Concert

For more information please visit https://thegypsyjazzproject.com/

Duration 75 minutes.

CONCERT CANCELLED

Photograph courtesy of Kerry Baylor

Eleonora Spina and Michele Benignetti are two compelling, talented young musicians that come from strong and varied backgrounds as soloist and chamber musicians.  For this concert they have created a landscape of wonder and fantasy with excerpts from Shubert’s Fantasia D940 in f minor, Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream and Ferruccio Busoni’s Melodie Finlandesi op 27.

The recital is completed by two beautiful “Melodie” composed by the Italian virtuoso Ferruccio Busoni inspired by traditional Finnish Songs and four pieces by the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns, that with intimacy and lightness are a real treat of the composer’s production.
Eleonora  Spina  and  Michele  Benignetti's  partnership  as a piano  duo  began  in  2013  and immediately  received positive acclaim.  In June 2014 they received  the prestigious Diplôme Supérieur  d’Exécution  at the  Ecole Normale  de  Musique  Alfred  Cortot  in  Paris.  Their latest album Lifetime was released in January 2017 by the Sheva Collections label. For this recording the duo received the Gold Medal as Best Album and Best Emerging Artists at the 2017 Global Music Awards in California, one of the biggest prizes in discography. Michele and Eleonora are currently studying under the guidance of professors Sivan Silver, Gil Garburg and Igor Roma. The piano duo Spina - Benignetti is an Official Yamaha Artists.

For more information please visit https://www.spinabenignetti.com/

Duration 110 minutes. 

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The name Theodorakis is synonymous with Greek music. An internationally renowned composer of film scores (Zorba the Greek), his music became a vehicle for social change during the turbulent 1960s and 70s in Greece. His large output includes over 1000 songs, many of which have become part of the Greek musical landscape. The Canberra trio Springtide returns to the High Court concert series with a program of songs by Theodorakis, Hatzidakis, and Xarharkos, as well as some much loved Greek folk instrumental music. Jackie Luke (sandouri), Greg Wilson (harp, accordion), Rita Woolhouse (cello), Amanda Pickering (violin), Sandy Gibney (violin), and Jon Jones (percussion) are joined by the Greek soloist Theodora Volti. Singing in Greek, Theodora communicates the Greek experience through her love of music, language and culture. Springtide and friends invites you to sample this beautiful music which continues to delight and captivate people the world over.

For more information please visit www.springtidemusic.com

Duration 60 minutes.  

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Canberra Strings present ‘Quintessence’ – a concert of two of Mozart’s most beloved quintets: the String Quintet in G minor and the Clarinet Quintet with special guest Eloise Fisher. Fisher, a graduate of the prestigious Juilliard School of Music, will reprise her performance of the Mozart Clarinet Quintet with Canberra Strings which won her a Critics Circle Award last year. Written in 1789, Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet is renowned for its sublime slow movement as well as some of his most inventive writing for strings and woodwind.

The other work on the program will be Mozart’s String Quintet in G minor, a work composed two years before the Clarinet Quintet. The key of G minor inspired some of Mozart’s darkest and most melancholic material, although the pathos of the first three movements is contrasted with with a characteristically insouciant and carefree finale in G major.

Canberra Strings are a group of Canberra’s leading professional string players. Featuring former concertmaster of both the Tasmanian and Canberra Symphony Orchestras Barbara Jane Gilby as first violinist, the group also includes CSO members Pip Thompson on violin, Jack Chenoweth and Lucy Carrigy-Ryan on viola, and Samuel Payne on cello.

Canberra Strings have performed as part of Hotel Hotel’s Strings in the Salon series, at Wesley Music Centre and also as part of the Tuggeranong Arts Centre’s Twilight series. They made their debut at the High Court with Mendelssohn’s Octet in 2018 and hope to expand their concert activities in 2019.

Duration 60 minutes.  

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Directed and led by renowned violinist Barbara Jane Gilby, this concert highlights music where the composer pays tribute to other composers such as in Kreisler's arrangements of music by Pugnani, Francouer and Rameau. Also included is Janacek's Suite for String Orchestra which owes much to the Dvorak Serenade for Strings and the Glazunov arrangement of the slow movement from Tchaikovsky string quartet no. 3.

