Premiere performances in 2020

Ross has had a busy composing time recently and as a result the following premieres are scheduled for 2020:

March: Four Inscapes, a quintet for flute, pipa (Chinese lute), percussion, violin and cello, commissioned by the Arizona Friends of Chamber Music for performance at the Tucson Winter Chamber Music, 1–8 March, Tucson Arizona in the final concert, 8 March, 3 pm in the Leo Rich Theatre, Tucson.

July: Wabiny for female voices, flute and dancer, will have its premiere performance in July at the 11th World Choir Games in Belgium, an event which annually attracts thousands of singers from all over the world and which is co-hosted this year by the cities of Antwerp and Ghent. The work, whose text is from the language of the Mooro people of the Whadjuk Noongar nation, was commissioned for the MLC Chorale, Claremont, Western Australia and its director Robert Faulkner.

July: String Quartet No.4 commissioned by Ron and Therese Ridley for the Australian String Quartet who will tour it nationally in a program which also includes the Mozart ‘Dissonance’ Quartet and Janáček’s Intimate Letters. Perth Wed 1 July, 7pm, Heath Ledger Theatre; Adelaide Thu 2 July, 7pm, Adelaide Town Hall; Brisbane Fri 3 July, 7pm Conservatorium Theatre, South Bank; Melbourne Wed 15 July, 7pm, Melbourne Recital Centre; Sydney Thu 16 July, 7pm City Recital Hall, Angel Place, Sydney; Canberra Sun 19 July, 2pm National Gallery of Australia, Gandel Hall, 30 Parkes Place East, Parkes, Australian Capital Territory.

September: Symphony No. 2, Earth Spirit Songs in a new revision of this work made especially for the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. Also on the programme: Beethoven’s Mass in C. Both these works performed for the first time by the TSO. Desiree Frahn, Soprano (in the Edwards), Johannes Fritzsch, conductor, 19 Sept 7:30pm. Federation Concert Hall, Hobart.

November: Vespers for Mother Earth for 8 voices and 11 instruments. A monumental hour-long work commissioned by Judith Neilson to be premiered on the evening of 22 November in the new concert hall at “Phoenix Central Park”, 37–49 O’Connor Street, Chippendale, Sydney, on the evening of 22 November 2020. More information will be posted later.

Christina’s World to be performed by State Opera South Australia

On 2–3 August, State Opera South Australia will perform Ross Edwards’ 1983 opera Christina’s World.

Christina, in middle age, is obsessed by a desire to return to the house of her youth and the imagination she created there – a kind of second Eden of lost childhood and the Pastoral Dream. She succeeds in conjuring her young self, a hesitant and idealistic dream figure who gradually takes on the characteristics of a ‘real’ Christina – a contradictory, perverse, tragi-comic adolescent with a fierce egocentric life of her own.

But the house is peopled by malignant ghosts and terrible memories. In the end we are left with an enigma. Was there ever such a house? Was there a lover, a father, a mad uncle, a drowned child – or were they all nothing more than figments of the young Christina’s distorted imagination? Was there ever such a place as Christina’s World?

Christina’s World was commissioned by the Music and Literature Boards of the Australia Council. The first performance was given in the Everest Theatre, Sydney, on 24 November 1983.

Where:
State Opera Studio

When:
2 Aug, 7:30 pm
3 Aug, 7:30 pm

Tickets:
Adult $55
U30s $30

For more information and tickets, please visit the State Opera South Australia website.

Choir of King’s College, Cambridge to premiere Ross Edwards’ ‘Singing The Love’

From July to August 2019, the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge will tour Australia, presenting the world premiere of Singing the Love, commissioned for Musica Viva and the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, by Jennifer Seabrook, celebrating Ray Turner’s 75th birthday and his lifelong love of music.

Founded in the fifteenth century, the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge is arguably the world’s most famous choir and the pre-eminent representative of the British church music tradition.

