biog
Cathie Travers has been a professional musician since late1975 when she was accepted as a B.Mus student at the University of Western Australia but advised that since she was so much younger than her fellow undergraduate students it might be advantageous to take a gap year; she made it four gap years! Starting out as a solo singer/guitarist in taverns Travers also made use of her keyboard skills in a duo with Steve Brazier, and was soon to begin what has become a life-long fascination with electronic instruments - playing a MiniMoog, PolyMoog, electric piano and Hammond organ in the popular Perth band Polly & the Baby during 1978-79.
In search of musical sustenance that the pop, rock and folk scenes were unable to provide Cathie enrolled in a B.Mus in 1980 [studying classical music, majoring in piano performance], and graduated from UWA with Honours [and as winner of all the Chamber Music and Solo Performance prizes the School of Music offered] in 1984. She was immediately awarded major funding from the Australia Council and the WA Department for the Arts enabling further piano studies in the UK and the USA with pianists Ronald Smith and David Burge during 1985-86.
Back home in ‘87 Cathie was invited to join WA’s premiere new music group Nova Ensemble, with whom she still performs – the latest offering a programme for the UWA Centenary celebrations Luminous Night in Feb 2013. Twelve months later Travers co-founded, with Lindsay Vickery & Paul Tanner, the award-winning new music ensemble Alea. Expanding on some of Travers’ ground breaking work with digital music technologies in her work with Nova, Vickery, Tanner & Travers collaborated once again from 1992-2000 in a technology-driven ensemble called Magnetic Pig, utilising synthesizers, samplers, EWI, Mburi suit, percussion controllers and various MIDI related devices.
As a soloist and in her work with various ensembles Cathie has given many Australian premiere performances, including Frederic Rzewski’s epic 50-minute piano solo The People United Will Never Be Defeated, George Crumb’s A Little Suite for Christmas, Steve Reich’s Sextet, Crumb’s Music for a Summer Evening, and world premiere’s of works by Stuart Davies-Slate, Stuart Hille, David Pye, Lee Buddle, Lindsay Vickery, Roger Smalley, Andrew Ford.
In search of musical sustenance that the pop, rock and folk scenes were unable to provide Cathie enrolled in a B.Mus in 1980 [studying classical music, majoring in piano performance], and graduated from UWA with Honours [and as winner of all the Chamber Music and Solo Performance prizes the School of Music offered] in 1984. She was immediately awarded major funding from the Australia Council and the WA Department for the Arts enabling further piano studies in the UK and the USA with pianists Ronald Smith and David Burge during 1985-86.
Back home in ‘87 Cathie was invited to join WA’s premiere new music group Nova Ensemble, with whom she still performs – the latest offering a programme for the UWA Centenary celebrations Luminous Night in Feb 2013. Twelve months later Travers co-founded, with Lindsay Vickery & Paul Tanner, the award-winning new music ensemble Alea. Expanding on some of Travers’ ground breaking work with digital music technologies in her work with Nova, Vickery, Tanner & Travers collaborated once again from 1992-2000 in a technology-driven ensemble called Magnetic Pig, utilising synthesizers, samplers, EWI, Mburi suit, percussion controllers and various MIDI related devices.
As a soloist and in her work with various ensembles Cathie has given many Australian premiere performances, including Frederic Rzewski’s epic 50-minute piano solo The People United Will Never Be Defeated, George Crumb’s A Little Suite for Christmas, Steve Reich’s Sextet, Crumb’s Music for a Summer Evening, and world premiere’s of works by Stuart Davies-Slate, Stuart Hille, David Pye, Lee Buddle, Lindsay Vickery, Roger Smalley, Andrew Ford.
Cathie Travers' music embraces the gamut of hard-edged contemporary pungency to sweetness, nostalgia, and up-beat extrovert wit.
Jill Sykes, Sydney Morning Herald
It’s fascinating material, in turn skittish and darkly moody – all of it made memorable by the trademark expressiveness that informs every note that Travers plays.
Neville Cohn, The West Australian
In addition to her work in the avant-garde music scene, during the years 1980-2000 Cathie gave numerous piano duet and two-piano recitals with composer-pianist Roger Smalley, of repertoire drawn from the 18th through to the 20th centuries. She also performed as soloist in several seasons with the WA Ballet Company, performing solo piano works and the G major Piano Concerto by Ravel, and Gershwin’s own arrangements for solo piano of his songs. Naturally, during these years she also performed on many occasions with the WA Symphony as orchestral pianist in their annual concert and ballet seasons.