Musica da Camera is a Canberra based community string orchestra. It was founded 41 years ago as a baroque orchestra.  Over time Musica da Camera has developed a broader repertoire including music written by contemporary Australian composers.  Composed of professional string teachers and talented amateurs from a range of professions, the orchestra can boast up to twenty players.

For more information visit www.musicadacamera.org.au

Duration 60 minutes.  

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Four saxophones, one saxophonist and a loop station. In this program, award winning saxophonist Nick Russoniello pushes the limits of live looping.  In a musical mash-up of influences as disparate as beatbox, minimalism, contemporary art music, improvisation, polyphony and groove; Russoniello displays the vast capabilities of the saxophone in this layer by layer approach to instant composition. 

Nick Russoniello has been the recipient of a number of major awards including the ABC Symphony Australia Young Performer of the Year and the Fine Music Kruger Scholarship. Nick has appeared as a soloist with the Adelaide, Queensland, Melbourne and Sydney Symphony Orchestras and as a guest performer with the Acacia Quartet, Omega Ensemble, Australian Opera Ballet Orchestra and the Australian World Orchestra. Nick's compositions have been performed around the globe and his performances can be regularly heard on ABC Classic FM and Fine Music 102.5. Nick is a Yamaha Australia artist.

For more information please visit https://www.nickrussoniello.com.au/

Duration 60 minutes.

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Nikriann Consort presents a beautiful musical tapestry of classical and traditional music selected and arranged by the Nikriann ensemble for the High Court.  The program reflects the musical journey taken by the musicians - from the classically pure timbres of early Sephardic music onwards through history to arrive at recent compositions inspired by traditional and Celtic melodies.  Audiences will enjoy the delights of music without borders.

These friends and musical comrades - now members of the Nikriann Consort, have performed and travelled through many geographical and musical landscapes - sometimes together and sometimes alone.  Rita Woolhouse is a well-known cellist performing in both classical and folk circles. Ann Lehmann-Kuit (classical guitar) is a teacher, performer and a qualified music therapist.  Nicole Murphy has spent her life singing - performing professionally in Australia and overseas, and has performed across many genres: opera, classical, musical theatre, cabaret, jazz, folk and chamber vocal ensembles.

Duration 60 minutes.

The Mimosa Duo are back! Phoebe and Morgan love performing at the High Court and are very pleased to have been asked back to perform for you all. As per always the Mimosa Duo will perform an eclectic mix of repertoire, mainly on violin and guitar.  Mimosa are strongly influenced by the wonderful gypsy jazz music of Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli and you can clearly hear it in their virtuosic and tasteful playing. Not surprisingly, Mimosa don’t just play gypsy jazz, they dance through music from an eclectic and brave repertoire that draws from an ever increasing pool of music from all over the world. The question on everyone’s lips is what will they pull out of the hat this time!

For more information and to listen please visit http://www.mimosaduo.com/

Duration 75 minutes.

Andrew Blanch and Ariel Nurhadi have been described as “two stunning young guitarists…virtuosic” (Sydney Arts Guide) and have been praised for their “dazzling guitar playing” (ArtsHub).  In this concert the duo present their current project entitled Alchemy, named after the late, great Australian guitarist and composer Phillip Houghton. Alchemy is something of a ‘world-tour’, featuring the finest music written and arranged for guitar duet, with masterpieces from France, Germany, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, USA, and Australia, including Houghton’s acclaimed Three Duets that encapsulates Alchemy.

Andrew Blanch and Ariel Nurhadi have been playing as a guitar duo since 2014. Their performances have taken them around Eastern Australia, and they also collaborate with Australia’s celebrated baritone Josè Carbò in a group named The Josè Carbò Trio. In 2018, the duo performed at the Glebe Music Festival and the Newcastle Music Festival with acclaimed soprano Deborah Humble, played a live set on FINE Music FM and toured New Zealand before embarking on a regional tour of Australia.  

