Welcome to Country

  • Friday, 29 Apr 2022

  • Weston Park - Kurrajong Point

    Weston Park Rd, Yarralumla ACT 2600

Join us for a traditonal Welcome to Country ceremony, with Ngunnawal and Ngambri Elders and and the Festival’s Indigenous artists.

Meet at Kurrajong Point in Weston Park.

ARTIST Learn more about the artist

Artist Victoria Bihun, violin

READ MORE

Victoria Bihun grew up in Benalla, Victoria. She began playing the violin at the age of five and from the age of nine was making the 400km round trip to Melbourne every Saturday morning to participate in Melbourne Youth Music programs.

She completed her Bachelor of Music degree at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, studying with Mark Mogilevski. As a student she won many university prizes and was concertmaster with both the Melbourne Youth Orchestra and the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music Symphony Orchestra, as well as appearing as Guest Concertmaster with Victorian Opera.

Go to Artist's Page

Artist Roland Peelman AM

READ MORE

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.

Born in Belgium, Roland Peelman has been active in Australia over 30 years as a conductor, pianist, artistic director and mentor to composers, singers and musicians alike. He has established a reputation as one of Australia’s most innovative musical directors, awarded with numerous accolades. On the sidelines, Roland remained active as a pianist, putting his fingers in the service of social activism, in particular Human Rights.

Go to Artist's Page

Artist William Barton - composer, instrumentalist and vocalist

READ MORE

William Barton is Australia’s leading didgeridoo player as well as composer, instrumentalist and vocalist. William started learning the instrument from his first learnt the uncle, Arthur Peterson, an elder of the Wannyi, Lardil and Kalkadunga people and was working from an early age with traditional dance groups and fusion/rock jazz bands, orchestras, string quartets, and mixed ensembles. Throughout his diverse career he has forged a path in the classical musical world, from the London and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras to historic events at Westminster Abbey for Commonwealth Day 2019, at Anzac Cove in Gallipoli and for the Beijing Olympics. His awards include Winner of Best Original Score for a Mainstage Production at the 2018 Sydney Theatre Awards and Winner of Best Classical Album with an ARIA for Birdsong At Dusk in 2012. In 2021 he was the recipient of the prestigious Don Banks Music Award from the Australia Council and in 2022 he was announced as Australian of the Year for Queensland for 2023. With his prodigious musicality and building on his Kalkadunga heritage, William has vastly expanded the horizons of the didgeridoo.

Artist Dudok Quartet Amsterdam

READ MORE

Dudok Quartet Amsterdam is forging a reputation as one of the most creative and versatile quartets of its generation. With its ethos of “sharing the heart of music”, the quartet is committed to crafting unique and eclectic programmes in order to engage with its audiences in new and imaginative ways. In repertoire ranging from Ligeti, Shostakovich and Bacewicz through to Mendelssohn, Mozart and Beethoven, the Dudok Quartet constantly strives to forge new pathways and connections in music. Their intelligent approach and flair for programming also sees them regularly perform their own arrangements of pieces and they have so far produced arrangements of composers including Gesualdo, Desprez, Shostakovich, Brahms and Messiaen. The Quartet is also committed to commissioning new works and have collaborated with composers including Joey Roukens, Peter Vigh and Theo Loevendie . Future commissioning projects include a new piece from British-Lebanese composer Bushra El-Turk.

Go to Artist's Page

Artist Bram De Looze, piano

READ MORE

Belgian pianist Bram De Looze is one of those musicians who is always on the lookout for new options, detours and possibilities to expand his art. His solo career began in a surprising way with ‘Piano e forte‘ (2016), a project for which he approached historical instruments from a contemporary perspective. The switch to Chris Maene’s Straight Strung Grand Piano (created by Daniel Barenboim) for ‘Switch The Stream‘ (2018) indicated a renewed search for movement, evolution and introspection. With ‘Colour Talk‘ (2020), he continued this solo trajectory on an already revolutionary piano model, again seeking innovation from within.

Go to Artist's Page

Artist Kevin Hunt, piano

READ MORE

Kevin Hunt is a jazz pianist-composer active in the Sydney jazz scene since 1979. Kevin Hunt currently performs regularly with vocalist Emma Pask, pianist Simon Tedeschi and vocal duo Stiff Gins.

Go to Artist's Page

Artist Lior, singer/songwriter

READ MORE

Lior is one of Australia’s most treasured singer/songwriters renowned for his beautiful voice and songs that radiate truth and sincerity. He burst on to the Australian music scene in 2005 with his debut album ‘Autumn Flow’ which has become one of the most successful independent debut releases in Australian music history.

Lior has since released a further six albums and has toured extensively both in Australia and internationally. He is a multi ARIA award winner as well as an APRA Screen Award winner for his song-writing work for film and television.

Official bio at https://www.lior.com.au/bio

 

 

Artist Bach Akademie Australia

READ MORE

Bach Akademie Australia is dedicated to performing the works of J.S. Bach. It was established in late 2016 by Australian violinist Madeleine Easton who has recently returned after 19 years of living and working in Europe. Its aim is to enrich and enhance the musical life of Australia. The ensemble’s focus on mastery of performance, authenticity and originality of interpretation brings the music of J.S. Bach to life. Bach Akademie Australia is also focused on forging close links with academic institutions around the country in order to establish educational and learning opportunities for young musicians.

Go to Artist's Page

Artist Trio Karénine

READ MORE

Trio Karénine

Paloma Kouider, piano
Julien Dieudegard, violin
Louis Rodde, cello

Founded in Paris in 2009, Trio Karénine is now recognized as one of the most talented ensembles on the international scene. Guided from the outset by the musicians of the Ysaÿe Quartet, their commitment, their thirst for demanding standards and their stylistic research would later lead them along the paths of other great musicians: Menahem Pressler, Alfred Brendel, Hatto Beyerle, Ferenc Rados, Jean-Claude Pennetier…

Go to Artist's Page

Artist Pavel Ralev, classical guitar

READ MORE

“Pavel gave a spellbinding concert. His technique is so effortless, graceful and poetic. The audience went crazy, stood up, and cheered him. It was the best guitar concert I’ve been to in years.” – John Williams

Following the success of his Wigmore Hall debut for the Julian Bream Trust, Pavel Ralev returns to Australia for his second tour of the country in May 2024.

Through his programme “On Repeat” Pavel explores the effects of repetition and drones on human emotion and the perception of time. The music leads us through a wave of gradually dissolving material: dense harmonies by jazz guitarist Ant Law are followed by Bach’s second Violin Partita, culminating with the Chaconne – his longest solo instrumental movement, constructed of 64 variations on a four-bar theme. Domeniconi’s Koyunbaba utilises a deeply resonating open C sharp minor tuning to envelop us in a meditative atmosphere with droning basses and repetitive middle-eastern themes. To finish, Pavel will perform his take on Steve Reich’s modern classic Electric Counterpoint – the first acoustic performance since 1993 and a joyful celebration of the guitar (“an excellent recording. Bravo!” – S. Reich).

Pavel will appear at the Canberra International Music Festival, Queensland Conservatorium (Brisbane), University of Western Australia (Perth), Tempo Rubato (Melbourne), Wayville House (Adelaide) and a benefit concert for Ukrainian refugees supported by the United Nations at The Hedberg (Hobart, Tasmania).