THE city will soon wake to the sounds of opera music reverberating across the suburbs in a creative call to attention.
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As part of Artstate - a three day festival of the arts - a live opera performance will begin each morning from the balcony of the Civic Theatre, broadcast across various locations in Wagga through large car stereo systems.
Artstate's artistic director Scott Howie said Call would be a way to connect the people of Wagga through creativity.
"It's a call for hope, a call for connection, particularly in a time of Covid," he said.
Mr Howie said the idea was inspired by an experience in Kuala Lumpur.
"I was there for a conference last year, and three times a day they broadcast their call to prayer over little PA systems all across the city and country," he said.
"It was kind of haunting, this chanting, and I wanted to know what that would look or sound like here in Wagga."
In a nod to drivers up and down Wagga's main street, Mr Howie said he couldn't shake the idea of using car stereo systems.
"Cars will be positioned at various locations across Wagga every morning at places like Willans Hill, the beach, Estella and Ashmont, streaming the live performance from the Civic Theatre," he said.
Rising young opera singer Lisette Bolton and cellist Clare Brassil will be the faces behind the music each morning, with Bolton pre-recording her singing from lockdown in Melbourne while Brassil plays live and entwines the vocals with her music.
"I've been collaborating via long distance with Clare, so sending recordings of my voice in a kind of improvised way for her to then loop the tracks using a loop pedal and incorporate with her cello," Bolton said.
"It's quite fortunate that I have been recording a lot for my uni studies anyway so am well practiced at it now, and have been able to use a microphone my uncle lent me."
Bolton said the performance would be an interesting mix of live music and recorded edits.
"It's such a beautiful project to be able to do for Wagga from a distance, and it's kind of a way to show we can still make music despite all the lost opportunities this year," she said.
"The music will be almost ritualistic, like a morning call to keep going, a call of hope in a difficult time, just something to brighten people's mornings."
In other news:
Noxious Audio's Errol Kemp will assist in coordinating the car stereo owners, and said it was an exciting opportunity.
"As soon as I saw the call out on Facebook, I wanted to be involved," he said.
"I just love sounds, all sounds. It's been fascinating watching how the voice works the speakers so differently from what I normally play."
Call will begin between 8:10 and 8:20 each morning from November 5-8, and the community is invited to get involved by listening to the stream and playing it on their own stereos, car stereos, or headphones.