Concerts

Springtide has been delighting audiences for a decade with a distinctive blend of more than one hundred strings. In this special concert at the High Court, Springtide has designed a programme of Celtic influenced vocal and instrumental music, complemented by classical and world music genres. With Jackie Luke on the unique hammered dulcimer, the innovative Canberra cellist Rita Gibson, and harpist Greg Wilson, Springtide recently toured the UK and Ireland to great acclaim including performances at the O’Carolan Harp Festival in County Meath, Ireland and the World Cimbalom Congress in Great Malvern.  In a recent tour of New Zealand they were described as “masters on their instruments, each taking their turn to wow us. There was humour and toe-tapping, beauty and tragedy”, Sue Rose ‘Acoustic Routes’. They have two recordings to their credit, an instrumental collection The Wisdom of Trees, and Spindrift highlighting their vocal repertoire.

For more information please visit www.springtidemusic.com

Duration 60 minutes.

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Photograph courtesy of Kate Luke

Join soprano Catherine Martin and accompanist Kathleen Loh on a journey of discovery as they bring to life a range of composers and pieces to give audiences a diverse aural experience through tragedy, drama, romance and comedy.  Classical pieces from the realms of art song, opera, light opera and musicals will be performed, including art songs by composers such as Elgar, Massenet and Rachmaninov; arias from operas by Purcell, Mozart, Rossini, Bellini, Verdi, Dvorak and Puccini; light opera by Lehar; and songs from musicals by Cole Porter, Jerome Kern and Ivor Novello.  A full and diverse program awaits your aural palate.  Enjoy.

Duration 90 minutes.

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Canberra Opera will delight audiences with a series of arias, duets and trios drawing on themes of love and loss across the operatic repertoire.  Featuring pieces from Puccini's La Boheme, Suor Angelica and Madame Butterfly as well as chorus pieces including Humming Chorus and Va Pensiero.  In this special concert at the High Court of Australia audiences will be introduced to the newly formed Canberra Opera Chorus. Canberra Opera is unique in providing opportunities for existing and emerging opera singers who wish to pursue a career in opera with the training and performance experience necessary for further professional engagement.  Members are offered the opportunity to learn an operatic role, perform as soloists, participate in an opera chorus and learn about all aspects of live theatre.   Canberra Opera aims to bring opera to a wider audience by providing the Canberra region with high quality, entertaining and affordable opera productions.

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

Duration 90 minutes. 

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Photograph courtesy of Peter Hislop

The stunning Canberra Wind Symphony is bringing an afternoon of musical magic to the High Court with contemporary classical compositions by a diverse group of the leading large wind ensemble composers of our time: Aaron Copland, Charles Young, Yosuke Fukuda, Claude T. Smith, Eric Whitacre and Australian Ralph Hultgren.
Under the baton of Artistic Director Geoff Grey CSM, past director of the Band of the Royal Military College, Duntroon, the program content has been specifically tailored for an early Autumn occasion with bright colours and vibrant textures in the sun drenched High Court Great Hall.
CWS receives no funding, and relies on the goodwill of the professional players and the generosity of venues in keeping hire costs to a minimum to allow this stunning and beautiful contemporary classical art music to be heard in the Capital Region.

For more information please visit http://www.canberrawindsymphony.com.au/

Duration 60 minutes. 

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Photograph courtesy of Grace Costa

Musica da Camera is celebrating being part of the Canberra music scene for 40 years with a special concert of string orchestra music under the leadership of Barbara-Jane Gilby, concertmaster of the Canberra Symphony Orchestra. The concert will feature a viola concerto with soloist Lucy Carrigy-Ryan and exploit the acoustics of the High Court building with works including Edward Elgar’s Serenade, Graham Koehne first movement from the Shaker Dances, Alfred Hill’s first movement of the String Quartet No 3, Arvo Part’s Summa, Paul Hindemith’s Trauermusik and arrangement of Gabriel's Oboe by Moriconi. The group asks a different conductor to lead each of the three or four programs a year, providing a range of repertoire and styles. The players in the group are professional string teachers or players and talented amateurs from a range of professions. The orchestra performs at least three concerts a year at the Holy Covenant Church in Cook. Each concert is then repeated at a country concert in places such as Cooma, Gunning and Goulburn.

