Solo violinist and scholarship winner, Cedar-Rose Newman. Photo: Peter Hislop. |
by HELEN MUSA.
WHAT’S
not to like about this festival? Glorious music performed by top professionals,
autumn leaves falling and the ambience of St Jude’s Church in Bowral.
I caught five of the seven
concerts on the way home from “Madama Butterfly” on Sydney Harbour and was
struck by the notable Canberra component of the festival, although I missed
flautist Sally Walker on the Friday night.
The festival, led by artistic
director, the violinist Myee Clohessey, covered an impressive repertoire, but
one of its main focuses was on original Australian music, with works by
Canberra’s Sally Greenaway as featured festival composer, Southern Highlands
composer Andrew Ford and Elena Kats-Chernin.
Luminescence Chamber Singers. Photo: Peter Hislop. |
Then, as the opening highlight
of an afternoon “Floreat” [flourish] concert by young local musicians, Southern
Highlands pianist Sienna Hagan played the world première of a composition by
Greenaway.
Composers Andrew Ford and Sally Greenaway in discussion. Photo: Peter Hislop. |
That
was matched by “Ways of Enchantment”, also relating to marriage, commissioned
from Kats-Chernin as a gift from Dr Stephen Barnett for his cellist wife
Catherine Barnett (cellist with the Southern Highlands Music Collective) on the
occasion of their silver wedding anniversary.
Clohessey’s mind was plainly on
young musicians, for in two of the concerts she announced that an inaugural
scholarship gifted by Dr Timothy Pascoe in memory of his late wife Ewa would go
to Cedar-Rose Newman, who later joined the Southern Highlands Music Collective
to play the solo violin part in Piazzolla’s “Four Seasons of Buenos Aires”.
This was a breathtakingly virtuosic performance, so it was no surprise to find
that Newman is already studying at the Manhattan School of Music.
Dave Elton on trumpet, Scott Kinmont on trombone and Vatche Jambazian on piano. Photo: Peter Hislop. |
When it came to programming,
however, the centrepiece of the festival was the Saturday night concert by Dave
Elton on trumpet, Scott Kinmont on trombone and Vatche Jambazian on piano.
Their sumptuous program ranged through the “Schwanengesang” [swansong] songs by
Schubert, a contemporary fandango by Joseph Turrin, concluding with a showy
“Carmen Fantasy.”
Giving the lie to the notion
that there is no humour in music, they had the audience and particularly the
kids in stitches at times. Pianist Jambazian gave a fiery performance as he
joined in the conversation between trumpet and trombone.
This was a case study in how to
program a concert.
First
published at Canberra City News, March 28, 2023
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