Sounds Unheard Lab
A week of creative music making for percussionists & computer-based composers.
Victorian secondary school students are invited to take part in the first-ever Sounds Unheard Lab – a week of creative music-making for percussionists and computer-based composers. Led by Speak Percussion, this immersive program offers daily workshops in percussion, sound design and cutting-edge music technology, inspired by Speak’s boundary-pushing artistic projects.
In 2025, the Lab will centre on Ghost in the Guzheng, a new work by Speak co-Artistic Director Kaylie Melville, guzheng virtuoso Mindy Meng Wang, and instrument designer Alon Ilsar. Combining traditional and experimental instruments, the project draws on Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, suspenseful film scores and the haunting presence of sonic “ghosts” to create an evocative and otherworldly sound world.
Percussionists will explore the AirSticks, a gestural instrument that combines the physicality of drumming with the unlimited possibilities of computer music. Participants will design and perform their own pieces, transforming live sound and samples into entirely new instruments with supernatural capabilities. [Watch this video to see the AirSticks in action!]
Composers will work with composer Biddy Connor to create imaginary film scores inspired by ancient and modern ghost stories from China and Australia. Applicants must have access to – and experience using – a DAW capable of working with video (e.g., Logic Pro, Cubase, Reaper, Digital Performer, Ableton).
The week will culminate in a public performance at Darebin Arts Centre on Friday 24 January, featuring participants’ live and electronic works alongside the premiere presentation of Ghost in the Guzheng.
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