History

Speak Percussion has appointed Kaylie Melville as Co-Artistic Director alongside founding Artistic Director Eugene Ughetti, who will also serve as Artistic Director of the Canberra International Music Festival (2025–2028). This marks a milestone in the organisation’s commitment to nurturing the next generation of creative leaders while strengthening its collaborative artistic vision.

Speak Percussion welcomes violist, composer, conductor, and digital innovator Aaron Wyatt as Artist in Residence, where he will create and perform a major new work and lead diverse artistic projects over the coming years. Wyatt, a pioneering First Nations conductor and developer of the Decibel ScorePlayer app, has performed internationally, directed acclaimed ensembles, and recently premiered Deborah Cheetham AO’s Nanyubak with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

For over 50 years, Duré Dara OAM has been a pioneering improvisational musician, restaurateur, and women’s equity advocate, collaborating with leading Australian artists and receiving numerous honours, including the Order of Australia Medal. As Speak Percussion’s Resident Creative Director, she will perform, mentor, and lead new interdisciplinary projects, celebrating her legacy and inspiring future generations.

After touring Atlas of the Sky to Sydney Festival in January 2020, like all Melbourne based arts organisations, the company was rocked by COVID_19 with consistent interruptions and cancellations of the majority of our projects till the middle of 2022.

In August 2022, we premiered the sublime Scream Star with three internationally based wunderkind composers creating three new innovative music works for screen and percussion: Jessie Marino, Johannes Kreidler and Matthew Shlomowitz.

Polar Force Toured to PICA, Perth; Noorderzon Festival, Netherlands; Ruhrtriennale, Germany; Transart Festival, Italy;
Fluorophone Toured to George Town Festival, Malaysia

Speak Percussion invited to perform two works, Fluorophone and Atlas of the Sky at
Darmstadt Ferienkurse (Germany). Worked with 16 percussion students to rehearse and
perform Atlas of the Sky.

Introduction of the Before Nightfall project, where Speak Percussion works with guest artists
to create a new work over the course of a single day, then performed to a live audience the
same night.

Before Nightfall #1, Speak Percussion/Ingar Zach, The Substation, Newport
Before Nightfall #2, Speak Percussion/Tony Buck, MPavilion, Melbourne
Before Nightfall #3 Speak Percussion/Chris Corsano, Speak Studio, Thornbury
Before Nightfall #4, Speak Percussion/Steven Schick, Contemporary Arts Precincts,
Collingwood

Tectonics, Speak Percussion/Illan Volkov/The Necks/David Shea/Eyvind Kang, Adelaide
Festival.

Transducer & Fluorophone, Speak Percussion, 2016 SIPFest, Komunitas Salihara,
Jakarta, Indonesia.

First year of Sounds Unheard Education Program

Appointed first full time Executive Producer

First major work presented in collaboration with 100 community participants. A wave and waves, Speak Percussion/Michael Pisaro, Melbourne Festival, Melbourne.

International Tour 2015, Speak Percussion tours to Sonica Festival (Glasgow), Barbican (London), Café OTO (London), Musik Akademie Basel, Tage fur Neue Musik (Zurich).

Tectonics, Speak Percussion/Illan Volkov/Oren Amarchi/Stephen O’Malley, Adelaide
Festival, Adelaide.

Circuit (Taiwan), Speak Percussion undertakes a four-city tour of Taiwan for the Taiwan
International Percussion Convention.

Circuit (Indonesia), Speak Percussion tours to Indonesia to perform at Salihara, Jakarta.

Circuit (Europe), Speak Percussion tours to Lithuania, Latvia, Norway and Sweden.

First major work composed by Eugene Ughetti and Robin Fox

TRANSDUCER, Speak Percussion/Robin Fox, Totally Huge New Music Festival, Perth.
USA/EURO Tour, Speak Percussion tours to Berlin, Geneva, Chicago, San Francisco &
New York.

Chrysalis, Speak Percussion/Buro Architects, SPOR Festival, Denmark.
Schallmaschine Maximus by Fritz Hauser & Boa Baumann, Speak Percussion/Bob
Becker/Ensemble XII/Synergy Percussion + guests, Basel, Switzerland.

Nightclubs/Concerthalls, Speak Percussion tours regional Victoria.

Inuksuit, Speak Percussion/Melbourne Symphony Orchestra/Eighth Blackbird (USA),
Metropolis New Music Festival, Melbourne.

Black of the Star, Speak Percussion/CSIRO Astronomy & Space Science/SIAL Sound
Studios, Melbourne Festival, Melbourne.

Pulsars & Angels and Canons & Ions, Speak Percussion at MONA FOMA, Hobart.

Launch of the first national ‘Emerging Artist Program’ for young composers and
percussionists featuring Guest Lecturer Thomas Meadowcroft.

System Building, Speak Percussion/Aphids, Red Gate Gallery, Beijing, China.

10th Anniversary Tour, Speak Percussion tours to Sydney, Canberra & Melbourne.

Speak Percussion incorporates into a formal, legal association.

‘Swiss Australian Percussion Collectables’, Speak Percussion/JOLT + Guests tour to Zurich,
Basel, Vals & Lucerne.

‘Schallmachine Kleine’ with Aphids & Fritz Hauser, Federation Square, Melbourne
International Arts Festival.

‘Swiss Australian Percussion Collectables’, Speak Percussion/JOLT + Guests at Liquid
Architecture Festival performing in Brisbane, Sydney & Melbourne.

Eugene Ughetti becomes the sole Artistic Director of Speak Percussion.

Speak Percussion performs Castlemaine State Festival, Victoria.

Debut concert for Musica Viva’s Menage series at Hamer Hall (Melbourne) by founding
members and co-directors Minako Okamoto, Eugene Ughetti, Justin Marshall and Rory
McDougall.