For more information and to listen please visit https://www.guitarbrisbane.org/events/alchemy and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHa5ni904I0

Staff and students of the Australian National University’s Open School of Music (OSoM) present a concert showcasing OSoM students and staff.  This promises to be an exciting concert comprised of first class recitals by chamber, vocal and solo performers.

Today’s young musicians undergo a rigorous audition process to be a part of the Open School of Music. The OSoM offers two streams of study in classical or jazz music tutored by ANU and Open School staff. The Open School provides students from year seven to twelve with specialist tuition in chamber, choral, theory and aural and jazz music.

Join the Open School of Music in supporting Canberra’s outstanding young classical musicians in an inspiring Sunday afternoon concert.

For more information please visit http://music.cass.anu.edu.au/open-school

Duration 75 minutes.

The Choir of Trinity College will present a varied concert championing new music by Australian composers, including works by Alice Chance, Ross Edwards and Brooke Shelley, alongside the celebrated Mass in G Minor by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

The Choir has collaborated with various orchestras, instrumental ensembles and conductors, including performances of JS Bach’s St Matthew Passion with Jeremy Summerly in 2011, the St John Passion with Stephen Layton in 2012 and Handel’s Messiah in 2016. In 2018 the Choir performed the role of the semi-chorus in Edward Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Sir Andrew Davis, and released the latest in a long line of CD recordings, Beneath the Incense Tree, a collection of carols for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. Their next CD, of music by Ross Edwards and other contemporary composers, is due for release in May 2019.

The Choir has undertaken nine international tours, most recently to Spain, France and the UK during July 2018. Over the past ten years the Choir has also visited Germany, Singapore, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Baltic States, Russia, Canada and the United States.

The Choir is comprised of students studying a wide range of subjects, many of whom are residents at Trinity College, but with others drawn from other universities in Melbourne.

 For more information please visit https://www.trinity.unimelb.edu.au/about/flagship-programs/choir

I Progetti Chamber Choir presents Brighter than the Sun, a concert themed around the Assumption of the Virgin, a Catholic festival traditionally observed on 15 August. Whilst the programme features some works specifically composed as tributes to Mary, our performance extends this motif to transcend both religion and spirituality, as we celebrate the universality of love, the miracle of birth, and the redemption possible through kindness, morality, humility, and forgiveness.

I Progetti was recently formed by founder and director Charis Messalina de Valence as a small chamber choir dedicated to fine singing and the exploration of new, unfamiliar, and infrequently performed choral repertoire.  The choir's name, I Progetti (Italian: ‘The Projects’), reflects their dedication to research and perform rare and beautiful music, presenting concerts developed thematically or by period, composer, or genre.

For more information please visit https://www.facebook.com/IProgettiChamberChoir/

Enjoy the diversity and energy of Canberra’s Gay and Lesbian Qwire as they offer audiences a fun packed afternoon of high energy classic pop songs.

The Qwire consists of approximately 90 members from all walks of life, ranging from late teems right through to the wiser generations; all drawn together by their common love of music and singing. Qwire is a non-auditioned choir, allowing people of varying skill levels and experience to join and develop their passion for singing, developing not only vocal abilities but stagecraft and choreography.

The Qwire is highly regarded and has performed in places such as the National Gallery of Australia, the British High Commission and at numerous community events.

For more information please visit https://www.canberraqwire.org.au/

Duration 60 minutes.

Improvisation in classical music is a forgotten art.  In the 18th and 19th century, improvisation was a major skill in the education of pianists including Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Liszt and Chopin.  Laurens Patzlaff tries to revive this special type of concert in which the artist is able to create his music out of the moment. Patzlaff dazzles audiences with his musicianship while opening their eyes and ears to the unlimited capacity for variation in even the most formal of musical genres, offering a fresh perspective on music with a range of styles few if any can imagine.

Laurens Patzlaff is both a Classical and Jazz pianist gifted with the unique ability to improvise in every style.  Within the field of improvisation, he is a true phenomenon.  The Classics and improvisation have rarely intermixed, and Laurens is devoted to promoting and popularizing this fascinating musical duo.  Improvisation is the main focus of his artistic and academic career.

