Andrew Farriss to perform with ANU music students

Andrew Farriss, the creative force behind iconic Australian rock band INXS, will perform with music students from The Australian National University (ANU) in a concert to celebrate his time as a visiting creative arts fellow at the University.

Mr Farriss has spent 2015 as the HC Coombs Fellow at ANU, where he has shared his knowledge of song writing and performance with students at the ANU School of Music.

His creative input will be on display at the Soundbites ACT concert, alongside talented young bands The Gypsy Scholars, the Hugo Lee Band, Eponymous, J-Block and Acousticophobia on Saturday 24 October at ANU Union Bar.

"The HC Coombs Fellowship has been a wonderful experience and a great opportunity to help develop some of the inspirational and talented young musicians at ANU," Mr Farriss said.

In addition to inspired new creative works by the artists and bands performing, the Soundbites concert will include new works written by Mr Farriss and well-known works arranged and developed in rehearsals with the students over the past year.

For Mr Farriss, the HC Coombs Fellowship was an opportunity to give back to the community and to help the next generation of musicians.

"Music has given me a great career and an amazing life. It has been a great joy to pass on some of the things I've learned over the past 30 years to the talented young musicians at ANU," he said.

The HC Coombs Fellowship supports creative artists in music, literature and visual art. It allows the visitor to engage in uninterrupted work in residence at ANU and to contribute to the fostering of the creative arts within the University. It also connects Visiting Fellows with the University community.

Former HC Coombs Fellows include visual artists Sidney Nolan, Arthur Boyd and George Dreyfus, as well as musicians Don Burrows, George Golla and Paul Grabowsky and writers Robyn Davidson and Kim Mahood.

Soundbites is a collaboration between the ANU School of Music, the Canberra Institute of Technology (CIT) and Music for Canberra, and is sponsored by Arts ACT.

Details of the Soundbites concert are available at http://www.anu.edu.au/events/sound-bites-act