Guide to the Records of Sirocco, 1980-2004

Summary

Collection number:

MS 9364, MS Acc05.037

Creator:

Sirocco and O'Toole, Bill, Mr. (William)

Extent:

1 metres and (2 boxes + 1 medium folio box + 1 packet + 22 sound/av carriers + 7 digital carriers)

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Records of Sirocco, National Library of Australia [class number, box number and series and/or file number]'.

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for research. Not for loan.

Background

Content Summary:

The material consists of business diaries, cheque books, newscuttings, posters, programs, reports and other ephemera which document the group's activities. There are also a number of cassette tapes produced by the group and video tapes of concerts they have performed and productions for which they have composed musical scores.

Biographical Note:

Sirocco was formed in 1980 by Guy Madigan, Bill O'Toole and Andrew De Teliga. Since then, Sirocco has developed its own unique blend of music which combines Celtic, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and South American music with that of Australia's Aboriginal and Anglo-Irish heritage.

Members of the group play over thirty different musical instruments including the Arabic ud, bagpipes, bodhran, bombard, didgeridoo, electric guitar, flute, Greek bouzouki, hammered dulcimer, medieval shawm, seedpods, and Turkish baglama. They also make many of the instruments that they play from Australian timbers. All of these instruments reflect the diverse influences which make up Australia's rich musical background which has developed through its increasing multicultural society.

Sirroco has toured many overseas countries as cultural ambassadors for Australia. It was the first Australian band to tour both Russia and China and it also played in India and other places in Asia and America. Its performances have included: the Seoul Olympic Arts Festival, 1988, Houston Festival (USA), 1988, Kawaguchi World Festival Fusion, Japan, 1992, and the Vientiane Theatre, Laos, 1995.

The group has played extensively throughout Australia in concerts for Musica Viva Australia and also works in schools for the New South Wales Department of Education, giving concerts and workshops which show the diversity of music and instruments found in Australia today.

Provenance:

The papers were donated to the Library by the folk group, Sirocco in 1999.

Arrangement:

The collection was organised into files when received by the Library. The order of the files has been imposed by the Library.

Indexed terms

Names:

O'Toole, Bill, Mr. (William)

Conditions Governing Access:

Please refer to the collection's catalogue record for the access conditions (http://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn50979).

Conditions Governing Use:

Copying and publishing of unpublished manuscript material is subject to copyright restrictions. For such material, written permission to publish must be obtained from the copyright holder(s). Copying of unpublished material for research purposes is permissible 50 years after the death of the creator of the material.

Preferred citation:

Items from this collection should be cited as '[Title or description of manuscript item], Records of Sirocco, National Library of Australia [class number, box number and series and/or file number]'.

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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