Creature Feature (2024)

for percussion trio

Duration: 16’

Commissioned by Canberra International Music Festival and first performed by Claire Edwardes/Niki Johnson/Veronica Bailey

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Program Note

Written for percussion trio, Creature Feature takes its inspiration from carnivorous plants and insects. After visiting Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens in early 2024, the Venus flytrap became the catalyst for the work.  For me, the idea of carnivorous plants is equally fascinating and terrifying, drawing from the imagery of John Wyndham’s ‘The Day of The Triffids’ and Roger Corman’s ‘The Little Shop of Horrors’. Likewise, when at scale, tiny insects appear cute and lovely, but zoomed in and under the microscope, their features can be truly terrifying -  the makings of a horror film!

Musically, the work plays with this dichotomy: friend or foe, predator or prey? There’s plenty of twitching, swarming, buzzing, and creeping, as insects attempt to avoid the jaws of carnivorous plants. Stylistically, this may be heard as an amalgam of funk, hip-hop, honky-tonk, and EDM grooves, with a smattering of swampy blues and tropical dance-parties. Perhaps as a vegetarian, there’s a sort of sick humour in being fascinated by carnivorous plants.

Creature Feature was commissioned by the 2024 Canberra International Festival, where I was composer-in-residence, and premiered by Claire Edwardes, Niki Johnson, and Veronica Bailey.

Reviews & Words

Creature Feature for three percussionists composed by Holly Harrison and commissioned by CIMF, was a showstopper… On a variety of instruments, this atmospheric and eclectic work consisted of fragments wrapped in a repeating phrase. It was a carnival of music played with enjoyment for the players and listeners. Read full article here.

(Robb Kenedy, Limelight)

Performances

26 March 2026, Claire Edwardes and Canberra Symphony Orchestra percussion, National Museum of Australia, ACT

9 March, 2026, Sounding Resistance: Sonic Acts for International Women’s Day, Queensland Conservatorium, QLD

8 May 2025, Piñata Percussion, UWA Conservatorium of Music, Crawley, WA

26 September 2024, Synergy Percussion, BOOM! International Festival of Percussion 2024, Richard Gill Auditorium, Perth, WA

26 September 2024, Sydney Conservatorium of Music Percussion Ensemble, Verbrugghen Hall, Sydney, NSW

5 May 2024, Canberra International Music Festival, Edwardes/Johnson/Bailey, Snow Concert Hall, ACT - World Premiere