Event
ASTRA Choir : new works from Australia and Italy
- Date: Sunday, 4 December 2016, 5pm
- Venue: Church of All Nations — 180 Palmerston St, Carlton, VIC
- Tickets: Adults: $35 | Children: $15 | Concession: $20 — Tickets can be purchased online or by phone on (03) 9326 5424
Event Details
New works from Australian and Italian composers across different generations, most of them receiving their first performances in this concert. A kaleidoscope of musical forces joins in the celebration – choir, woodwind instruments, solo voice and solo piano.
Australia’s senior composer George Dreyfus, in a new work from this year, creates a continuous animation of wind quintet sounds with female chorus as an environment for Francis of Assisi’s words in praise of the teeming forms of Nature. Six other composers from the two countries have written choral pieces especially for this concert – the four Australians John Arthur Grant, Kathryn Sadler, Eve Duncan and Kym Dillon showing a palette of choral styles, joined by the characteristic sonic colour, respectively radiant and dark, of Italian composers Gianandrea Pauletta (Veneto) and Daniele Locatelli (Friuli). Further premiered works on the program enter the domain of solo theatre, with Brendan Colbert’s work for pianist Peter Dumsday, Joy Lee’s interpretation of Riccardo Vaglini’s piano lament for the daughter of Janacek, and Jenny Barnes’ solo vocal performance with computer voice, reflecting her experiences singing with asylum seekers held in detention by our country.
Merlyn Quaife, soprano, Kim Bastin, piano
The Astra Improvising Choir directed by Joan Pollock
The Astra Choir with solo singers and instruments, conducted by John McCaughey
Featured non-Australian music: Daniele Locatelli, The Killing Ground (1st Performance), Riccardo Vaglini, Death of Olga Janackova (2010), Gianandrea Pauletta, Preludio secondo (1st performance)
Further information for this event is available online at the event's website or by phone on (03) 9326 5424 or by email to info@astramusic.org.au
Featured Australian Works
Contretemps (solo piano) (2016) by Brendan Colbert — World premiere — performed by Peter Dumsday | |
It Was : for double SATB choir and soprano saxophone (2016) by Kym Alexandra Dillon — World premiere — performed by Astra Choir and John McCaughey | |
Mots d'heures: Gousses, rames : soprano voice with piano (1994) by Lawrence Whiffin — performed by Kim Bastin and Merlyn Quaife | |
Song of brother sun : treble choir with chamber ensemble by George Dreyfus — performed by Astra Choir and John McCaughey | |
Stars : for choir and wind quintet (2016) by Eve Christina Duncan — World premiere — performed by Astra Choir | |
Keats by Kathryn Sadler — World premiere | |
Notes from the Borigove by John Arthur Grant — World premiere | |
Visit's Overt by Jennifer Barnes — World premiere |
Featured artists
- New work by Kathryn Sadler
- New work by John Arthur Grant
- New work by Jennifer Barnes
- Performer Astra Choir
- Conductor John McCaughey
- Performer Merlyn Quaife
- Performer Kim Bastin
- Performer Peter Dumsday
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