Fresh off a well-received performance in Bowral, Illawarra’s Steel City Strings is bringing Echoes to Kiama at The Pavilion. 

The performance blends Australian and Asian musical traditions and features clarinet virtuoso Lloyd Van’t Hoff with a modern setlist that spans decades. 

Adrian Davis, the artistic director, and principal viola was enthusiastic and looking forward to the performance in Kiama this Sunday (June 22).

“I think it’s just a gorgeous place to be, on the ocean, to have so much natural space around you,” Davis said.

When Davis first began visiting Australia in 2009, he started to uncover layers of exchange between the Australian and Asian cultures.

Within this performance that explores the Australian sound and incorporates Asian influences throughout, concertgoers can look forward to a range of "scales" being explored.

“I think the composers have done a really good job of mixing the two (Australian and Asian scales).

“Most of them have used subtle aspects of Asian music, like rhythmic aspects or using scales from other cultures, and using them in Western formats, which makes them a little more approachable for audiences.”

One of the pieces to be performed is Sonus Dulcis, composed by Andrian Pertout with of course, an Asian-inspired feel.

“(It) uses a Japanese scale, and that scale is very distinct,” Davis said.

“If you hear it, it makes you think of the Japanese folk song Sakura.

“So it’s very distinctively Japanese in sound, and so they’ve taken that scale and written something that’s very Western in its setting.”

Davis considers the set list to be modern with the oldest piece only tracing back to 1977.

“That’s by Anne Boyd, and we go all the way up to 2018, by Brendan Collins, so it spans quite a bit, but I’d still call it all quite modern music.

“Anne Boyd has always been a trailblazer of the influence of Australian aspects of culture, place, music, and incorporating that into her sound, and she’s been doing that since the 1960s.

“So it has been very interesting to hear how her music compares to someone like Brendan Collins, who wrote his piece quite recently, about a Korean train.”

As principal Viola, that means Davis sits in the first chair with the responsibility of ensuring his section is "tight".

Tight is a musical term which means performers are in sync and creates a greater listening experience. 

“I sort of do quality control for my little section, and I collaborate with the other principals to make sure that we are all getting the sound that we want.”

Tickets range between $15-$65.

For bookings: www.steelcitystrings.com.au/events-calendar/.