Transformations Campaign
Will you help us to produce our next album?
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Our next album explores some of the most glorious repertoire written for voice and instruments by 17th Century German composers such as Heinrich Schütz, Franz Tunder, Nicolaus Bruhns, and Dieterich Buxtehude—composers whose music explores profound themes of faith, readiness, and human vulnerability.
In signature VDB style, we have invited two extraordinary Australian composers - Alice Chance and Brooke Shelley - to create contemporary responses to this baroque repertoire, reimagining and recontextualizing this rich musical heritage.
The result will be an album that is itself a transformation, offering listeners a meditation on how we inherit, honour, and reimagine the artistic voices of the past.
However, recordings are an expensive exercise, and we are hoping to count on your support for this venture.
HOW DO I DONATE?
Contributions of any amount are welcome and all donations over $2 are tax-deductible.
CREDIT CARD: Follow this link to make your donation via credit card.
CHEQUE OR DIRECT DEPOSIT: Follow this link for details on cheque or direct deposit payments.
We thank you for your support!
WHO IS INVOLVED?
Transformations features bass-baritone Andrew O'Connor, praised for his 'textured, fine-wine bass baritone' (ArtsHub).
For this recording, VDB assembles some of Australia's most respected musicians on gut strings and instruments of the past, including our new piccolo violin, the rarely-heard sackbut and cornetto, the always-popular theorbo, and VDB's very own triple harp, harpsichord and chamber organ.
We are also delighted to be working once again with Grammy Award-winning producer and engineer, Hans Kipfer, who produced our Handel: 6 Concerti Grossi recording for the prestigious Swedish label BIS in 2019.
WHAT IS MY CONTRIBUTION SUPPORTING?
This campaign supports the costs involved with producing the recording from start to finish - including artist fees, recording costs, album production costs, licencing and legal costs, publicity, marketing and distribution.
The total cost of the project is more than $74,000, and our donations target is $49,000.
Any donation at all will be gratefully accepted and is every bit as important in pushing us toward our target.
As a guide to your consideration:
- $50 buys an E string and an A string
- $150 pays for the harpsichord and organ to be tuned (once)
- $400 pays for a musician for one day of the recording session
- $1000 pays for the participation of the baroque bassoon in the recording sessions
- $5000 pays for the artists fees for one whole day of recording.
PRE-ORDER YOUR CD
If you're one of the increasingly few people who have CD players, you can pre-order your CD using a code that we we will email you once your donation is received. Pre-orders are incredibly helpful for us as they help us determine how many copies to print.
Transformations will also be available on all major streaming platforms.
In response to significant changes in the international recording industry, we established the artist-led VDB label in 2025.
Releasing on our own label allows us to share music on our terms, directly with listeners who care deeply about historically informed performance, artistic excellence and bold musical storytelling.
By becoming our own producers, we incur higher up-front costs, but retain all our rights whilst keeping the majority of our profits.
This model ensures that VDB can continue our already successful recording output into the future, bringing our work to wider audiences.
We also know that we have a keen group of supporters who are happy to join us to make big ideas a reality! In supporting us to record Transformations, you are directly supporting Van Diemen's Band to continue programming, performing and presenting ambitious projects, capturing some of the most beautiful repertoire of the Baroque while also supporting the creation of new Australian works.
Transformations will be released on the VDB label in September 2026. If you pre-order a CD you will be among the very first to receive the printed copies!
By supporting this campaign, you are not only helping to fund our next self-produced album, but also helping Van Diemen’s Band continue to build a Lutruwitan/Tasmanian-based recording label through which the work of other Australian artists will be represented.
Further, it is an opportunity to be a part of the important community of philanthropists helping to nurture the arts in Australia. Opportunities such as this will see Van Diemen's Band continue to flourish as an internationally recognised performing ensemble, with an respected reputation as curators/producers, reinforcing our position in Australia as one of the finest ensembles of its kind.
As a Deductible Gift Recipient, VDB operates under strict rules regarding donations management.
Donors will be acknowledged on the VDB website and the album cover, as well as receiving a receipt enabling you to claim a tax deduction at tax time. If you would like your donation to be anonymous, please indicate this at the time of donation (there's a box to tick at checkout).
Oh, and you'll also receive a body-wide glow of good feelings and a sense of pride when the album is released.
For those of you who love the details, we've put together a little behind-the-scenes guide to Transformations - click here for more.
Thankyou to everyone who has contributed to this campaign:
Suzanne Blythin
Fiona Campbell
Andrew Coles
Jane Edwards
Shae Fleming
Peter Ironside
Ann McGuinness
Nick Minogue
Dominic Moawad
John O'Connor
Roger Port
Peronelle Windeyer
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