Their distinctively pure tone has been honed over centuries in the vaulted stone arches of the College Chapel. Comprising 16 boys (the youngest aged seven) and 15 male university students, the Choir remains a major force by balancing unmatched history and tradition with continual growth and adventurous programming.

The repertoire in these programs reflects this breadth by showcasing pieces from the Renaissance to the present day. Leading the choir is choral conductor and organist Daniel Hyde. It was announced in May 2018 that Daniel Hyde will become the Choir’s new Director of Music in October 2019.

Concert dates:

• Perth 20 Jul 2019 7:30 PM
• Adelaide 22 Jul 2019 7:30 PM
• Adelaide 23 Jul 2019 7:30 PM
• Canberra 25 Jul 2019 7:00 PM
• Melbourne 27 Jul 2019 7:00 PM
• Sydney 29 Jul 2019 7:00 PM
• Brisbane 01 Aug 2019 7:00 PM
• Sydney 03 Aug 2019 2:00 PM
• Melbourne 06 Aug 2019 7:00 PM

For further information and tickets, please visit Musica Viva.

Maninyas | Concertos on Fire at City Recital Hall

Concertos on Fire explores dynamic new directions in classical concert presentation. This concert features one of Australia’s most well-known violin concertos: Maninyas by Ross Edwards alongside the premiere of a brand new concerto Tale of The Firebird composed by Chloé Charodyfor fire-taming violinist Sonja Schebeck and interdisciplinary acrobatic ensemble The Freestyle Orchestra. Fire becomes an instrument of the ensemble, musicians fly and music springs to life from all corners of the concert hall.

This experimental presentation brings together young musicians from across Europe and Australia and integrates contemporary music, modern circus, and physical theatre, representing the inextricable connection between music and movement.

This performance is supported by the City Recital Hall Bravo Circle

Tale of the Firebird has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.

Friday 7 June 2019, 7:30pm

For tickets and more information: https://www.cityrecitalhall.com/whats-on/events/concertos-on-fire/

Maninyas | Concertos on Fire at The Joan

For tickets and more information: https://www.thejoan.com.au/events/concertos-on-fire/

The Song Company: Ross Edwards at 75

The Song Company will be presenting a 75th birthday concert for Ross Edwards with an intimate chamber performance of Fauré’s perennial Requiem.

Sat 1 Dec | Verbrugghen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium of Music | 3pm

Click here to buy tickets

Gabriel Fauré claimed that his “Requiem wasn’t written for anything – for pleasure, if I may call it that!”. This version for vocal and instrumental consort brings new clarity to Fauré’s vivid harmonies and is surrounded by the elemental soundworld of Ross Edwards, one of Australia’s most distinguished composers.

Celebrating the 75th birthday of one of Australia’s most eminent living composers, Ross Edwards, with an intimate chamber performance of Fauré’s ever-popular Requiem is a canny pairing which makes the most of the French composer’s delight in harmonic frisson and melodic panache – set against Ross’s vivid rhythmic carillons inspired by the natural world of his beloved Australia. Artistic Director Antony Pitts confides that “we’re presenting a kind of ‘pass-the-parcel’ to Ross, to kick off his actual 75th birthday month, with extracts from a number of his a cappella works appearing unannounced in-between the movements of the Fauré. Aside from hearing Genevieve Lang both in the opening of The Harp and the Moon and combined with The Song Company in his latest commission De Spiritu Sancto, Ross himself won’t know what’s coming next of his in the program. For a composer that has to be a very unusual experience, and we hope, a suitable birthday present for someone who has forged an extremely personal and recognizably Australian style in his vocal writing over the decades.”

Susannah Lawergren | Amy Moore SOPRANO
Hannah Fraser | Philippa Dracakis ALTO
Dan Walker | Owen Elsley TENOR
Mark Donnelly | Andrew O’Connor BASS
Genevieve Lang HARP
Véronique Serret VIOLIN
Paul Stender CELLO
Brett McKern ORGAN
Antony Pitts CONDUCTOR

Incantations: Chamber Music by Ross Edwards

ABC Classics today released a fantastic double album of Ross’ Chamber Music as part of his 75th birthday celebrations.

