth

“once in a generation” – The Australian

“freshly minted contemporary jazz bursting with panache”- All About Jazz

Tom Avgenicos, trumpet/composer
Roshan Kumarage, piano
Dave Quinn, bass
Ashley Stoneham, drums
www.tomavgenicos.com/delay-45/

Ms Kitteridge & Bok Choy is part of LRT’s music program, as well as our research into how we hear and why we listen, or don’t.