A German music professor who works frequently in the U.S.A., Australia and throughout Europe and Asia, Patzlaff was appointed Germany’s first ever Professor for Piano and Improvisation (Jazz and Classical) at Lübeck University of Music in 2013.  Patzlaff regularly hosts master classes for piano and improvisation at universities in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia, Hong Kong, Beijing and other cities around the world.  In addition to international solo engagements, he plays in jazz bands and is also an accomplished chamber musician.  He has worked with the Stuttgart State Orchestra and the Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester.  A busy programme of concert appearances has taken this multi-award-winning pianist to numerous European destinations, Japan, Korea, Thailand, and, most recently, New Zealand, Peru, Brazil and Colombia.  He regularly performs in China, the U.S.A. and Australia.  

For more information please visit http://laurenspatzlaff.com/

Duration 60 minutes.

Under the inspired musical direction of Rachel Hore, OAM, over 120 singers aged 11 to 83 will present a collection of songs that speak of our connection to country, to our sense of place and home.  Rachel’s original song Bring Me Home is the starting point for this concert. This song has been translated into five Aboriginal languages, and into AUSLAN. The concert will weave in stories of how songs travel and connect us across countries, cultures and generations. The Pop Up Choir, based in Canberra, will be joined for this special concert by singers from various choirs across NSW.

The Pop Up Choir loves to change the nature of public space through song and can be found singing in tunnels, churches, foyers, museums, schools, markets, and at bus stops. They have sung at many public spaces in Canberra, including the Great Hall in the High Court of Australia, Parliament House, the Museum of Australian Democracy, the Portrait Gallery, the Nishi Building, ACT Legislative Assembly and Epic.  Choir director Rachel Hore was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2014 for her services to the choral community.

For more information please visit www.rachelhore.com

Igitur Nos Chamber Choir and the Limestone Consort present a delightful and diverse programme of baroque masterpieces for choir and orchestra, including works by Bach, Biber and Monteverdi.

Igitur Nos Chamber Choir is a group of 25 experienced singers who delight in music mostly drawn from the sacred choral tradition. Formed in 2003 by its director, Matthew Stuckings, the choir has sung in many beautiful sacred spaces and cultural institutions in Canberra and beyond, as well as live on the ABC. The choir meets weekly and presents numerous public and liturgical performances throughout the year. Igitur Nos will embark on its first international tour to the UK in July 2020, performing as choir-in-residence in Canterbury, Hereford and St Alban's Cathedrals. 

The Limestone Consortis a Canberra-based chamber ensemble which formed in 2012. It comprises music students, semi-professional and professional musicians and is led by violinist Lauren Davis. Limestone Consort enjoys performing music from the baroque period through to music composed today and regularly works with guest soloists, including David Pereira (cello), Peter Hagen (chamber organ), Anne Gross (soprano) and Justin Lingard (trumpet).  

Duration 75 minutes.

The Black Mountain Piano Quartet is a Canberra-based piano quartet.  In this special concert at the High Court the Quartet will delight you with a series of work written for piano quartets exploring the work of Mozart, Mendelssohn, and others.  The Black Mountain Piano Quartet is the result of creative collaborations between the four players in various combinations. Together they express a passion to explore and share a love for the piano quartet repertoire.

Jason Li (Violin): Having spent his formative years in Auckland, New Zealand, Jason has performed with the Auckland Youth Orchestra, and he has been a member of the National Capital Orchestra in Canberra since 2007. He has also performed in the Die Fledermaus and Cosi Fan Tutte productions with Canberra Opera.

Thayer Parker (Viola): Originally from Urbana, Illinois, USA, Thayer received a Bachelor in Music Performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Thayer began her career playing with a number of orchestras in Illinois, including the Champaign Urbana Symphony,  Sinfonia da Camera, Kankakee Symphony, Prairie Ensemble, and Illinois Symphony.

Alex Moncur (Cello): Born and bred in Canberra, Alex attended ANU School of Music, was a member of the Canberra Youth Orchestra.  He was principal cellist in Canberra Opera's productions of Die Fledermaus and Cosi Fan Tutte.

