Duo Blockstix are a unique and vibrant Australian ensemble featuring recorder player Alicia Crossley and percussionist Joshua Hill. With a shared love for contemporary music, Alicia and Joshua formed Duo Blockstix in 2014 and have performed in concerts and festivals around Australia. The duo perform repertoire spanning 800 years, presenting innovative new works and textural soundscapes alongside traditional masterpieces. Duo Blockstix are also passionate supporters of Australian music and strive to collaborate with Australian composers to encourage the creation of inspired, conceptual, and virtuosic new compositions.
Alicia Crossley is one of Australia’s leading recorder players. She performs a wide variety of repertoire from renaissance dance tunes to contemporary electro-acoustic works with a particular interest in bass recorder repertoire. In 2010 Alicia completed her Masters of Music (Performance) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and since then has won several competitions and awards including the Don Cowell Memorial Trust Recorder Competition (2011), the Australia Council’s ArtStart Grant for emerging artists (2013), and the Fine Music 102.5 Kruger Scholarship (2014). In August 2011, Alicia released her debut solo CD Addicted to Bass featuring seven newly commissioned Australian works for bass recorder. This was followed by her second solo CD Alchemy, released in May 2015, which has been nominated for Best Classical Music Album by AIR (Australian Independent Record Labels Association).
Joshua Hill completed his undergraduate and post-graduate study at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. He has also studied Korean Traditional Music at the National Gugak Centre in Seoul. Joshua is a Core member of Australia’s premier Percussion ensemble Synergy Percussion and has also performed and recorded with many of Australia’s orchestras and ensembles including the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Canberra Symphony, Ensemble Offspring, Symphony Australis, Australian Baroque Brass, Taikoz, NSW Police Band and the Australian Air Force Air Command Band. Joshua has also been a part of many recordings for anime, computer games and soundtracks for feature films.
29 July - 5 August 2023
Music In the Regions Tour “Sylvan Soundscapes”
Duo Blockstix are delighted to be touring the NSW Mid-North Coast with Music in the Regions. We will perform the world premiere of a new work by Anne Boyd as part of our Sylvan Soundscapes program. Exploring themes of love, reflection, magic, and even pencils, audiences will be captivated by this duo’s unique pairing.
CORAMBA: 3pm, Saturday 29 July at Coramba Community Hall
· DORRIGO: 4pm, Sunday 30 July at Old Gazette Theatre, in partnership with Dorrigo Dramatic Club
· NAMBUCCA HEADS: 6:00pm, Tuesday 1 August at, and in partnership with, Nambucca Heads Island Golf Club
· KENDALL: 7pm, Thursday 3 August at Kendall Community Centre.
· TUNCURRY: 2pm, Saturday 5 August at Tuncurry Memorial Hall.