Blue Dream is a group of musicians with a diverse range of styles and improvisational skills that brings to life the musical compositions of Fiona Joy Hawkins.  The group has an eclectic and musically diverse range of experience that includes world music, jazz rhythms and classical influences.  Blue Dream spans genres, styles and has no pigeon hole.  There is NO 'sounds like'........

Fiona Joy Hawkins      Piano, Composition, Vocals,

Rebecca Daniel.          Violin, Vocals, Arrangement

Andy Busuttil              Percussion, Wind Instruments, Vocals

Dave Ellis                   Double Bass

John Napier                Cello                                                                                     

Fiona has four award winning albums Portrait of a Waterfall, Angel Above My Piano, ICE – Piano Slightly Chilled and Blue Dream. She has charted at #1 on the New Age Reporter International Radio Charts achieving the highest ranking in the history of the charts, been an ARIA Finalist, won the ZMR Album of the Year, Best Piano Album (twice) and Best Contemporary Instrumental Album, Best Dance/Dub/Club Album as well as winning the MusicOZ Award for Best Classical/Jazz Artist in 2008. She has had over 37 nominations in Indie Artist Awards across 9 countries.

 

Fiona’s recent album was produced by Grammy winner Will Ackerman (Founder of Windham Hill) and has been released on the ABC label.

 

She lives in Kendall where she runs her own record label Little Hartley Music and hopes to move into performance and touring with her new group Blue Dream, as well as a planned new CD for early 2011 to be recorded on a Stuart and Son’s piano in Newcastle.

 

Rebecca started singing professionally at the age of 9, and at 12 was the first child to ever perform the role of "Flora" in Nicholas Hytner's production for Kent Opera of "The Turn of the screw" by Benjamin Britten.  She then sange madrigals with the Tudor Consort of Rochester Cathedral before attending the Royal Academy of Music in London to study with Emanuel Hurwitz and the Amadeus String Quartet, she also performed chamber music throughout the UK. 

 

After being invited to join the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Rebecca moved to Sydney and discovered the joys of Musical Theatre. Rebecca was the orchestra leader for Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Beauty & the Beast and The Sound of Music; she played in West Side Story and A Little Night Music. 

 

She considers herself very fortunate to have performed, toured and recorded with some extraordinary musicians including John Denver, Bread, John Farnham, INXS, Anthony Warlow, Shirley Bassey and Barbra Streisand, Olivia Newton-John, Men at Work, Glenn Close and many others; and has also recorded many movie soundtracks, such as Strictly Ballroom and Moulin Rouge. Currently Rebecca is a member of Blue Dream with Fiona Joy Hawkins

Andy Busuttil is a renowned Australian transcultural musician. He has performed at major festivals in Australia and with many other top line musicians from a wide range of genres. One of his most recent passions is in exploring the place of his origin, the Islands of the Maltese Archipelago with the band that he conceived of, formed and leads, Skorba.

Andy’s present adventure is in fully expressing his improvisational skills on voice, clarinet, saxillo (hybrid clarinet/Hungarian Tarratato) and percussion with genres of music that are new to him. His performances with Fiona Joy Hawkins and the other Blue Dream musicians fill him with a sense of celebration and excitement. The influences in his music, from street vendors and ghanejja Bormliza of Malta, to the sinuous wind players of the Balkans, the Middle East and Asia Minor and the percussionists of the Middle East, Greece, Macedonia and Turkey have found a new and welcome home in her stellar compositions. 

 

In a playing career which has spanned nearly 50 years so far, Dave has been a member of the Western Australian and Sydney Symphony Orchestras, the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust Sydney Orchestra, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, various freelance Orchestras, Jazz, Rock, Country Music, Cabaret, Experimental groups and now, the contemporary Flamenco group, Arrebato Ensemble.

 He has played the Sydney and some national seasons of many Music Theatre and Stage productions, and has also played for hundreds of Record Albums/CDs, Film Scores Television shows and Jingles/Commercials.

 

Dave has performed in Concert and Cabaret with many Artists including Peggy Lee, George Benson, Antony and the Johnsons, Eartha Kitt, Al Jareau, Milt Jackson, Phil Woods, Sir George Martin, Tim Draxl, Julie Anthony, Val Doonican, David Campbell and has been Bassist for Maestro Tommy Tycho for more than 35 years, and now with Fiona Joy Hawkins in Blue Dream.

 

In another life, Dave restores, repairs and sets up Double Basses in his home workshop (homebass). He also finds time (mostly) to be a husband, father, cook, gardener and sharer of housework duties.

 

 

John has a doctorate in Musicology from UNSW, where he lectures full time. His performing life is extremely varied and has included classical, rock and pop gigs and recordings. He is especially known for his work with the Institute of Eastern Music and his improvisations with performers of traditional Indian music. He has performed in the U.S, Italy, Japan and India and has appeared with various groups such as The Mambologists, Southern Crossings, The One Extra Dance Company, and with Robyn Archer at the Sydney Opera House, and now with Fiona Joy Hawkins in Blue Dream