Pianist & Piano Teacher
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DeClassified Music
Performance events directed by Brieley Cutting.
DeClassified Music is a platform showcasing my music projects. Initially based in Brisbane, DCM is now working from Sydney.
DCM began as an award-winning and innovative collaborative music concert series based at Newstead, Brisbane. Reviews of live performances included “lived up to high expectations” (Brisbane Weekender), “a great addition to the Brisbane Scene” (RealTime Arts), “one of the best and most exciting ‘jazz with strings’ recordings that I’ve heard” (The Jazz Mann), and "who knew classical music could be so fun, am I right?" (The Factory Diaries). Events were featured in two Queensland Music Festivals, supported by the Australia Council of the Arts and Arts Queensland, and the series was awarded a Creative Sparks Award from the Brisbane City Council.
The catalyst for my renewal of DCM renewal in Sydney was the Electro Lieder show I created and produced with composer Mark Oliveiro, this receiving a nomination for Best in Music at the 2023 Sydney Fringe Festival.
2024 saw the performance of Grand Duet: Windows into Contrasting Worlds with cellist Christopher Pidcock at Tempo Rubato in Melbourne. Tempo Rubato described the show as having "incredible repertoire” and my performance as “...such a force! ...delivered with so much power and conviction".
For 2025, DeClassified Music will present two shows: Lyrical Masterpieces, a piano and violin recital for Musica Viva regional tours with violinists Kristian Winther and Doretta Balkizas; and Ambient Delights with Eleanor Streatfeild (cello), Dan Lopez (violin), Luke Spicer (viola), Andy Meisel (double bass) and Mark Oliveiro (composer/live electronics) in Sydney for Phoenix Central Park at The Church.
DCM's Story
DeClassified Music initially came about when I was based in Brisbane. I had returned from studies in London and was working from the happening suburbs of New Farm and Newstead. DCM grew there because I was passionate about showcasing local and national amazing musicians in Brisbane and giving a fresh platform to exciting art music performances.
It started with the Commercial Road Chamber Music Series (2011-12). I directed this in collaboration with Theme & Variations Piano Services and Steinway & Sons Pianos. This grew into DeClassified Music (2013-15), which kept the support of Theme & Variations and Steinway and further developed the focus on innovative and welcoming collaborative performance events. Exciting live music was presented in accessible, colourful venues in New Farm/Newstead; artists had access to high-quality concert pianos; new work was commissioned; local and other Australian leading performers were promoted; and there was an emphasis on exciting, adventurous and challenging music.
DCM became known for its bold imaging, free programming, and support for leading Australian musicians in Brisbane. Events were featured in two Queensland Music Festivals and supported by the Australia Council of the Arts and Arts Queensland. The series was awarded a Creative Sparks Award from the Brisbane City Council, and attracted high praise from reviewers such as The Jazz Mann and RealTime Arts Magazine.
New work was commissioned from composers such as Sean Foran, Rafael Karlen and Joe Chindamo, and musicians invited to perform included Australia Piano Quartet, Trichotomy, Syzygy Ensemble, Ensemble Offspring, the Viney-Grinberg Piano Duo, violinists Kristian Winther and Brendan Joyce, cellists Rachel Johnston and Patrick Murphy, percussionists Vanessa Tomlinson and Claire Edwards, and pianists Sonya Lifschitz and Daniel de Borah.
DCM unfortunately had to cease in Brisbane in 2016 due to Theme & Variations Piano Services having to close its Newstead showroom and a lack of funding.
"… a fresh and innovative way to engage in chamber music encompassing a variety of genres and styles."
Theme & Variations Piano Services | Steinway & Sons
"… music series that shows amazing small ensemble performances by leading classical and jazz Australian musicians ...”
Queensland Music Festival
" ... exploits a critical mass of grass-roots interest in genuinely innovative music and art that is not confined to predictable and formal presentational settings."
Dr Liam Viney | University of Queensland
"DeClassified Music has been bold ... I applaud their courage and hard work and believe that they have made valuable inroads."
Dr Stephen Emmerson | Queensland Conservatorium
"One of the best and most exciting ‘jazz with strings’ recordings that I’ve heard. ... Live with String Quartet was recorded in October 2014 at the Declassified Music Festival in Brisbane and features Foran on piano, Parker at the drums and Vincent on bass ... The String Quartet consisted of Sarah Curro and Rebecca Adler on violins, Bernard Hoey on viola and Dan Curro on cello. The programme features five substantial original compositions, three by Foran and two by Parker, comprising of the four movements of the 2012 suite alluded to above plus Out Of The Dark Sky, a Foran piece commissioned for the 2014 Declassified Music Festival and inspired by the artwork of Yvonne Mills-Stanley."
The Jazz Mann | Review
"Syzygy are up from Melbourne and playing at the largish Blue Sky Coffee cafe courtesy of DeClassifiedMusic, a fairly new organisation promoting concerts into Brisbane’s Newstead (place of bars/restaurants/things to do and buy). Music as one part of the flow of the day’s events rather than as the full stop at the end of the day. That’s a great addition to the Brisbane scene."
Greg Hooper for RealTime | Review