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

Duration 60 minutes.

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Photograph courtesy of Steven Shaw

From South East Asia to Down Under – Music beyond borders

Let professional classical guitarist Segundo Boyet Vasquez sweep you off your feet as he moves though a repertoire of classical works for the guitar.  Segundo grew up in a family of classical musicians in Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental, Philippines.  Audiences will be enthralled by his talent and skill enhanced by the acoustics of the High Court.  Segundo has been a solo performer employed by Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines over the past nine years.

For more information please visit  http://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/filipino/en/audiotrack/meet-pinoy-cruising-guitarist

Duration 60 minutes.

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 Photograph courtesy of Michelle Lua

The Australian Piano Duo, Dr. Vicky Yang and Maggie Chen, take you on a poetic journey of fairy tales and love.  
 
Experience interludes from Romeo and Juliet, oriental folk fairy tales and more, transcending into a symphonic Odyssey before the duo take this program on tour. 

Hailed as dazzlingly breathtaking and flamboyantly electrified, this dynamic team has been performing globally in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Holland, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Switzerland, Taiwan, UK, USA and Austria.

Appointed as International Ambassadors as well as Ensemble in Residence at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, Griffith University, Dr. Vicky Yang and Maggie Chen began their collaboration in 2003, focused on a shared passion for folk-influenced music repertoire.  In the recent years the duo have been premiering works for Australian and European composers. Both members of the duo are active solo performers and teachers, as well as competition judges. 

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

Duration 60 minutes.

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Photograph courtesy of  Jasper TuLet

Canberra Youth Orchestra will perform upbeat classical music children will love, in this concert aimed at children young and old. Including Tchaikovsky’s Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from the Nutcracker Suite, Bizet’s Habanera and Toreador Song from Carmen suite no 2 and the iconic William Tell Overture, this mini-concert will be enjoyed by all!

Music For Canberra’s flagship ensemble, the Canberra Youth Orchestra is the premier youth symphony orchestra in the ACT and wider region, bringing together the region’s finest young musicians and conducted by award-winning Canberran, Leonard Weiss. Music For Canberra is a community music school providing excellence and accessibility in music to a broad range of clients including children from 18 months, those living with disability, through to adults and active seniors. As a not-for-profit key arts organisation supported by ArtsACT and the Snow Foundation, Music For Canberra encourages people of any age and any background to experience the benefits music can offer.

For more information please visit http://musicforcanberra.org.au/program/canberra-youth-orchestra/

Two concerts of 30 minutes - the first at 1:30pm and the second at 2:30pm.

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Photograph courtesy of Peter Hislop

When listening to the glorious sacred music of the Renaissance, it is tempting to picture its creation by a succession of venerable hermits who, eschewing the vanities of secular life, dedicated their creative energies to the glory of God. What connection could there be between the pure polyphony written by such men and the frivolities of music composed to flatter a monarch, pay court to a lady, or descant upon the joys of a brimming tankard? And yet, there is a long history of popular music being appropriated by the Church to lend greater lustre to its rites – the nexus between sacred and profane is far closer than one might believe.

‘Saints and Sinners’ is a musical peregrination traversing several centuries, through holy fire, depictions of ardent courtly love, and expositions of more frankly secular avocations. The journey culminates in a glorious late-Renaissance conjunction of the sacred and the profane with Bonifazio Graziani’s stunningly beautiful Missa Il Dolce e Bianco Cigno, preceded by Jacques Arcadelt’s madrigal Il bianco e dolce cigno, from which Graziani took his inspiration. 

I Progetti was recently formed by founder and Artistic 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/pg/IProgettiChamberChoir/about/

Photograph courtesy of Peter Hislop

Hearing Colour, Seeing Melody

Meya Girls is an innovative Chinese music band founded by Miss Min Dong in September 2015 to introduce and explore Chinese national music in Australia.  The ensemble comprises graduates from elite music academies who have received many awards in China and have performed at prestigious music centres internationally.  The meaning of Meya in Chinese is ‘performance of Chinese music’, however, over time Meya Girls have extended their repertoire infusing contemporary influences and using modern arrangements on traditional Chinese instruments.  The interplay of contemporary and traditional gives their music a fresh and unique sound.
 
