Blue Poles
Blue Poles is a contemporary classical trio comprised of Hamish Cassidy (clarinet), Isaac Reed (saxophone), and Julia Zhu (piano) based in Meanjin/Brisbane. Their playing takes inspiration from the explosive yet intricate quality of Jackson Pollock’s painting of the same name.
They first met in high school as members of the Queensland Youth Orchestras: the start of many years of joint performance and collaboration. With a strong desire to pursue music as a career and hone their craft, they began their tertiary studies together at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University. At the start of 2024, they formed a trio to explore their shared interest in contemporary music and push themselves beyond their current abilities. Since then, they have been mentored by renowned musicians including the former Australian National Academy of Music director, Professor Paul Dean, and triple-Grammy award-winning flautist, Tim Munro.
Blue Poles aim to perform a diverse range of repertoire by composers from Australia and around the globe. Given few have written for their unique instrumentation, they have spent time developing their own repertoire by transcribing 20th Century romantic music by composers such as Max Bruch and Lili Boulanger. In 2025, Blue Poles are exploring their own creative output through collective improvisation and experimentation with unconventional methods of sound production. They are also excited by the opportunity to collaborate with and premier new works by up-and-coming composers such as Joel Sanchez-Carn. The group looks forward to sharing these as a part of upcoming performances and collaborations.