C9 Of Fairies and Fools
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Tuesday, 2 May 2023
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Fitters' Workshop
Printers Way, Kingston, ACT 2604
Enter a world of wonder in this evening concert inspired by rustic folk tales and elflike fantasy.
Grimm’s Fairy Tales hit the bookshops in 1812, and by the time H.C. Andersen was ready to publish his own fairy tales in the 1830s, a new literary genre was born. Robert Schumann followed suit with several instrumental works, as reflected in this late clarinet trio. Dvořák found different reasons to delve into his country’s folklore. It inspired major operas, as well as the very charming yet rarely performed Moravian Duets.
Janáček drew on the Czech folk traditions with even greater zeal. From the nuptials of the beetroot to the comic picture of a cow in the knacker’s yard, the musical miniatures of Říkadla (Nursery Rhymes) arguably are some of his most playful and catchy creations. Equally upbeat and almost clown-like is Elena Kats-Chernin’s Village Idiot, conjuring the wry image of a fool who in a world of madness dares to speak a clearer truth.
Program
Robert Schumann, Märchenerzählungen op 132 (1853)
Antonín Dvořák, Moravian Duets (1876)
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Leoš Janáček, Říkadla (Nursery Rhymes) (1924)
Elena Kats-Chernin, Village Idiot (2006)
Artists
James Wannan, viola
Oliver Shermacher, clarinet
Susannah Lawergren, soprano
Anna Fraser, soprano
Roland Peelman, piano
Ronan Apcar, piano/keyboard
Theo Carbo, electric guitar
Fletcher Cox, trumpet
Jackson Bankovic, trombone
Aidan Gabriels, horn
Veronica Bailey, percussion
Alister Price, accordion
Jacques Emery, double bass
Luminescence Chamber Singers
Alma Moodie Quartet
This concert is supported by Gail Ford
ARTIST Learn more about the artist
Artist Roland Peelman AM, Artistic Director
“His encyclopaedic understanding of performing and visual arts and his theatrical instinct place him in constant demand as a musician of flair and imagination.” – Antony Jeffrey, Many Faces of Inspiration.
At the helm of the Festival since 2015 is Artistic Director Roland Peelman, an acclaimed musician of great versatility who has established a reputation as one of Australia’s most innovative musical directors.
Artist Alma Moodie Quartet
Artist James Wannan
Violist James Wannan is a founder of the Australia Piano Quartet (APQ), Co-Artistic Director of the Ensemble in Residence at the University of Technology Sydney, a member of Southern Cross Soloists and an Artistic Associate of Sydney Chamber Opera. He teaches chamber music and viola at the Sydney Conservatorium’s Rising Star program and has been a guest teacher at the Australian National Academy of Music. He is currently based in Sydney, having previously studied viola with Alice Waten and Caroline Henbest in Melbourne, Janet Davies in Sydney and viola d’amore in Vienna with Marianne Rônez. He explores his passion for music from ancient to contemporary on a number of instruments.
James has appeared as a soloist with many of Australia’s orchestras including the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, ACO2, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.
Artist Susannah Lawergren
Sydney soprano Susannah Lawergren has developed a reputation for her versatility, “stunning vocal expression” and “beautifully clear soprano”. She has worked with some of the foremost ensembles in Australia including Ensemble Offspring, Opera Australia, Australia Ensemble, Cantillation, Sydney Chamber Opera, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Salut! Baroque, Willoughby Orchestra and Hourglass Ensemble and international ensembles like Voces8, the Wallfisch Ensemble and Forma Antiqva. From 2011-2019 she was a full-time member of the Song Company, singing an incredibly diverse range of music around Australia.
Susannah Lawergren is supported by Peronelle and Jim Windeyer
Artist Luminescence Chamber Singers
The unbound expressive potential of our original instrument: the human voice
Comprised of six professional singers, Luminescence Chamber Singers is a virtuosic vocal ensemble based on Ngunnawal and Ngambri country (Canberra, Australia). Performing music that spans Medieval chant and Renaissance polyphony as well as folk song, pop, and contemporary art music, Luminescence has rapidly emerged as one of Australia’s leading ensembles.
Artist Anna Fraser
Anna Fraser has gained a reputation as a versatile soprano specialising predominantly in the interpretation of early and contemporary repertoire. Anna is a graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and New England Conservatory (Boston) and furthered her studies in the Britten-Pears Young Artist Program featuring as a soloist at the Aldeburgh Festival (UK) under the direction of Richard Egarr and the late Antony Rolfe-Johnson. As a core ensemble member of the Song Company for over a decade, Anna has had the pleasure of performing in a myriad of traditional and exploratory programming expertly demonstrating the versatility and virtuosity of a cappella singing. Equally at home as a dramatist on the stage presenting opera and historically informed chamber music, Anna is a strong exponent in music education, particularly with Moorambilla Voices and Gondwana Choirs.
Anna Fraser is supported by Peronelle and Jim Windeyer
Artist Ronan Apcar
Ronan Apcar is a pianist and composer quickly garnering a reputation of versatility, edge, and tenacity. Unafraid to experiment and challenge norms, his experience and fluency across all kinds of music – jazz to the avant-garde, classical to house music – translates into his exciting work as a musician. Described as “a talent far beyond his age” (Limelight Magazine) and a nominee for the prestigious Freedman Fellowship, Ronan is best known for his work in contemporary and new music – particularly by Australian composers. He has performed in concerts, festivals, and both intimate and large-scale venues across Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, and regional NSW, and his debut album, Dulcie Holland Crescent, was one of the ABC’s featured albums.
Artist Theo Carbo
Theo Carbo (b. 1999, Melbourne, Australia) is a guitarist, composer, electronic musician, producer and sound engineer. Growing up as an astute student of jazz, Theo’s proficiency as a guitarist has seen him working in groups of Australia’s most important improvising musicians including Barney Mcall, Andrea Keller, Sam Anning, Nadje Noordhuis, Joseph O’Connor and Paul Williamson. A keen philosopher of music and a student of composition at the Victorian College of the Arts, Theo has recently been developing a broader practise which involves elements of experimental composition, electronic processes, solo and ensemble improvisation and studio engineering.
“Theo is a naturally gifted artist with a unique and refined take on things. His musical maturity is a great argument for the collective unconscious” – Barney Mcall