About
Classic Jam is Melbourne’s contribution to the Classical Revolution taking hold world-wide. It is a group of unconventional classical musicians taking their art out of the concert hall and letting rip around Melbourne. Through fun, informal, high quality chamber ‘jams’, we aim to bring our music to audiences beyond the concert halls by playing in bars, cafes and unusual spaces in and around town.
Classical music has had a bad rap of late. It’s elitist, outdated (funny, that one) and far too hard to ‘understand’. Its audience is generally comprised of a sea of white hair peppered with a handful of young aspiring musicians who are quietly introverted and slightly unhinged. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea.
Social structure may have changed a little since the 17th century, but the power and pleasure of music composed from then through to now remains the same. We are a group of energetic, highly trained classical and contemporary musicians who have a deep passion for what we do. We dedicate our lives to this because we know of the incredible heights and depths that can be reached through instrumental sounds, and we would like to share these with you. We may be a little crazy, but that comes with the job.
Classic Jam is taking classical music out of the concert hall and into the streets, engaging the community through live chamber music. Not a recital, and not background music - it’s fun, interactive ‘jams’ (sight-reading) of different scores in unlikely places, which can be enjoyed at whatever level one choses to take it to. The ensembles are a forever morphing mix of instruments, hair colours and musical styles. We welcome accomplished non-professional musicians to join us so that they can continue to reap the joys of playing live music while working non-musical jobs.
As well as sharing our passion with you, we believe in providing everyone with access to music. Over fifty percent of our booking fees as well as any audience donations will go to the Australian Children’s Music Foundation who provide free musical equipment and tuition to children, particularly supporting the indigenous and disadvantaged.
