Contemporary Music Events (CME) was founded in 1991 to produce and present contemporary music in all it's forms. CME aims to increase the public profile of contemporary music and is committed to exploring new forms of presentation for contemporary music. A Man In A Room, Gambling represents CME's first international collaboration and brings together artists from both sides of the world. CME's events are based on the innovative idea of curatorship for musical performances where themes, ideas, musical styles, and unusual approaches to presentation can be explored. Curators can bring an intellectual rigour to an event similar to that of a curatorial practice in the visual arts, and it is our hope that by giving curators an opportunity to collect works into an event, we can develop a wide audience interest in our activities. CME has worked with many curators who have developed events all over Australia. Following A Man In A Room, Gambling our next event is voice jam and videotape curated by Barry Kosky and premiering at the 1998 Adelaide Festival. This will be directly followed by a season in Melbourne in March 1998. I trust that if you enjoy A Man In A Room, Gambling we will see you there next Match. I would like to thank all those who have assisted with A Man In A Room, Gambling particularly Gavin Bryars and all the artists, the curator of the event Tyrone Landau, Jane Quinn in London, Clifford Hocking, our government sponsors through Arts Victoria and the Australia Council, the British Council, our principal corporate supporters FHA Image Design and the Nudel Bar and our many other supporters without which this event would not be possible. Also I would like to thank the board of Contemporary Music Events for their support and in particular to the outgoing chair of CME, Zane Trow. CME will continue to facilitate excellence and innovation in contemporary music practice and presentation and will strive to deliver it to an expanding local, national and international audience. Steven Richardson General Manager Contemporary Music Events		A Man In A Room, Gambling is Contemporary Music Events' first presentation including international artists. The association between Contemporary Music Events and Melbourne Festival provides an exciting opportunity to present Gavin Bryars, one of the most intriguing and influential composers working today, in his first visit to Australia. At the same time, this event provides a platform for related contemporary music being produced in Australia, to be showcased alongside this internationally acclaimed artist. Gavin Bryars has developed an extremely refined musical language, which is deeply though provoking and mesmerically accessible. The Australian composers in this concert share similar post-minimalist approaches to musical language and the use of meanings behind music, and the fruitful interaction between these musicians is a key component of this concert series. Each concert features a core group from the Gavin Bryars Ensemble, combined with some of the finest locally based musicians. The David Chesworth Ensemble is one of the most prestigious musical groups in Australian music, and is similarly an ensemble focused on a particular composer, while the deFlocked Quartet will present its own work, as well as performing Gavin Bryars' String Quartet No. 2. It is my earnest hope that this series will not only prove to be a rewarding and enjoyable experience for Festival audiences, but will also prove a valuable contribution to music making in Melbourne. Tyrone Landau