O Duo

Breaking Silence, a new concerto for orchestra and O Duo percussionists Oliver Cox and Owen Gunnell, is their second major work created with funds from a BBT Special Commissioning Award in 2008.

Composer Fraser Trainer cites ritual, dance and song as the three key elements within the sounds, textures and rhythms of this unusual combination. The four movements – Earshot, At the Double, Breaking Silence (Secret Song) and Hook – harness the brilliant technique and animated physicality of Cox and Gunnell, from the opening reveille, through wisps of melodic and lyrical percussion calls in the third movement, to virtuosic drumming and dance-like loops, drops and grooves in the finale. The second movement is a showcase for O Duo alone, playing on instruments that range from marimba and vibraphone to reception bells, African thumb piano and biscuit tin.

The stirring programme at the Assembly Rooms also includes Haydn’s Symphony No. 103 ‘Drumroll’ and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 ‘Eroica’, while in Melbourne Breaking Silence is part of the orchestra’s Meet the Orchestra Education Week featuring O Duo and Fraser Trainer in a range of musical programmes including BIG BANG! for orchestra and audience.