Associate Professor Andrew Legg cut his teeth in the music industry playing piano for the likes of Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin.
Now the Director of the University’s Conservatorium of Music has lent his expertise to a “Gospel Bootcamp” at the Festival of Voices, alongside multi-Grammy winning artists.
It features my international team, four of whom are flying out just for the festival. They are all multi-Grammy winners, and are stunning musicians. We have been working around the world for the past five years.
Associate Professor Legg is also the Director of the Conservatorium's internationally famous Southern Gospel Choir.
"They have some of the best contemporary voices in Australia, and the Conservatorium is honored to have them as part of our Outreach program. They have to be heard and seen to be believed!"
About Associate Professor Legg:
Associate Professor Legg is a multi-award winning pianist and composer and internationally recognised musician and researcher.
He has several ARIA nominations and recording and writing credits with Grammy Award-winning artists Myron Butler, Jamar Jones, Khristian Dentley and the Potter’s House choir. He is a gifted performer within the African American gospel tradition, which opened the doors of the African American gospel church community to him.
His research at the University is examining the effects and impact of African American gospel and sacred music on the development of Australian music and culture. His work seeks to increase our understanding of gospel music’s power as a tool for communication, collaboration and the building of communities.
"African American music speaks to freedom, justice and the strength of community. It is about hope, justice and equality. It profoundly resonates with isolated and oppressed minorities across the globe," said Associate Professor Legg.
"In African American culture, people connect through music. It is intergenerational and eternal, transmitting cultural values and stories from the past to the present. It unites people, reinforcing a sense of belonging to something bigger and more important than the individual. They ‘sing’ their theology, their ‘story’. Know their music, and you begin to know something of them.
My music has always explored and attempted to express this. I want to somehow know the depths of it and how it impacts Australians and our own developing culture.
"The African American community is very gracious, but there is a significant ‘audition’ you need to pass in order to get into that world. You need to be able to play, with a heart and soul that plays through your music, connecting with people. It’s always been about more than just the notes," said Associate Professor Legg.
The Gospel Bootcamp will culminate in a fantastic gospel concert, information here.
Find out more about the Festival of Voices.