This cornucopia of Ross’ Chamber Music includes four brand new recordings from the Australia Ensemble, Goldner Quartet, Riley Lee and Alexandre Oguey, as well as many other favourite chamber works.

Click the following links for more details and a list of stores and online places you can find it:

Incantations on the ABC Classics website

Places you can buy the album

DANCE | CHANT: CELEBRATING ROSS EDWARDS

Ross Edwards | Hildegard von Bingen | Peter Sculthorpe | Clare Maclean | Paul Stanhope and more…

Sydney Chamber Choir is joined by Australia’s leading percussion ensemble, Synergy, to celebrate in music the 75th birthday of one of Australia’s greatest living composers. Together they explore some of Ross Edwards’ most joyous pieces for voices and percussion, alongside music by two of the composers who have most inspired him: Hildegard von Bingen and Peter Sculthorpe. They also perform works by Paul Stanhope and Clare Maclean – composers who have in turn found inspiration in Ross’s dancing rhythms and transcendent harmonies – and two newly commissioned pieces by young Australian composers Josephine Gibson and Olivia Swift.

Saturday, 4 August 2018, 7.30PM
City Recital Hall
2-12 Angel Place, Sydney NSW  View Map

Read more at the Sydney Chamber Choir website.

Ross Edwards 75th birthday concerts 2018

‘Valley Spirit’, – a retrospective concert which has already taken place on May 6 as part of the Kangaroo Valley Music Festival, and which included the premiere of a new cello and Piano piece Valley Spirit.

Symphony No. 2 Earth Spirit Songs. Celeste Lazarenko, soprano, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Opera House, July 4, 6.30 pm, July 5, 1.30 pm and July 6, 11 am.

Celebrating Ross Edwards – City Recital Hall joins with Sydney Chamber Choir ‘to celebrate one of Australia’s most renowned composers’. August 4, City Recital Hall, Sydney, 7.30 pm.

Lake Dreaming. The world premiere of Lake Dreaming for two pianos by the Brown and Breen Duo. August 16, Melbourne Recital Centre 6 pm; August 18, Lifeflow Meditation Studio, Tara Hills, S A 3pm; August 19, Ukaria Cultural Centre, Adelaide Hills , 2.30 pm.

‘Five Senses’ . Simone Riksman, soprano. Bernadette Harvey, piano. East Recital Hall of the Sydney Conservatorium on 20^th October, 6 pm.

The program will include Edwards: Five Senses (poems of Judith Wright), Piano Sonata, Sea Star Fantasy and music by Copland and Britten.

De Spiritu Sancto – premiere of new choral piece De Spirito Sancto performed by Antony Pitts and The Song Company, 30 Oct, Yellow House Sydney, 7.30 pm; 1 Nov, Newcastle Conservatorium, 7 pm; 3 Nov, Blackheath Uniting Church, 3 pm; 8 Nov, Berry School of Arts, 2 pm; Wesley Uniting Church, Canberra, 7.30 pm; 10 Nov, Wollongong Art Gallery, 3 pm; 16 Nov, Deakin Edge Federation Square, Melbourne, 7.30 pm; 22 Nov, St. James’ Church, King Street, Sydney, 7.30 pm; 1 Dec, Verbrugghen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium, 3 pm.

Australian Chamber Orchestra to premiere ‘Entwinings’

From 1–12 September the Australian Chamber Orchestra will embark on a national tour of Australia that includes the world premiere of Ross Edwards’ Entwinings.

Entwinings was commissioned by Rob and Nancy Pallin to celebrate Nancy’s 70th birthday, and will see performances in Sydney, Wollongong, Canberra, Melbourne and Adelaide.