In this concert the band will perform traditional Chinese works, such as classic musicBlossoms on Spring Moonlit Night and contemporary works, such as Libertango andBasement Mucho.
 
Miss Min Dong (Meya) graduated from Central University for Nationalities in China, and majored in Music performance and bamboo flute. Miss Min Dong invited Mr Haiyun Feng, composer and Central Conservatory of Music professor, to participate as the bands mentor as they strive to create perfect music.

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

Duration 90 minutes.

 Photograph courtesy of Kelvin Lai

One of the most versatile pianists of her generation, pianist Katherine Day is in demand as a soloist, orchestral pianist, chamber musician, arranger, repetiteur, and art song collaborator.   In this concert Katherine delights in the work of Domenico, Mozart, Granados, Debussy and Ginastera.

Winner of the 2007 National Liederfest accompanist prize, Katherine’s most recent art song collaboration was with the famed Australian tenor David Hobson in the 20th Organs of the Ballarat Goldfields Festival. Katherine has recorded art song for Move Records, ABC Classic FM, and 3MBS FM. Her first solo album was released through MOVE Records in 2017 and is also available on iTunes.

Renown for her championship of new music, Katherine has premiered new works in the Melbourne International Festival, the ANU online streaming project, the Melbourne Comedy Festival, the Castlemaine Festival, and the Australian Flute Festival.

Katherine has been a Performance Teaching Fellow and Open School of Music lecturer at the Australian National University Canberra. She had her debut with the National Canberra Orchestra in 2017 performing the mammoth Emperor concerto by Beethoven. Katherine is an alumna of London’s Royal College of Music, and the University of Melbourne Victorian College of the Arts.

For more information please visit https://music.anu.edu.au/people/katherine-shiell and https://www.facebook.com/KatherineDayConcertPianist/

Photograph courtesy of  Blush Photography

Limestone Consort is 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, USA) and Justin Lingard (trumpet).

For more information please visit www.facebook.com/Limestoneconsortcanberra

Duration 60 minutes.

Photograph courtesy of  Peter Hislop

Echoes in the Ether

Block Sounds is Canberra’s newest recorder ensemble. Comprising Olivia Gossip, sisters Elana and Shae Leske and directed by Robyn Mellor, the ensemble has enthralled audiences with its spirited performances and virtuosity. Block Sounds will be supported by Robyn’s recorder quintet Walking the Dog.

Echoes in the Ether provides a program to suit the vaulting spaces of the High Court by focusing on the music of Giovanni Gabrielli. His music was inspired by the magnificence and huge size of St Marks in Venice and reflected the architecture of that building. His contemporaries were similarly moved by their places of worship and wrote daring and spirited music that challenged performers and listeners alike.

Contrasting with these structural works are those by modern composers such as Arvo Part and other contemporary composers, whose music focuses on creating moments of stillness. Works by these composers aim to fill performing spaces with clouds of drifting colour and should provide moments of contemplation.

Duration 60 minutes.

Photograph courtesy of  Peter Hislop

The Mimosa Duo will perform an array of music from your greatest of swinging dreams with classical interludes that take you sailing away on the tip of a violin bow… and while you are riding the sound waves of your dreams your mind may just wander and recall music you heard from your trip to Cuba, France …or India … any of the world’s music arranged with love and care for the greatest instruments, the guitar and violin!

The Mimosa Duo released their third CD at the end of 2017 and are thrilled to be perform pieces from it just for you!

Mimosa is a Sydney born and bred, guitar and violin duo that is of international standard. Its members Phoebe O’Shea and Morgan Haselden met whilst studying with scholarships at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music back in first decade of the new millennia. Phoebe and Morgan love performing together, they love it so much that they got married in early 2016! Having studied classical music Mimosa naturally began building their repertoire with music from vastly different genres.

Mimosa have toured all over the east coast of Australia, from local community halls to the highly esteemed Sydney Opera House main stage. They have also performed in the Mediterranean, Caribbean and the rivers of inland France.

