September 2025
Hi everyone,
The past several months have been a time of settling, recharging, and gradually building momentum after the whirlwind of Fellowship travels last year. If you missed my updates detailing my ventures, you can check them out:
After returning to Australia from my Fellowship travels, I spent Christmas and New Year’s in Sydney with Sean, reconnecting and reflecting on the amazing year that had been. Returning in South Australia, I dove into the next phase of work on Fine Tuning, an ARC-funded project exploring microtonal tuning systems in Central Australian First Nations music. The project was successful in receiving Create SA (formerly Arts SA) funding to support the commissioning of three First Nations composers from Anangu, Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara, Wangkangurru, and Arabana communities. I’ll be working as the technician on the octophonic realisation of their works alongside orchestrations by Connor Fogarty for the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. More updates on this to come.
In February, I finished my role as Secretary of the Australian Forum for Acoustic Ecology (AFAE) and stepped into the role of President:
In recent months, the AFAE Board have undertaken several revitalisation efforts:
we restarted publishing a regular monthly newsletter on Mailchimp – check out some of our recent editions here.
we launched a new membership platform on JoinIt
we began planning our first dedicated in-person for a few years, which will be in Maroocydoore Botanic Gardens (QLD) in early October - more details soon.
Grateful to represent such an attuned, attentive community of practitioners and research, and excited to see where we grow in coming years!
I also continued as Secretary of the World Forum for Acoustic Ecology (WFAE), which is similarly undergoing transformative processes:
The launch of our new brand design, and development of our new website, in collaboration with Portuguese design firm, Desisto.
A renewal of bylaws, focussed on streamlining governance models and processes.
Further building the WFAE Library, which features over 1000 items of acoustic ecology resources and media.
Supporting the new journal Acoustic Ecology Review with the acquisition of the , following earlier development work supported by the World Soundscape Project Education Fund
In the Asia-Pacific region, I’ve also been privilege to deliver two online on behalf of acoustic ecology doyen Barry Truax. Starting in February, numerous practitioners and researchers joined the Soundscape Composition as Context-Based Creation course, which focusses on multichannel immersive compositions and soundscape creative design. In May, a new cohort joined the Tutorial for the Handbook for Acoustic Ecology, which provides a solid ground in sound studies and acoustic ecology. If you missed this year’s courses, I’ve set up an EOI page for the 2026 iterations of either course – register your interest here.
Fringe season saw me performing as pianist for Vicarious Cabaret, an improvisatory music-theatre group presenting new shows each night at the Austral Hotel. The March run featured everything from tales of caravan industry escapees to ship-bound musical theatre fiascos. Keep in touch for upcoming performances over on our Instagram page.
And in April (and June), I performed with Late Night Knife Fight, an separate improvisational theatre project at Prompt Creative (a beautiful venue which sadly wrapped up in the middle of the year). Stay tuned on the Instagram page for news on future shows and locations.
In May, I co-mentored the Soundstream Emerging Composers Forum alongside Cheryl Leonard (USA) and the Inarma Women’s Choir (NT). Held on the Fleurieu Peninsula, this week-long intensive brought together five early-career composer for workshops in site-responsive composition, field recording, and collaboration with the Inarma Choir.
Among the participating composers was member Vicki Hallett (VIC), Frankie Dyson-Reilly (QLD), Oscar Lush (VIC), Isabella Rahme (NSW), and Georgia Oatley (SA). The ECF emphasized field recording practice using local materials and environments, with Cheryl Leonard guiding sessions in working with found natural objects, and me leading workshops in soundscape composition utilising a mobile octophonic speaker array.
The Forum included two memorable excursions: a guided walk through the Aldinga Scrub Conservation Park with John Edmeades from Friends of the Aldinga Scrub, and a bicultural ecological tour of Lot 50 (McLaren Vale) at with environmental artist and cross-cultural facilitator Gavin Malone. These encounters enriched the composers’ engagement with place, ecology, and Indigenous knowledges, all the more important while Aldinga Beach (and the greater Gulf St Vincent and surrounds) are being impacted by the devastating algal bloom.
Members of the Aurora Vocal Ensemble, led by Christie Anderson, also visited, making for a wonderful morning of sharing song, improvisation, and culture between the two choirs.
In June, the ARC team and I presented on our research at the Musicological Society of Australia Music and Mediation Conference at Adelaide University (9-10 June), where our research team presented three papers:
One on the challenges of developing code to analyse monophonic lines in just intonation
A survey of Indigenous cross-cultural collaborations in Australian art music
The history of the Inarma Women’s Choir from Titjikala Community (NT)
Later in July, our team went to Alice Springs for further workshops with the Inarma Choir, culimnating in a wonderful video being recorded in Simpson Gap.
These workshops focussed on rehearsing repertoire towards the premiere of a new work written by the choir with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra in October 2026, alongside new works by Nathan May and Elisha Umuhuri - more information on the premiere here!
The Inarma Choir and ARC Team at Simpsons Gap, near Mparntwe/Alice Springs (NT), July 2025
On a more personal note, my partner Sean has been I’ve also been supporting Sean in his work, including performances of Hedwig and the Angry Inch across Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney, and Tired Ass Showgirls at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival and Hayes Theatre in Sydney (Glam Adelaide Review here). Just recently, he’s head` to the UK reprising the role of The Engineer in the Miss Saigon UK Regional tour, so expect some newsletter updates from abroad at the turn of the year!
Coming up in September, I’ll be curating this COMA Curator series, featuring four sets over two nights celebrating acoustic ecology and experimental sound art in Australia:
September 1: soak (Georgia Oatley, SA) and sanctuary x mill (Jesse Budel with Clocked Out, SA/QLD) @ Nexus Arts
September 15: Continental Drifts (Vicki Hallett, VIC) and Abstract Human Radio (Finley Wegener, QLD) @ The Wheatsheaf Hotel
And in October, I’ll be presenting Channelling Dulcie’s Piano with Vanessa Tomlinson at ANAT SPECTRA, follow by a new work, Volumes at Chamber Music Adelaide’s On The Terrace in November. More soon!
Thanks for your support, with much love and compassion,
Jesse