Since 1988 Travers has created a significant body of original work – commissions for concert artists, radio, dance and theatre, and also film. Many of these works were created with Cathie also involved in the performances and this tradition has continued since 2002 when she discontinued her work with piano and keyboards, and the accordion became her instrument of choice. Since 2005, as an accordionist-composer she has created and performed major theatre works Mania with choreographer Danielle Mcic and Steps Youth Dance Co, Sprung with choreographer Sue Peacock and Performing Lines, Hysteria with Angela Chaplin, Rose Parker and Deckchair Theatre, Lonely Hearts Club with Chris Bendall and Deckchair Theatre, Red Dog with Neil Gladwin and Black Swan Theatre. She has composed and recorded original music for films by Stuart Bender, Peter Morse and Frank Rijavec, and played accordion on several soundtracks for film produced in WA.
Since 1988 Travers' work has been featured at major arts and music festivals across Australia.
Cathie continues to compose and perform short pieces for accordion, in genres related to jazz, tango, celtic, and latin musics. She leads a quartet, Saggezza, and plays with guitarist Glenn Rogers in Del Fuego, also violinist Gillian Catlow and guitarist Charles Hoernemann in Salma Gundi. She has an ongoing relationship as soloist in programs with Juniper Chamber Orchestra, Perth Symphony Orchestra, West Australian Symphony Orchestra and the Perth Chamber Orchestra. Since 2008 she has collaborated on a number of concert programs with Dominic Perissinotto, pipe organ and Matt Styles, saxophones. Additionally, Travers has developed a number of solo works for accordion and live electronics utilising the software Ableton Live plus an array of MIDI foot pedals, and occasionally MIDI accordion.
Although Cathie’s work in the music industry has been primarily as a composer/performer she has maintained an influential presence in the education scene in a number of ways. Firstly with a small private teaching practice – principally engaged with instrumentalists, but also providing some consultation sessions for young composers. Travers has also lectured part-time at the University of WA School of Music, the Conservatorium of Music at Edith Cowan University, and the Dance Faculty of WAAPA. During the 1990’s Cathie worked extensively as a presenter of workshops and performances with the Awesome Children’s Festival and the Musica Viva in Schools program. She has also presented community workshops in music and theatre, and been tutor on residential community music retreats for adult music lovers.
When taking a break from her consuming passion for music-making Cathie can be found frolicking in the bush with her pusscat!
Since 1988 Travers has created a significant body of original work – commissions for concert artists, radio, dance and theatre, and also film. Many of these works were created with Cathie also involved in the performances and this tradition has continued since 2002 when she discontinued her work with piano and keyboards, and the accordion became her instrument of choice. Since 2005, as an accordionist-composer she has created and performed major theatre works Mania with choreographer Danielle Mcic and Steps Youth Dance Co, Sprung with choreographer Sue Peacock and Performing Lines, Hysteria with Angela Chaplin, Rose Parker and Deckchair Theatre, Lonely Hearts Club with Chris Bendall and Deckchair Theatre, Red Dog with Neil Gladwin and Black Swan Theatre. She has composed and recorded original music for films by Stuart Bender, Peter Morse and Frank Rijavec, and played accordion on several soundtracks for film produced in WA.
Since 1988 Travers' work has been featured at major arts and music festivals across Australia.
Cathie continues to compose and perform short pieces for accordion, in genres related to jazz, tango, celtic, and latin musics. She leads a quartet, Saggezza, and plays with guitarist Glenn Rogers in Del Fuego, also violinist Gillian Catlow and guitarist Charles Hoernemann in Salma Gundi. She has an ongoing relationship as soloist in programs with Juniper Chamber Orchestra, Perth Symphony Orchestra, West Australian Symphony Orchestra and the Perth Chamber Orchestra. Since 2008 she has collaborated on a number of concert programs with Dominic Perissinotto, pipe organ and Matt Styles, saxophones. Additionally, Travers has developed a number of solo works for accordion and live electronics utilising the software Ableton Live plus an array of MIDI foot pedals, and occasionally MIDI accordion.
Although Cathie’s work in the music industry has been primarily as a composer/performer she has maintained an influential presence in the education scene in a number of ways. Firstly with a small private teaching practice – principally engaged with instrumentalists, but also providing some consultation sessions for young composers. Travers has also lectured part-time at the University of WA School of Music, the Conservatorium of Music at Edith Cowan University, and the Dance Faculty of WAAPA. During the 1990’s Cathie worked extensively as a presenter of workshops and performances with the Awesome Children’s Festival and the Musica Viva in Schools program. She has also presented community workshops in music and theatre, and been tutor on residential community music retreats for adult music lovers.
When taking a break from her consuming passion for music-making Cathie can be found frolicking in the bush with her pusscat!