The Sunwrae Ensemble was founded in 2001 in Melbourne Australia. A feast for the eyes and ears and showcasing a hand-picked selection of Australia's finest musicians, the unique and flexible line-up includes piano, vibraphone, string quartet, harp, clarinets, alto flute, lap-steel guitar, double bass, drum-set and percussion. Dynamic, engaging and visually stimulating, Sunwrae stylishly captivate audiences, performing instrumental music by Artistic Director Rae Howell, textured with persuasive rhythms and spectacular improvisation! One of the world's premier nu-chamber groups, Sunwrae features a repertoire of solo works to large ensemble arrangements, performing a lush blend of melodic phrases and interweaving rhythms. Howell's compositions are a rare treat, crossing the boundaries of classical, jazz and cinematic music with surprising immediacy and vibrancy rarely experienced in live music today. Described as "Animated and energetic..." (Music Forum), “Spellbinding” (Music Network) and "Hypnotically beautiful with a flowing cinematic feel..." (The Age), "Sunwrae is, without question, Australia’s best kept secret... The music paints every style, every influence, in complete, organic harmony." (The Silent Ballet). Sunwrae Album releases include Never Stops to Wait (2005), several Live CDs & DVDs from the Eavesdropping Concert & Art Exhibition Series (2003-2007), Autumn Never Fall (2009) and Live at Thornbury Theatre (2010). Festival appearances by Sunwrae Ensemble include Brisbane Festival, Camden Haven Music Festival, Apollo Bay Festival, Bright Spring Festival (VIC), SxSW Festival (Austin TX) and Golden Plains Festival (VIC). Other live performances include ABC Classic FM’s Sunday Live and ABC TV’s Sunday Arts, and the Famous International Spiegeltent in Melbourne. Since their inception in 2001, Sunwrae have realised in excess of 170 performances, touring across 7 Australian States, premiering nearly 50 works by Director Rae Howell. 2011 saw Sunwrae extend their tour internationally, to perform at the Ho Chi Minh City Opera House in Vietnam. Artistic Director and leader of the Sunwrae Ensemble, Rae Howell, is a freelance composer and performer on piano & vibraphone. Currently residing in London UK, Howell performs as a guest multi- instrumentalist (also on brass, vocals & percussion), crossing a vast range of musical genres in live performance, recording and international touring. In addition to Sunwrae, Howell composes and performs live for a vast array of theatre, dance, concert hall, film and mixed-media projects. Howell's collaborations extend to diverse audiences of music and sound; she has been a Musician/Composer in Residence at The Banff Centre in Alberta Canada, The Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida USA, the ARENA International Theatre Festival in Erlangen, Germany and in 2009 was awarded a UNESCO Bursary to attend The Instituto Sacatar in Bahia, Brazil. This year she was Composer in Residence at The Visby International Centre for Composers in Visby, Sweden. She has worked with jazz musician/composer and Blue Note Records Artist Sam Rivers (USA), Royal Society of Arts Fellow and composer/percussionist Eugene Skeef (Sth Africa/UK), The Song Company (Sydney), The Indra Quartet (Sweden), The Biber Quartet (Denmark) and electronic recording engineer Jon Cohrs (NY, USA). Howell is also the founder of 'Eavesdropping', an annual touring series of music concert performances showcasing new music and exhibits of visual art by Australian artists. More info: http://www.sunwrae.com Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/sunwrae http://facebook.com/sunwrae.music http://twitter.com/sunwrae http://sunwrae.blogspot.com/ Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.