Kathleen Loh (Piano): Kathleen graduated with a Bachelor of Music from the Australian National University. She has been the musical director/répétiteur for Canberra Opera since 2015, and has directed and performed in its productions of La Bohème, Suor Angelica, Die Fledermaus, and Cosi Fan Tutte.

Duration 80 minutes.

Come and let your spirits soar in the magnificent surrounds of the High Court of Australia as the Canberra City Band presents Flights of Fancy. This sublime concert features whimsical works that provoke the imagination, including works by Australian composers Stuart Greenbaum and Karlin Greenstreet Love.

Canberra City Band (CCB) is one of Australia’s oldest and most prestigious concert bands. Placed second at the 2017 National Band Championships, CCB ranked ahead of ensembles from major conservatoriums around Australia. It is the flagship ensemble of the Canberra City Band organisation, currently seven ensembles strong. City Band's concert series for 2019 will concentrate on presenting new and engaging works by Australian composers, including works commissioned for the Band. The Band performs at least ten times a year in venues around the region and maintains dual commitments to community engagement and art music performance at the highest level. 

For more information please visit https://canberracityband.com/

Duration 60 minutes. 

The Masque is a genre of entertainment developed in England during the 16th and 17th centuries. Its origins from festivals and revels of the Renaissance were combined with elements such as wearing a masque in the style of the English, adopting dance choreography from the French Ballet de Cour, and staging elaborate scenic designs in the way of the Italian Intermedio. The CREMS Orchestra will present you with a selection of courtly masque dances from as early as the Elizabethan era. Wear your own masque to this ball, come "in disguise" and unmasque in Court.

CREMS is a society of recorder enthusiasts from the Canberra region. We enjoy playing both early and modern music on recorders of all sizes from the tiny sopranino to the large contrabass. We offer playing opportunities including recorder orchestras, ensembles and workshops led by professional tutors.

Barbara Jerjen, music teacher and performer, is the Musical Director of CREMS. Barbara studied flute and recorder at the Conservatory of Basel, as well as musicology, pedagogy and languages at the University of Basel, Switzerland.

For more information please visit www.canberrarecorders.com

One of few women composers to perform at the International Composers Festival in London, composer and pianist Emili Rackemann is carving her way into the hearts and minds of her devotees. This concert will feature a selection of contemporary classical compositions from previous albums, in addition to new works from upcoming album Elysian. Rackemann invites audiences into a meditative world of story-telling and sound.

Born and raised in remote Central Queensland, Rackemann’s creativity continues to challenge the predictability of piano performance through her aural tapestries.  Rackemann’s timeless and fashionable image trailed with a love for story-telling is undoubtedly contributing towards bringing women composers back into the limelight.

With over 140 compositions and seven album releases, Emili Rackemann’s live performance takes audiences on a timeless journey. From unchartered history, personal thoughts and fictional stories, Rackemann’s collection of sound is undoubtedly both refreshing and inspirational.

In Ms Rackemann’s own words: ‘My music is constantly under poetic navigation; I prefer one to think of my music as a time machine’.

For more information please visit: www.emilirackemann.com

Named after one of the original founding members of Canberra Youth Music, passionate musician James ‘Jim’ McCusker, the James McCusker Orchestra (JMO) is Canberra Youth Orchestra’s second or training orchestra in the performance pathway, sitting just prior to the Canberra Youth Orchestra – which is typically where JMO musicians progress to as they develop musically.

Through its rehearsal and performance of carefully chosen repertoire, the James McCusker Orchestra provides an ideal environment for young players to gain exposure to the fundamentals of orchestral ensemble playing, as they develop their musical skills.

The James McCusker Orchestra works towards regular performances at venues and community events including at Llewellyn Hall, Floriade, the National Eisteddfod, and festivals in the ACT and wider region.

For more information please visit www.musicforcanberra.org.au

Duration 60 minutes.

Once again, we celebrate the forthcoming Christmas season with a variety of familiar and rarely heard carols and seasonal music in a program devised and performed by the Llewellyn Choir and their wonderful musical colleagues. Organised, as in previous years, by Helen Moore, the concert promises to be a heart-warming embrace of the Christmas season.

This concert is so popular that admission is strictly by ticket only. No tickets at the door.

Duration 90 minutes.