SONGS FROM MABUYAG

Songs of Mabuyag is a new all-ages work celebrating the songs and stories of Mabuyag Island in the Torres Strait. It brings together First Nations artists and cultural custodians with the musicians of Southern Cross Soloists in a collaborative process.

​

Rising from the Western Torres Strait, Mabuyag Island is a place of deep culture and great natural beauty. The Wagadagam community has passed down stories and songs through many generations, maintaining language and connection to Country. “Songs of Mabuyag” is a new work celebrating the culture of Mabuyag Island. At its heart are stories from the book “Tales from the Torres Strait”, a culturally significant collection.

 

These are shared through storytelling and song, and supported by newly written chamber music by First Nations composer Waveney Yasso. The project draws a direct connection between the Mabuyag tradition of song as part of community life and chamber music’s own roots as a shared, social artform. This meeting of cultures is reflected in the instrumentation: voices, strings, woodwinds, electric guitar and traditional Torres Strait percussion. “Songs of Mabuyag” is designed to be flexible and mobile, able to be presented across community and major arts contexts. “Songs of Mabuyag” gives opportunities for Torres Strait artists in the classical music space, where there is a gap in representation.