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

Photograph courtesy of  Peter Hislop

Andrew Blanch

Concierto de Aranjuez

Rising star guitarist and ex-Canberran Andrew Blanch performs Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez and other works with piano accompaniment, having just recently returned from Spain where he was an invited artist at the Festival Guitarra Maestro Joaquin Rodrigo, held in Quartell, Spain.

Other works performed include J.S. Bach's Violin Sonata No.1 BWV 1001, Francisco Tarrega's Carnival of Venice, A Closed World of Fine Feelings and Grand Design by Graeme Koehne, and three pieces from South America. 
Andrew Blanch has been making a splash in recent years with frequent concerts, a slew of competition prizes and widespread success of his debut CD Spanish Guitar Music.  Soundboard Magazine (USA) called Spanish Guitar Music "one of the best debut albums I've ever heard", Limelight Magazine (Australia) gave it 4 stars praising his "unique gifts" and the Melbourne Guitar Foundation has declared Andrew "one of Australia's foremost classical guitarists”.

Growing up on the beaches of Sydney's east, Andrew left for Canberra at the age of 18 to study with renowned guitarist Timothy Kain.  After more than five years under Kain's mentorship, Andrew took to the road, giving concerts around the country and abroad including recitals in Paris, London, Washington DC and a concerto performance with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Alumni Orchestra.  He excelled on the competition circuit with over ten major prizes including First Place in both the Melbourne International Guitar Competition (2016) and the Whitworth-Roach Classical Music Competition (2015).

Andrew is now enjoying life in Sydney's north, which he uses as a base between domestic and international touring.  Andrew is currently working on an exciting collaboration of new arrangements for voice and two guitars with Australia’s premier baritone José Carbó and fellow guitarist Ariel Nurhadi. 

For more information please visit http://www.andrewblanch.com/

Duration 60 minutes.

 Photograph courtesy of Martin Ollman

Canberra Strings

Canberra Strings presents a concert of nineteenth century music for String Octet, beginning with Spohr’s rarely heard Double Quartet No 1. Written in 1823, the Double Quartet includes some of Spohr’s most inventive writing, featuring the textural variety that two string quartets playing together offers. It is thought that this work’s innovative compositional style may have inspired the young Mendelssohn in his composition of his famous octet.

Written when Mendelssohn was just 16, the String Octet has become one of the most beloved works of the chamber music repertoire. While Spohr’s work is specifically for two separate quartets which play together, Mendelssohn’s is a work in which each of the eight players contributes independently to the whole.  With its soaring, lyrical melodic lines and intricate passage-work, the work envelops listeners in the complexity of its textures and the exuberant joy of Mendelssohn’s youthful style.

Canberra Strings are a group of eight Canberra professional string players who perform together with the Canberra Symphony Orchestra. Featuring CSO’s concertmaster Barbara Jane Gilby as first violinist, the group also includes CSO principal second violin Doreen Cumming, Pip Thompson and Isobel Ferrier on violins, Jack Chenoweth and Lucy Carrigy Ryan on viola, and Matisha Panagoda and Michael Ryan on cello.

The group has performed as part of Hotel Hotel’s Strings in the Salon series, and also as part of the Tuggeranong Arts Centre’s Twilight series.

Photograph courtesy of Eric Pozza

Kompactus

The Kompactus Youth Choir is a university-age choir formed in 2009 by countertenor David Yardley to develop the skills of young choristers. In this special concert at the High Court, Kompactus will present works featuring the lyrical poetry of Sara Teasdale. Teasdale's poetry is broadly considered to be musical in its own right, inspiring many composers to set her poetry to music in moving ways. Teasdale received public admiration for her well-crafted lyrical poetry centred on a woman's changing perspectives on beauty, love, and death. Many of Teasdale's poems chart developments in her own life, from her experiences as a sheltered young woman in St. Louis, to those as a successful yet increasingly uneasy writer in New York City, and then to a depressed and disillusioned person.  She committed suicide in 1933. Although later critics would not consider Teasdale a major poet, she was popular in her lifetime with both the public and critics. She won the first Columbia Poetry Prize in 1918, a prize that would later be renamed the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.

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

Photograph courtesy of Peter Hislop

ANU Open School of Music

Staff and students of the Australian National University’s Open School of Music (OSoM) present an eclectic recital of chamber, vocal and solo repertoire.

