Adrian (left) started Killalea Strings in 2019. Photo: Supplied.
In a church hall in West Wollongong on Wednesdays, the sound of strings resonates through the space as musicians aged 18 to 85 tune up — not just their instruments, but their long-held dreams.
Killalea Strings, a community ensemble born from a love of music and second chances, is now preparing to take its passion to new heights with a week-long creative residency at Nowra’s Bundanon next July.
The group was started six years ago by its artistic director Adrian Davis, who hails from Alabama.
He moved to Wollongong with his Australian partner where he now teaches music from a studio in Mangerton and is also artistic director of APRA award-winning Steel City Strings.
He said he recognised there weren’t a lot of opportunities for adult string players in the region, prompting him to launch the group.
“I’m all about making music approachable for everyone,” Davis said.
“Music is a space where people can always find where they belong.
“Some of them are people who have never played before, and so joining was their way of fulfilling a dream they had when they were younger.
“Some of them joined because their kids were playing, and they wanted to have a connection with their kids.
“And some of them were actually musicians when they were younger, and are coming back to it now that they’ve retired.”
He said it meant the repertoire ranged from “approachable” pieces to works “completely out of their depth” to push their abilities as they performed at either community events or twice yearly self-hosted concerts.
“It’s a good mix of things,” he said.
“The last concert we did, we had some Vivaldi in there, which is always really great for strings, but we also have some Matthew Hindson, and Matthew Hindson is still living and composing.”
A member of Killalea Strings performing. Photo: Supplied.
In fact, Hindson is a Wollongong-based composer. It’s another Wollongong composer, John Spence, who will write a piece for them to work on during the Bundanon residency.
Bundanon’s world-renowned artists in residence program is the largest program of its kind in Australia.
“John’s currently working at Wollongong Conservatorium. He’s going to write a piece for the group,” he said.
“That’ll be a really exciting process. Everyone will have some sort of input – do we like playing fast, do we like playing slow, do we like things that sound crunchy, do we like things that sound beautiful?
“John will write a piece for us and so the residency will be about getting that piece ready and getting a program set around that piece.”
Davis said all members had committed to spending the week in Bundanon as part of the residency from 13-19 July, which he promised would be more than just a musical workshop.
He said he planned to interweave creative work with team-building activities, allowing members time to hike, paint, and connect beyond their musical practice.
And the name Killalea Strings?
“I’m all about place,” he said.
“I think it’s important to acknowledge where we do our learning.
“I really wanted to pay respects to Australia, the Illawarra and Indigenous people, so we named it after the Killalea State Park.”
Killalea Strings meets Wednesdays at Keirvaview Uniting Church in West Wollongong from 6 to 7:30 pm. Interested musicians can learn more about joining the ensemble by visiting Adrian’s website.
