“Even to see oneself in the mirror, one must recognise oneself.
For unless one does that, one does not see oneself, only a human being. ”

— Soren Kierkegaard, The Sickness unto Death

A transgender composer bids a musical farewell to her troubled past state of existence through a heartfelt artistic expression of the abstract mental journey it took to get her out of it.

The expressive and multifaceted baritone of Stephen Marsh gives voice to the restless thoughts and reflections of a 'self' stuck in a mental labyrinth, via settings of text fragments from the Danish existential philosopher Soren Kierkegaard. Moving through a cycle of continual self-construction/deconstruction, darkly comic/tragic musings and elusive despair, Portrait of a Self depicts someone struggling to dig underneath their consciousness, make sense of their condition and become a real person, all amongst music which is itself in a state of fluctuating stylistic identity. 

This piece from Melbourne composer Kym Dillon is born from a very specific experience, but more broadly it is a story of mental health, selfhood, and the unearthing of identity in the most foundational sense. 

Be sure to join Forest Collective, under the direction of guest conductor Elliott Gyger, for this very special one-off performance.

I am a guest percussionist for this concert, joining Zela Papageorgiou, Forest Collective’s core percussionist.

All text and images are sourced from the Forest Collective Website