Skip Navigation | ANU Home | Search ANU | Directories

Friends of the ANU School of Music

 

Friends of the ANU School of Music – 2008 Concert Program

(22 nd September 2008)

Friends fund raising concerts are held at private home venues, at School venues and occasionally at Embassy venues, where and when we can arrange them. This website entry will be updated as details are confirmed or changed. Applications for places at home venues and Embassy venues will be called for about one month before concert dates and usually require pre-payment by cheque . At some venues entry is by payment at the door. At Embassy venues we are usually required to provide a list of names of those attending.

•  Friday 17th October, 6:30 pm for 7 pm commencement of performance. David Pereira and fellow musicians at the Embassy of Austria . 60 minutes of carefully chosen chamber music treats of particular beauty, featuring David in concert with a hand-picked group of staff and students of the ANU School of Music. The Austrian Embassy's own grand piano and a recent composition by an Austrian composer will add further lustre to the occasion. The players and audience will also benefit from the excellent acoustic properties of this venue. The Concert will be followed by supper. Tickets: Single $35, Friends $30. Booking and pre-payment is essential; more information and an application form can be downloaded from here…

Below are summaries of the Friends' concerts held so far in 2008:

•  Friday 29 th February 2008 . This concert, 4 Pianos, 352 keys, 8 hands, 4 Composers was given by Keyboard Institute students Terry Lam, Tracy Liang, Kimberley Michael, Amber Robertson, Andrew Tung, Hajarul Shakeeb, Ella Luhtasaari, Kylie Loveland, Danny Pikler and their mentor Arnan Wiesel.

It was a marvellous celebration of the piano with unusual combinations producing rich and colourful sounds: 4 pianos - 8 hands, 3 pianos - 6 hands, 2 pianos - 6 hands, 2 pianos - 4 hands and best of all 1 piano - 8 hands! The program had works by Bedrich Smetana , written in his beloved folk style; the American Morton Feldmann looking ahead to meditative new worlds of sound colour; Darius Milhaud 's suite for 4 pianos describing aspects of Parisian life and, a selection of pieces by the remarkable Percy Grainger. This highly successful concert gave a memorable start to the year.

•  Friday 4 th April 2008 . The now popular Friends Young Performer concerts (two per semester) are designed to provide opportunities for Single Studies students (mainly the young pre-tertiaries), either solo or ensemble, to display their progress, to teachers, families, friends and Friends, fellow students, fellow Canberrans and, of course, to themselves. Students perform on a range of instruments and combinations, often led or accompanied by their teachers. Names of participants will be recorded in future.

•  Friday 18 th April 2008 . The artists sharing this program were students Nina Birkel (soprano) with Brad Kunda (guitar) and Jack Chenoweth (violin) with School staffer Meriel Owen (piano). Music for voice and lute by Dowland and a piano reduction of a Prokofiev violin concerto made for an unusual but brilliant program

•  Sunday 21 st September 2008 . The Fantastic Flutes of the ANU presented a program of serene and intimate soli and dazzling repertoire of the nineteenth century; from small ensembles to the grand colours of the entire flute family. This wonderful program was given by students Mark Xiao, Laura Van Rijn, Mathilda South, Taresa Rabe, Donna Peet, Elizabeth Mitchell, Samantha Joseph, Rachel Howie, Alexandra Barry, Lina Andonovska (note Ed's aim to balance ‘alphabetical neurosis'). Mentors Virginia Taylor and Vernon Hill joined in with their students in this joyful event.

•  Tuesday 3 rd June 2008 . The Great Guitars of the ANU returned to Christine Goode's for their annual evening of varied musical delights featuring the ANU Guitar Quartet (Sam Conway, Katherine Dinale, Ariel Nurhadi and Sam Smith) the inimitable Brew Duo, and the stunning solo abilities of Harold Gretton, Matthew Withers and Bradley Kunda with music drawn from Spain (Rodrigo and Asencio), Germany (Bach), Venezuela (Soho), Australia (Houghton) and Canberra (Gretton). This concert was a delight.

•  Friday 20 th June 2008 . (and overflow to Sat 21 st ) Friends Young Performer concert (see Friday 4 th April, above).Performers on this popular occasion were, Qian zi Niu (piano), Anh-Thu Minh Le (piano), Elizabeth Le (piano), Miho Yamazaki (cello), Jonathan Lee (piano), Jason Tran (piano), Luka Vertessy (violin), Eva Baker (cello),Brooke Newham (piano), Bao Khahn Tran (piano), Callum Richens (violin), Gerade Bourke (viola), Patrick Bourke (cello), Jay Wang (piano), Emily Mullamphy (violin), Lauren Teh (forte piano),Winnie Knight (cello), Benson Deme (piano), Max Cass (cello), Alexander Jackson (cello), Alethea Coombe (violin), Luke Allerton (piano), Che-Lun Lin (piano), Isabella Gillespie (piano), Bernice Chua (piano), Nicole Wang (piano), William Gibbs (piano), James Gibbs (piano), Jenny Lange (piano),James Russell (guitar & piano), Rebeccah Richards (piano), Yanzhe Xu (piano),Toby Stuart (guitar), Declan Pratt (piano), Callum Henshaw (guitar), Joanne Chan (piano).

•  Thursday 31 July 2008 This highly successful concert of jazz featured the James Le Fevre Quintet and the Austin Benjamin Trio playing to a full house . The Quintet played original material drawing upon a smorgasbord of influences encompassing Jazz, Dance, Blues, Funk, Latin, Hip Hop and gypsy music of the Balkans. The ensemble is characterised by its contrast of intricate, extended arrangements with open, loose blowing sections.

The Trio are a young and eclectic group drawing influence from the resonance and musicality of many things other than music alone. The Compositions are a synthesis of jazz and electronica in an acoustic context, mainly inspired by Australia , its environment and its modern composers forming a unique musical identity. The evening also saw both groups launching CD projects supported by the Friends.

 

• Sunday 14 th September. This Friends Young Performers Concert featured, in order of playing (first session) , Christian Trigger, Isabella Gillespie, Willams Gibbs, Anh-Thu Minh Le, James Gibbs, Jason Tran, Emily Mullamphy, James Russell, Bao Khanh Tran, Teiva Truesdale, Debra Hartstein/Me-li-sa Chalklen as duet, Joanne Chan, Me-li-sa Chalklen.

 

(second session), Jonathan Lee, Qianzi Niu, Bernice Chua, Nicole Wang, Elizabeth Le, Jenny Lange, Victor Matthews, Rebeccah Richards, Emily Jane Lines, Chloe Natterer, Luke Allerton, Clara Pitt, Callum Henshaw