A captivating storyteller with a unique voice and beautifully crafted songs, award-winning

songwriter Ailsa Mitchell has a sound that is the perfect accompaniment to cold ocean

swims, scenic road trips and the crackle of a fire. In 2023, Ailsa debuted a new project at

Tempo Rubato, reinterpreting songs from her debut EP ‘Orange and Blue’ with new string

arrangements by Pat Jaffe (previously string arranger for Hiatus Kaiyote's Nai Palm and

Academy Award winning singer-songwriter Markéta Irglová). This suite also features Niran

Dasika, one of Australia’s leading improvising voices on trumpet and an equally in-demand

mandolinist/vocalist.

This will be just the second ever performance of Ailsa’s songs with strings and we’re thrilled

to be bringing this ensemble to the Gallery just before they head into the studio to record this

project. The opening set will feature a selection of Pat's compositions from his debut album

‘Eldorado’ as well as newer chamber works for various combinations of piano, string quartet

and trumpet.

Ailsa Mitchell - vocals/acoustic guitar

Pat Jaffe - piano

Niran Dasika - trumpet/mandolin/vocals

+ Wattleseed Ensemble - strings

Ailsa Mitchell’s music draws on influences from Celtic and contemporary folk sounds, the

diverse music scene around her and the natural world. Her playful approach to composition

results in a sound that is at once familiar and completely unique. In 2023, Ailsa was the

recipient of the Johnny Dennis Award and a Little Bridge Residency. Produced by Josh

Barber (Gotye, Greta Ray), her debut EP, ‘Orange and Blue’, was released to a warm

reception in April of 2023. Ailsa has had the joy of playing at festivals such as National Folk

Festival, Queenscliff Music Festival and Yackandanah Folk Festival and is thrilled to

continue sharing her music and stories.

Pat Jaffe is a pianist/composer from Melbourne who creates music that sits somewhere at

the midpoint between the jazz and classical genres. He was the recipient of the 2020 Allan

Zavod Performers’ Award and has worked as an arranger/collaborator with Nai Palm (Hiatus

Kaiyote) and Academy Award winning singer-songwriter Markéta Irglová. His debut release,

'Eldorado', was recorded in Reykjavík with Iceland’s Siggi String Quartet, "an impressive

debut from a thoughtful and sensitive musician" (Eric Myers, The Australian). He has since

released ‘A Sanctuary of Quietude’ (for which he and co-composer Callum Mintzis were

finalists for Best Jazz/Improvised Performance at the 2022 APRA AMCOS Art Music Awards)

and 'SUMMIT', a duo recording with violist Aidan Filshie.

Melbourne-based collective Wattleseed Ensemble brings some of Australia’s most exciting

young chamber performers together, combining their expertise on period instruments with

wide-ranging repertoire and a love of storytelling through music. After their debut in the midst

of the COVID pandemic at the online Port Fairy Spring Music Festival in November 2020,

they have performed for Musica Viva Australia, the Melbourne Recital Centre, and the 3MBS

festival Music, She Wrote.

The Gallery of Good would like to acknowledge the generous support of this gig via the LIVE MUSIC AUSTRALIA grant.