The orchestra will be led by the superb Norwegian violinist Henning Kraggerud. Kraggerud, who has built a reputation as the world’s leading interpreter of Grieg, will lead a programme of Grieg favourites, as well as new works by himself and Ross Edwards.

PROGRAMME

GRIEG In Folk Style from Two Nordic Melodies
ROSS EDWARDS Entwinings (World Premiere)
GRIEG (arr. Henning Kraggerud and Bernt Simen Lund) Violin Concerto (Sonata) No.3 in C minor (Australian Premiere)
HENNING KRAGGERUD Topelius-Variations (From Topelius’ Time) (Australian Premiere)
GRIEG (arr. Richard Tognetti) String Quartet No.1 in G minor

For more information and tickets, please visit the Australian Chamber Orchestra’s website here.

Houston Ballet to tour Maninyas to Germany

(Above): Karina Gonzalez and Charles-Louis Yoshiyama in Maninyas. Photo by Amitava Sarkar. Image provided courtesy of Houston Ballet.

Ross Edwards’ Maninyas: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, with ballet choreographed by Stanton Welch, will be performed during the Houston Ballet’s tour to Ludwigshafen and Bonn, Germany. The company will give two performances at Theater im Pfalzbau in Lugwigshafen, Germany on April 7–8 and two performances at Theater Bonn in Bonn, Germany on April 11–12.

The Houston Ballet recently commissioned and performed ZODIAC, a 40-minute orchestral ballet for which Ross Edwards wrote the score. It was choreographed by the renowned Stanton Welch – their resident choreographer who is also an Australian – and was a resounding success.

Maninyas, created by Welch in 1996 for San Francisco Ballet, is a luminous, abstract ballet that depicts five couples moving through shimmering silks, and showcases exquisite duets and alluring choreography. “The piece is a process of unveiling,” explains Welch. “It examines how, in relationships, you gradually un-layer yourself, and how scary, dark and open it is to reveal yourself to another, without protection.” The dancers move through a powerful series of pas de deux and pas de trois to Edwards’ score. Following its San Francisco premiere, Maninyas has remained in the repertoire and gone from strength to strength. A recent Chicago season received glowing reviews.

(Above): Pas de deux between principals Karina Gonzalez and Ian Casady from Stanton Welch’s Maninyas.

This upcoming German tour is very much an Australian affair, as it will have an Australian composer, choreographer, conductor and violin soloist.

The solo part will be played by the brilliant young Australian violinist Sonja Schebeck, currently based in Vienna. She regularly performs with Nigel Kennedy as co-soloist or leader of his orchestra and is artistic director of the Vienna-based “The Freestyle Orchestra”. Sonja is an extraordinarily acrobatic, pyrotechnical performer who has been experimenting with her own staged version of part of Maninyas which she has performed in Europe and hopes to bring to Australia to help celebrate the work’s 30th anniversary in 2018.

(Above): Sonja Schebeck performs Maninyas.

For more information visit: houstonballet.org/ontour

Additional links to the Lugwigshafen and Bonn performances.

The Sound of Australia: William Barton with the ASO

This Thursday 6 April at the Adelaide Town Hall, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra will perform Ross Edwards’ Tyalgum Mantras, with the incredible William Barton on didjeridu.

For more information, click here.

Harp Mantras to be performed at Arts in the Valley

The new harp quintet, Highly Strung, led by Alice Giles, will be playing Ross Edwards’ Harp Mantras on Sunday May 7, 2017 at 2:30pm in the Kangaroo Valley Hall as part of the Arts in the Valley festival which runs from 5–7 May in Kangaroo Valley.

Click here for more information.

Ross Edwards awarded Tribe Symphony Award 2016

The University of Sydney’s Conservatorium of Music was very pleased to present the David Harold Tribe Symphony Award for 2016 to Australian composer Professor Ross Edwards AM on Thursday 27 October.