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 Music tutored by ANU staff: the Music Development Programme, providing students from year seven to twelve with specialist tuition in chamber and choral music; and the Music for Colleges Programme, which allows year eleven and twelve students to gain credits towards a Bachelor Degree while completing their high school studies. Full program details will be available in early September 2018.

Join us in supporting Canberra’s elite young classical musicians in an inspiring top Sunday afternoon concert.

For more information on the OSoM visit https://music.anu.edu.au/open-school/colleges

Photograph courtesy of Peter Hislop

Luminscence Chamber Choir

Enjoy the combined voices of the Luminescence Chamber Singers and the Luminescence Children’s Choir. The Chamber Singers is a virtuosic chamber music ensemble comprised of eight young vocalists. The singers share collaborative musical direction of the ensemble and perform un-conducted. The Luminescence Children’s Choir - Luminescence’s newest ensemble - is a treble choir for singers aged 10 – 17, conducted and directed by AJ America. The Children’s Choir provides young musicians with holistic and high quality musical experiences and training, and showcases the unique artistic capacities of young voices. Both ensembles perform a wide range of repertoire from the Renaissance to the 21st century, and frequently premiere new music by young Australian composers. 

For more information please visit http://luminescence.org.au/

Duration 60 minutes.

Photograph courtesy of  Em Roberts

The ANU Chinese Classical Music Ensemble has been charming Canberra audiences with its exciting and beautiful performances for over ten years. They play Chinese music from a wide range of genres across the 4,000 year old history of Chinese music including “sizhu” (music for silk and bamboo ensembles from Jiagnan, south of the Yangtse River), “qupai” (“named tunes”) from the Ming and Qing dynasties, music so old no one quite knows when it was composed, as well as 20^th century film music. It has been said that while Western music focussed on developing harmony, Chinese music focussed on melody. As a consequence Chinese music is unsurpassed in the beauty of its melodies. In this concert, the ensemble will present a program of music from across the length and breadth of this vast country and from the earliest times right up to a modern piece composed for the ensemble.

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

Duration 60 minutes.

Photograph courtesy of Ms. Meng Zhu

Rhythym Syndicate & In2Deep

Spend a jazzy Sunday afternoon with the choral jazz singers of ‘Rhythm Syndicate’ and the wonderful original jazz sounds of local duo ‘In2Deep’. The combined talent of all these musicians promises an afternoon of creativity, toe-tapping music and jazz classics, giving the audience an afternoon to remember in the incredible High Court - one of Canberra’s stunning and unique institutions.    

Rhythm Syndicate is a dynamic vocal group of 30 men and women who sing high-energy arrangements of jazz standards, swing classics and high quality popular and gospel songs. Under the musical direction of conductor Camilo Gonzalez, and accompanied by pianist Michael Dooley, Rhythm Syndicate will perform a program from their extensive repertoire of toe-tapping jazz and swing classics, including ‘Nice Work If You Can Get It’ (the Gershwins), ‘Blue Skies’ (Irving Berlin), ‘I Could Write a Book’ (Rogers & Hart), ‘The Nearness of You’ (Hoagy Carmichael), and many more. The group has been entertaining people in and around Canberra at concerts, festivals, weddings, wineries, corporate events, shopping centres and community events for more than 28 years.

Michael Dooley, the group’s pianist is a well-known local jazz & classical pianist and composer of a wide range of music including children’s songs for US network TV shows, several albums of piano music and is currently active composing film scores for a US based company. Michael performs with the amazing Canberra singer Rachel Thorne in their group ‘In2Deep’ and for this concert at the High Court they will perform a few of their original compositions incorporating the guitar talents of the choir’s musical director Camilo Gonzalez.  Camilo is also a talented composer of a variety of musical styles such as jazz, contemporary and experimental. The choir will feature two of his original arrangements – ‘In the Mood’ and ‘Cry Me a River’.

For more information please visit http://www.rhythmsyndicate.com.au/

Duration 75 minutes.

Photograph courtesy of  Peter Hislop

Igitur Nos Chamber Choir & Oriana Chorale

In this concert Igitur Nos Chamber Choir and Oriana Chorale will present a master work, Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana.  Carl Orff wrote the work between 1935 and 1936 based on 24 poems from the medieval collection Carmina Burana.

