Arjun von Caemmerer
Dr Arjun von Caemmerer is a Hobart-based general medical practitioner, Iyengar Yoga teacher/practitioner and writer. In 1995 (with Naomi Cameron) he established The Hobart School of Iyengar Yoga.
Arjun's ‘Pieces of 8’, written in celebration of Yogāchāraya Sri BKS Iyengar's 88th birthday, appropriated and juxtaposed eight different translations of Patañjali's Yoga-Sūtra. This book served as the stimulus for Michael Kieran Harvey's composition, Patañjali. In a personal tribute to Sri BKS Iyengar (1918-2014), Arjun choreographed and performed a series of yogāsanas (yoga postures) for the premiere performances of Patañjali at Hobart MONA FOMA in January 2015.
Arjun was guest poet at the Tasmanian Poetry Festival in 2017 and of the Australian Doctors Orchestra group in 2023. His writing has appeared in The Medical Journal of Australia, extempore, australianjazz.net, Famous Reporter, Unusual Work, The Rondo Hatton Report, and Yoga Rahasya. Arjun's ‘Vice Versa – new and selected poems’ (2016) is available on Collective Effort Press. His most recent book, ‘Bible Stories’ (2019), was written to accompany Michael Kieran Harvey’s ‘Catalogue des Errances Bibliques’. Some of Arjun’s concrete poetry is anthologized in ‘Wayword Forword’ (Collective Effort Press, 2023).
Arjun has also contributed to he following Michael Kieran Harvey CDs:
— 48 Fugues for Frank (contributor, concrete poetry)
— Psychosonata (collaborator, poetry, performer: voice)
— Portrait of Bob Brown (commissioner and collaborator)
— The Green Brain (collaborator, concrete poetry, performer: voice)
— Sonata #6: 17 Graeme Lee Prints (collaborator, poetry)
— Greta (collaborator, concrete poetry)
— Patanjali (collaborator, yoga sequence: choreography and performance)
— Luz meridional (collaborator, text, DVD notes: introductory essay and concrete poetry)
— The Sparrow and the Mead Hall, (concrete poetry)
... and
— Move 50 (collaborator, concrete poetry)
Arjun von Caemmerer is featured on the following titles
Catalogue des Errances Bibliques
This is Michael Kieran Harvey's epic catalogue of Biblical errors for eight keyboardists and four percussionists, together with spoken narration written and spoken by Arjun von Caemmerer. There are 25 musical passages interspersed with 25 short narratives.
Performer: Voice
Songwriter
Arjun von Caemmerer also appears on
The Green Brain Cycle
This is Michael Kieran Harvey’s 92 minute multi-instrument solo extravaganza inspired by Frank Herbert’s 1966 futuristic ecological novel “The Green Brain”, with amusing concrete poetry by Arjun von Caemmerer.
Performer: Voice
Contributor: Concrete Poetry
Patañjali
This music CD and performance DVD is a celebration of Patañjali’s Yoga-Sūtra in music and āsana (2015) composed by Michael Kieran Harvey who also plays various keyboards, Arabella Teniswood Harvey (piano) and Eugene Ughetti (percussion).
Performer: Yoga Practitioner
Psychosonata
A collection of Michael Kieran Harvey’s compositions from 2007-2013 ranging in mood from the relatively serious to cheerful pastiche. Harvey is joined by the very brightest young instrumentalists Australia has to offer.
Performer: Voice
Contributor: Concrete Poetry
Other credits
The Sparrow and the Mead Hall
Composed and (mostly) performed by Michael Kieran Harvey these works range in style from the extended techniques and rarefied atmosphere of Piano Sonata #7 to the more traditional romanticism of Liszt and Busoni in the Four Ballades, to the entertaining bebop language of Lawyers… and the strident metal-influenced satire of Death Cap Mushroom.
Contributor: Concrete poetry
Piano Sonata #6: 17 Graeme Lee Prints
Composed and performed by Michael Kieran Harvey during the 2020 pandemic, Piano Sonata #6 was commissioned by artist Graeme Lee in response to 17 prints he produced in July 2020. The music, the prints and Arjun von Caemmerer’s aphorisms are highly contrasting and individual.
Contributor: Poetry
Greta
This is Michael Kieran Harvey's fifth piano sonata, heard here in both a conventional piano version, as well as an electric keyboard interpretation. It is sub-titled 'Greta' in recognition of climate change activist Greta Thunberg. It is sub-sub-titled 'Concerto in no need of an orchestra'.
Contributor: Concrete Poetry
Move 50
A special CD to celebrate Move Records’ 50th year. Twenty-four Australian composers were invited to create a new short work for this special commemorative disc.
Contributor: Collaborator, Concrete poetry
Luz Meridional (Southern Light)
A CD with bonus DVD. Luz Meridional was composed by Andrián Pertout for pianist Michael Kieran Harvey. Comprising 24 solo piano études each piece contains a quotation from an early Australian composer.
Contributor: Concrete Poetry, Essay
Portrait of Bob Brown
This CD has been produced to support the work of the Bob Brown Foundation. It includes two works by Michael Kieran Harvey and one by violinist Emily Sheppard.
Contributor: Executive Producer
48 Fugues for Frank
A musical homage to the life and work of Frank Zappa, composed and performed by Michael Kieran Harvey, and complemented by Lingua Franka - concrete poetry by Arjun von Caemmerer.