Professor Matthew Hindson, Mr David Harold Tribe, Professor Ross Edwards AM

The $12,000 prize for a new symphonic composition of 20 minutes or more was awarded to Ross for his piece Frog and Star Cycle, a double concerto for alto saxophone, percussion and orchestra written in 2015. The judging panel consisted of the Conservatorium’s Associate Dean (Education) and Head of School Professor Matthew Hindson, Dr Maria Grenfell (University of Tasmania) and Professor Stuart Greenbaum (University of Melbourne) were extremely impressed with the high quality of applications.

“The quality of the submissions received points to a bright future in Australian orchestral music. The panel agonised long and hard about each applicant’s piece, the winning work was characterised by an intriguing approach to diverse forces and possessed a consummate command of technical forces and musical ideas,” said Hindson. “Frog and Star Cycle has a strong, unified structure but with a significant variety of approaches including strong narrative aspect and an unmistakable unique musical voice at play.”

“I’m honoured to receive this award for my double concerto Frog and Star Cycle and thankful to David Harold Tribe for his generosity towards the arts in our country,” said Edwards.

The award has been made possible by a donation from David Harold Tribe through the David Harold Tribe Charitable Foundation. The program offers five prizes worth $12,000 each in the areas of fiction, poetry, philosophy, sculpture and symphony. These categories rotate each year to inspire ingenuity in artistic fields that are often overlooked when it comes to charitable support.

“The David Harold Tribe Awards, administered and judged by the University of Sydney, cover the relatively neglected fields of symphony, sculpture, philosophy, poetry and short fiction,” said Tribe.

“It’s my hope that these educational awards for specific creative achievement in the recent past will stimulate and in some cases, perhaps, make it possible financially for the recipients to continue their creative output.”

View the original article here.

New guitar solo for Xuefei Yang

Celebrated guitarist Xuefei Yang will premiere Melbourne Arioso, which Ross has especially composed for her, as part of her Elisabeth Murdoch Hall Melbourne recital, 7.30 pm, November 3rd 2016.

Born following the Cultural Revolution, an era where Western music and instruments were banned, the fascinating story of Fei’s rise to the world stage is that of a musical pioneer. She was the first ever guitarist in China to enter a music school, and became the first to launch an international professional career. Her prodigious talent came to the attention of John Williams who donated two of his own guitars to her conservatorium. Since then, she has been impressing audiences around the globe with her exquisite sound and powerfully emotional performances of repertoire both old and new. The guitar is a world traveller, with a versatility that can take it with ease from 18th-century Germany to the beaches of Brazil. The guitar was still being perfected when Bach wrote his suites for its cousin the lute, but naturally guitarists have adopted these Baroque masterpieces for themselves. From the guitar’s heyday, Granados’ Poetic Waltzes make the leap from virtuoso piano work to an even more dazzling guitar showcase in Fei’s arrangement, revealing perhaps that Granados had the elegant and mellow sound of the guitar in mind all along. The guitar also found an ideal home in the New World, becoming integral to the music of Brazil, as heard in Villa Lobos’ many folk-tinged guitar pieces, and of course the bossa nova of Jobim and company. Its rainbow of sonic colours, its expressive voice and its brilliant exponents have extended the guitar’s global reach to Asia and Australia. The guitar is an ongoing source of inspiration to composers, here represented by the celebrated Ross Edwards who has composed a new work especially for Fei – an exquisite next step in the guitar’s journey.

For more information, click here.

CD Release: Four Hands

Described as ‘unforgettable’ by The Australian and ‘barnstorming’ by The New York Times, the Viney-Grinberg Piano Duo enjoy a stellar international profile. In their new album on ABC Classics, they survey recent music by Australian composers for piano four-hands, much of it receiving its world-premiere recording.

