A metallic tinkling from the French horn, like waterdrops. A faint buzzing from the double bass, like a fly trapped in a room. Then, the otherworldly – to Western ears – sound of the traditional Chinese erhu and guqin joining in harmony.
With no sheet music or set program, the nascent Oceans Art Orchestra commenced their rehearsal with just a simple scale to direct their playing.
Composer and guitarist Dr Anthony Garcia, who created the ensemble, explained that he was experimenting with Celtic tuning when a stray note suggested to him a Japanese scale.
On this occasion, the orchestra improvised on this pentatonic scale, but their performance on another night might be based around an entirely new tonality, as their music is spontaneous and experimental.
“If you imagine the sea creatures, or fish in the ocean, that swim and move and twist and turn, it depends on the tides, it depends on certain factors to how you move and where,” Dr Garcia said.
The new orchestra is a professional, intercultural group coalescing musicians from diverse traditions to explore the intersection of sound and culture.
At the heart of Dr Garcia’s fascination with combining different musical traditions is his diverse background, having been born in the USA and spent part of his childhood in South-East Asia before settling in Australia.
“I grew up listening to the gamelan [traditional percussive orchestra] in Indonesia,” he said.
Though Dr Garcia has been exposed to Western classical and jazz traditions as well as Asian musical traditions, they are not taught together or mixed in conventional music studies.
“Because I’ve had this upbringing where I experienced all of it, I love how things can go together in new ways,” he said.
“It’s a spontaneous, open, and inclusive creative process.”
The first performance will see the orchestra joined by guest singer Zi Wang and Mohiniattam dancer Bindu Rajendren to present new music at BrisAsia, a festival programmed by Dr Garcia himself.
The orchestra will grow organically throughout the year.
“We’re bringing on younger artists and providing a platform that can expand and contract to suit different environments, contexts, and aesthetics,” Dr Garcia said.
The initiative, developed in partnership with the University of Queensland School of Music, draws on principles developed through projects like JADE Ensemble, which recently represented Australia at World Expo 2025 in Osaka.
“With Brisbane’s 2032 Olympics on the horizon, I ask myself, ‘what is going to be our sonic footprint to the world?’” Dr Garcia said.
“The orchestra aims to establish that unique sonic footprint—one that reflects Australia’s evolving cultural identity.”
“We don’t know yet what we’ll sound like, but we’re all really excited to find out.”
Oceans Art Orchestra will debut on February 21 at ABC Studios Brisbane as part of the new event BrisAsia Stories, supported by ABC Radio Brisbane.
