Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

After the wide acclaim of his first symphony, be the first to experience the world premiere of Paul Dean's Symphony No. 2. Dedicated to the Queensland Youth Symphony (QYS), conductor Simon Hewett and Queensland Youth Orchestra (QYO) Founder John Curro, the Symphony's name is ‘Youth’ and is full of memories of the fun and exhilaration the composer had while playing great orchestral music for the first time in QYO. The orchestra will then pay homage to the iconic Australian composer Carl Vine with his Symphony No. 3, a masterpiece renowned for its inventive, bold, and emotionally resonant style.

‘Dark with excessive bright’, a phrase from Milton’s Paradise Lost, is a surreal and evocative description of God, written by a blind man. Composer Missy Mazzioli writes: ‘I love the impossibility of this phrase, and felt it was a strangely accurate way to describe the dark but heartrending sound of the double bass itself.’ QYS Principal Double Bassist Alyssa Deacon is the soloist in this work which features captivating dialogue between the soloist and orchestra.

Keiko Abe's Prism Rhapsody for Marimba and Orchestra received its premiere performance in Sweden in 1996. QYS percussionist Jennifer Lin will explore the many aspects of the work’s diverse sonic palette, including a cadenza of impressive virtuosity and an exciting series of fiery passages in the dramatic finale.