Music for piano four-hands began in the latter half of the 18th century, as the piano itself gained popularity. In the words of the pianists themselves, ‘the five Australian compositions on this disc grow and build on that tradition, with ambitious largescale works of complexity and virtuosity, as well as miniatures that deal with the interior world of the human heart and mind. Despite the diversity of music on this disc – a fascinating variety of responses to the musical opportunities afforded by piano four-hand performance – there is also a unifying thread of dynamism and spirited energy.’

Ross Edwards’ A Flight of Sunbirds showcases a seemingly effortless affection; Carl Vine and Stuart Greenbaum’s Sonatas explores the potential for four-handed counterpoint. Peter Sculthorpe’s ‘delicate and wistful quartet of beautiful tableaux’ follow the tradition of arranging existing works for piano four-hands. And Elena Kats-Chernin’s Victor’s Heart uses the warm resonance of the form to create a touching musical tribute.

Track Listing:

1-9. ROSS EDWARDS A Flight of Sunbirds: Nine Bagatelles for piano duet
10-14. CARL VINE Sonata for Piano Four-Hands
15–18. PETER SCULTHORPE Four Little Pieces for Piano Duet
19–21. STUART GREENBAUM Sonata for Piano Four-Hands
22. ELENA KATS–CHERNIN Victor’s Heart

https://shop.abc.net.au/products/viney-grinberg-four-hands-cd

25 September 2016: Interview

Ross Shares memories of early compositions, shower-time inspiration and a world of diverse influences.
Describe your first memory of music.

My aunt and grandmother playing the piano to me. My grandmother insisted on playing hymns – she’d been a church organist – but my aunt played Beethoven, Bach etc. (which I much preferred). I soon began playing myself, by ear – mainly songs I’d heard at kindergarten – but I also made things up.  When my family refused to believe these were original I felt highly aggrieved and sulked.
What inspired you to become a composer?

Attending an Sydney Symphony Orchestra concert (of Beethoven) when I was 13. After that I never, ever thought of being anything else, to the consternation of my parents.  Knowing that I simply had to be a composer was for me a very frightening prospect right throughout my adolescence, especially as in those days (the late 1950s) it would have seemed unimaginably outré – like wanting to be an astronaut. I read biographies of composers and had no illusions about the difficulties that lay ahead, especially as music wasn’t offered as a subject at the school I went to. I felt very much alone.
You’ve compositions include symphonies, choral, children’s, film and opera music, as well as music for dance. Is there a favourite?

No. I’m invariably obsessed with whatever I’m currently working on which I assume will be turn out to be the best thing I’ve ever done. Having said that, however, I’m very pleased with my mass, especially the way it’s shaping up at rehearsals.

View the original article here.

CD Release: Mass of the Dreaming

Mass of the Dreaming (TP239) Australian Sacred Choral Music
Brisbane Chamber Choir • Graeme Morton – director

It is truly amazing that we’ve waited until 2016 for an Australian choir to record a CD of Australian sacred choral music. Yes, this is the first!

It’s well worth the wait. A lot of this music was commissioned by the choir. Specially mention must be made of Ross Edwards’ Mass of the Dreaming, a substantial work that will definitely be included among the pantheon of Australian choral works in the future. It’s the largest work on this disc and one of the most engaging.

The Brisbane Chamber Choir sings these works with skill and passion, ably directed by Graeme Morton.
The Choir has also commissioned the cover art from Kangaroo Valley-based artist Githa Pilbrow, who was inspired by the 2016 Vivid! exhibition in Sydney. Her work Cathedral Light makes a lovely cover.

PROGRAM:

Paul Stanhope: Ubi caritas *
Joseph Twist: Lamentation of Jeremiah *
Keren C. Terpstra: Arise my love, my fair one *
Matthew Orlovich: Communion of Reparation Andrew Schultz Magnificat *
Andrew Schultz: Nunc dimittis *
Stephen Leek: Sanctus *
Stephen Leek: Agnus Dei *
Nigel Butterley: Exultate Domino *
Ross Edwards: Mass of the Dreaming *

* = world premiere recordings

This CD is available now! Distribution to Australian retailers by Tall Poppies.
Contact Tall Poppies: ph: 02 44651259 • email: tpof ce@iinet.net.au
For further media information and review copies please contact Tall Poppies.
View Tall Poppies’ complete catalogue online at www.tallpoppies.net

Tall Poppies is unique in Australia in that it commissions works for recording. In its 25 year history, Tall Poppies has commissioned over 50 new works. Tall Poppies CDs are distributed in the Australia, UK, USA, Japan, Switzerland, on-line and on iTunes.