Much of the compositional structure of the music relies on the idea of the turning Fortuna Wheel. Within each scene, and sometimes within a single movement, the wheel of fortune turns, joy turning to bitterness, and hope turning to grief.   Although Carmina Burana was intended as a staged work involving dance, choreography, visual design and other stage action, Igitur Nos will bring this work to you as a cantata.  Orff was influenced melodically by late Renaissance and early Baroque models including William Byrd and Claudio Monteverdi. 

Igitur Nos Chamber Choir is a group of about 30 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.

The Oriana Chorale has become one of Canberra’s leading a cappella choirs. It has won particular acclaim for its innovative concert programming, most recently receiving a Canberra Critics’ Circle Award for Northern Lights, performed in the Fitters’ Workshop in August 2017. Oriana’s Australian première performance of Rachmaninov’s Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom in 1998 was widely acclaimed and was recorded on CD. Oriana has given Australian première performances of several other works including The Lunar Hare by Stephanos Malikides (with the Canberra New Music Ensemble), Alfred Schnittke’s Requiem and Concerto for Choir, Arvo Pärt’s Miserere and carols composed for Oriana by Calvin Bowman. In recent years, the Chorale has performed on several occasions with the Song Company and has taken part in a performance of Tallis’s 40-part motet Spem in alium with the renowned Tallis Scholars.

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

Photograph courtesy of  Peter Hislop

Dual Aura Ben Dollman & Monica Schmidt Anderson

Join Dual Aura’s Monica Schmidt Andersen (Recorder) and Ben Dollman (violin) as they take you on an exciting journey of discovery through the life force of world music.  Starting with the Celtic tradition originating from Scotland and Ireland, you will hear the beautiful slow air Black is the Colour that took roots later in the Appalachian region of  North America, a traditional Scottish waltz When she Came and a fiery strathspey, with variations by the 19th century violinist Scott Skinner.  Moving on to Denmark with music originating from Sønderho on the island of Fan, then on to North Germany with Telemann providing a counterpoint to the folk traditions, and further to the fascinating world of Breton folk music and culture originating from Brittany in northern France.  The concert concludes with one of Australia’s finest composers, Ross Edwards, highlighting his Ecstatic Dance representing an early highlight of his ´maninya` style – a joyful and dance-like form inspired by both traditional music of the world and by the natural environment of Australia. 

Monica Schmidt Andersen is one of Denmark’s finest emerging musicians and is building a creative career in performance on recorders in diverse forms.  Ben Dollman is one of Australia’s leading performers on baroque violin, having held the position of Principal Violin in the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra for over ten years.

For more information please visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1177878595656576/

To listen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avMqbDOrbR8&feature=youtu.be

Duration 60 minutes.  

Photographs courtesy of Toby Burrows and Ronnie Kot Wenzell

Nick Russoniello

One of the most popular instruments of the 20^th century, the saxophone, soars, sings and swings in this program of American ‘greats’. Award winning saxophonist Nicholas Russoniello performs with unrivalled virtuosity on an original 1920’s C-melody saxophone alongside period string ensemble Golden Age Quartet. This unique concert experience allows listeners to experience the music of the early twentieth century on original instruments and in a manner inspired by the highly expressive playing styles of Rudy Wiedoeft, Al Gallodoro, Fritz Kreisler, Albert Sammons and the London String Quartet.

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.

The Golden Age Quartet is a new and innovative chamber ensemble, delivering research-led performances that explore the aesthetic of a bygone era. Formed in 2016 to explore the sound world of the early twentieth century, this quartet plays on a mixture of modern and period (gut and silk) strings and in a style reminiscent of early twentieth century ensembles: the Marjorie Hayward and London String Quartets. The players share a passion for creative and expressive performance and have individually performed in some of the world’s elite ensembles including the Mannheimer Phiharmoniker, Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Academy of St Martins in The Field, The Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

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

Photograph courtesy of Jacquie Manning

Canberra City Band

Let your spirits soar in the magnificent architecture the High Court of Australia as Canberra City Band presents Flights of Fancy.  This concert will feature works by Australian composers Stuart Greenbaum and Karlin Greenstreet Love, along with other sublime and whimsical works to encourage contemplation provoke your imagination.

