Photography: Paul McVitty
The Konstantin Projekt: Grandmother's Tongue is an original song cycle for three voices, piano, trumpet and violin - that straddles borders, tracking chickens and people, alive with music, storytelling, performance making and puppetry. It explores migration, immigration and refuge, asking 'where do chickens actually come from?' They are actually south-east Asian birds that cannot fly. Konstantin the Rooster is the Trickster and the hero of the story.
Picture by Michelle Tyrrell
About The Boite
We are Victoria’s iconic multicultural music organisation known as The Boîte. Founded in 1979, we support excellent artists from diverse cultural communities, promoting cultural understanding through the dynamic presentation of unique cultural experiences, and nurturing creativity, collaboration, access to and active participation in the arts.
Through our prolific program of festivals, events, radio programs, music releases and publications we have presented and promoted hundreds of excellent musicians born in over 100 different countries at over 5,000 events before audiences exceeding 800,000 and just as diverse.
What We Do
Active Participation
Our events facilitate this by actively bringing communities together in safe spaces where we can enjoy the differences through song and dance.
Building Bridges
The Boîte facilitates creative spaces for artists to build audiences and to promote awareness, inclusion and respect. Since the beginning of the WMC (World Music Cafe) in 1989, to today where this series host culturally diverse music at over 60 yearly concerts in several venues most of which have a live streamed ticket option to be watched anywhere in the world!
Engaged Audience
The Boîte uses singing as a key tool for active participation in the arts. The Boîte Millennium Chorus, Boîte Singers’ Festival, Choir Projects and other wonderful projects connect a broad range of people with a desire to sing.
Next Generation
We offer opportunities to educate children and youth to engage with diversity, develop respect and experience the benefits of music. The Boîte Schools Chorus involves dozens of schools and hundreds of students from across the state. LeTs is a library of teacher's resources full of educational activities based on songs from different cultures, mapped to the Victorian curriculum. Our regular concerts are open to all ages accessing traditional songs and new compositions, right here in the artistic melting pot of Melbourne.