When cosmic forces collide: Ross Edwards on writing for Amy Dickson

When Ross Edwards completed a new piece of music, Frog and Star Cycle, for his long-time collaborator saxophonist Amy Dickson, he was astonished at what he had written.

You have collaborated with Amy Dickson several times now. What do you enjoy about working with her?

As well as being quite an extraordinary performer, Amy is full of enthusiasm, game for anything, and a lovely person to work with. My wife Helen and I have become good friends with her. As well as the saxophone concerto Full Moon Dances, which she’s performed many times and recorded for Sony International, she’s played Bird Spirit Dreaming, the oboe concerto I wrote for the SSO’s Principal Oboe Diana Doherty. Amy performs it on soprano saxophone. My most recent commission I’ve completed for her is Bright Birds and Sorrows, commissioned by Kim Williams for Musica Viva. Amy will premiere this with the wonderful (British) Elias String Quartet in Sydney next April.

Where did the inspiration for Frog and Star Cycle come from?

All my music explores some aspect of deep ecology so nature was the source of inspiration. The work evolved slowly, finally reaching the form of a cycle of eleven large sections: ritual dances, a cleansing ceremony, duets featuring both soloists, divine cosmic play – always focussing on the natural world. It’s actually a sort of pantomime with lighting and movement, but the music’s the most important part of it. I transform phrases from a beautiful mediaeval hymn, Ave Maris Stella. When I looked back on what I’d made I was astonished. As always, it’s the result of a collaboration between my conscious mind and some deeper level.

Have you worked with Colin Currie before? Why are you looking forward to working with him?

I’ve heard Colin perform – he’s amazing, and extraordinarily athletic – but this will be the first time he’s performed a major work of mine. My composing the double concerto was Amy’s idea. She particularly wanted to perform with Colin. Last time Colin was in Sydney for the SSO he came for lunch and I went over the percussion part with him. Like Amy, he likes a challenge – nothing’s too difficult!

You mentioned that Colin and Amy would both be in costume for the concerts – can you describe what they look like?

In keeping with the ecological theme, Amy is the serene Earth Mother, a role she’s become accustomed to in performing my music. She wears a long white gown. Colin is shaman – a healer with access to the spirit world. He also has an association with frogs. The work opens with him re-enacting an ancient and universal creation ritual which brings the world into being. Helen and I are working on his costume at the moment – nothing that might restrict his movement – but probably he’ll have some kind of shamanic mask and wear the colour green. He’s looking forward to whatever we come up with!

Frog and Star Cycle will feature in the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s Mahler 4 concerts at the Sydney Opera House on July 7-11. Buy tickets HERE.

View the original article HERE.

NEW CD RELEASE

Another New CD just out. Mantras and Night Flowers, Piano Music of Ross Edwards and Carl Vine, brilliantly performed by Bernadette Harvey for Tall Poppies!

These CDs are available now! Distribution to Australian retailers by Tall Poppies.
Contact Tall Poppies: ph: 02 44651259 • email: tpoffice@iinet.net.au
For further media information and review copies please contact Tall Poppies.
View Tall Poppies’ complete catalogue online at www.tallpoppies.net

Tall Poppies is unique in Australia in that it commissions works for recording.
In its 23 year history, Tall Poppies has commissioned over 50 new works.
Tall Poppies CDs are distributed in the Australia, UK, USA, Japan, Switzerland, on-line and on iTunes.