Canberra City Band (CCB) is one of Australia’s oldest and most prestigious concert bands. Placed second at the 2015 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 five ensembles strong. City Band's concert series for 2018 will concentrate on presenting new and engaging works by Australian composers. The Band performs several 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 75 minutes.

Photograph courtesy of  Peter Hislop

Polifemy

Tales of Morality and Good Senseprovides an eclectic suite of songs from all ages that aim to educate, in the nicest possible way, performers and audience alike of the importance of manners, politeness, obedience, working hard, not falling in love or following one’s heart. Songs will traverse all morals, from a serious retelling of the ant and the cricket by William Byrd to a light-hearted lecture on the pleasures of vacuum cleaning.

For many years now, Polifemy directed by Robyn Mellor has brought to Canberra audiences the ethereal sound of a women’s a capella vocal consort, often as part of the High Court’s regular Sunday afternoon concert series. The group specialises in early music, particularly from the Renaissance, but is not afraid to boldly go forth into the 20^th century and beyond, with works by composers such as Britten and Holst.

For more information please visit https://www.facebook.com/Polifemy-155033144526638/

Duration 60 minutes.

Photograph courtesy of  Peter Hislop

Duo Blockstix

The unique and vibrant ensemble Duo Blockstix present a program of contemporary Australian works for recorder and percussion alongside traditional masterpieces.  Duo Blockstix are a unique and vibrant Australian ensemble featuring recorder player Alicia Crossley and percussionist Joshua Hill. With a shared love for contemporary music, Alicia and Joshua formed Duo Blockstix in 2014 and have performed in concerts and festivals around Australia.  The duo perform repertoire spanning 800 years, presenting innovative new works and textural soundscapes alongside traditional masterpieces.

Duo Blockstix are also passionate supporters of Australian music and strive to collaborate with Australian composers to encourage the creation of inspired, conceptual, and virtuosic new compositions. In 2017, the duo released their debut album featuring Australian compositions for recorder and percussion.

For more information about Duo Blockstix please visit www.duoblockstix.com 

Duration 60 minutes.

Photographs courtesy of Kurt Sneddon

Black Mountain Piano Quartet

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 works exploring piano quartets by Beethoven, Schumann, 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): Originally from Auckland, New Zealand, Jason has performed with the Auckland Youth Orchestra, and he has been a member of the National Capital Orchestra since 2007. He has also performed in the Die Fledermaus production 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, and was a member of the Canberra Youth Orchestra.  He was principal cellist in Canberra Opera's production of Die Fledermaus.

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 and Die Fledermaus.

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

To listen https://youtu.be/bspR0VqTcZc

Duration 60 minutes.

Photograph courtesy of Douglas Eremas

Canberra Recorder and Early Music Society

Join us for a joyful start to the festive season with music from the Middle Ages to carolling the twelve days of Christmas.  For centuries the time of advent has been marked by a spirit of expectation, anticipation and joy.

Special dishes, decorations and gifts have been prepared in various forms and in many traditions, all over the world. Among all the busy activities music has always played a major role. Sacred works have been written and performed, and carol singing and playing, at home as well as in the community, has been part of this enjoyable time.

The Canberra Recorder and Early Music Society’s (CREMS) recorder orchestra will take the audience on a journey of festive tunes from the 14^th century, consort music from the Renaissance and Baroque eras, as well as witty arrangements of some popular carols. Enjoy this musical treat!

CREMS is a society of recorder enthusiasts in the Canberra region. They enjoy playing both early and modern music on recorders of all sizes from the tiny sopranino to the large contrabass.  CREMS 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 and conducts the CREMS recorder orchestra and ensembles. 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

Duration 60 minutes.

Photograph courtesy of  Peter Hislop

High Court Christmas Concert

Once again, we celebrate the forthcoming Christmas season with a variety of familiar and rarely sung carols in a program devised and performed by wonderful soloists, choral ensembles and the Canberra City Band, organised, as in previous years, by Helen Moore. The concert promises to bring 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.

Photograph courtesy of  Peter Hislop