Musica Viva Presents Lacey And McGuire In ‘Bower’

Leading recorder player, Genevieve Lacey and sensational Australian harpist, Marshall McGuire, are a unique combination of recorder and harp  in Bower. 

Originally conceived as a recording project, Lacey was approached by Musica Viva’s Artistic Director Paul Kildea and asked if she could reconceive the work for the stage and live performances. The program, which comprises 15 shorter pieces from 13 composers, is a juxtaposition of old and new music, including new Australian work. Some of the new works have been specially commissioned by Lacey, with composers helping to create a new suite of music for this relatively unusual, yet beautiful, combination of instruments.

The performance involves amplified sound effects and recorded sounds, as well lighting design by Nik Pajanti to highlight each piece.

As a recorder virtuoso, Lacey makes regular appearances as a soloist with Australian and international orchestras (Australian Chamber Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia, Tapiola Sinfonietta and Concerto Copenhagen, Melbourne, Tasmanian and Adelaide Symphony), has performed for Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey, and as a concerto soloist in the Royal Albert Hall for BBC Proms.

McGuire studied at the Victorian College of the Arts, the Paris Conservatoire, and the Royal College of Music, London. In his career, he has commissioned and premiered more than 100 new works for harp. McGuire has performed with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, English String Orchestra, Les Talens Lyriques, Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and Melbourne Symphony, and has appeared at international festivals including Aldeburgh, Melbourne, Milan, Geneva, Brighton, Moscow, Vienna, Huddersfield and Adelaide.
Concerts also in Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Newcastle and Canberra

The program: Music by John Playford, Jacob van Eyck, Cipriano de Rore, Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber and Henry Purcell (some arranged by Genevieve Lacey and Marshall McGuire), alongside Australian premieres: SKIPWORTH Cavern BENNETT Baiyan Woka (arr. Erkki Veltheim) KELLER I Surrender VAN REYK threaded in amongst the infinite threading FLYNN AND HUMPHREY A mutual support for precarious times VELTHEIM Nocturne over blue ruins RODGERS Birds for Genevieve