Bangalow Music Festival turns 10!
The Bangalow Music Festival is 10 years old!
The milestone festival this year runs from the 12th– 14th August and offers 10 concerts of mostly chamber music and culminating in a Baroque opera – Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas as a grand finale.
The Southern Cross Soloists provide the nerve centre for the performances. It comprises Artistic Director of the festival and clarinettist Paul Dean, soprano Margaret Schindler, French Horn player Peter Luff, oboist Tanya Frazer and pianist Kevin Power.
Joining then will be some of the nation’s most talented and experienced ensembles – the Flinders Quartet, the Melbourne Piano Trio and the Queensland Choir; soloists from here and abroad include Marshall McGuire (harp), Slava Grigoryan (guitar), Jack Liebeck (violin) and Jayson Gilham (piano).
Festivals are an important platform for introducing compositions, trends and ideas that need a supportive, open-minded and informed audience which is willing to hear new works at least once, and which is wise in opinion without being quick to judge.
The fare for the festival this year offers familiar classics like Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet – hard to resist with Paul Dean around, Beethoven’s Piano Trio No. 5 in D major “Ghost”, the String Quartet Op. 132 in A minor and Violin Concerto.
Amongst the newer compositions to be showcased are James Ledger’s Prophecy Songs – an opening night attraction, Stuart Greenbaum’s Chamber Concerto No 2, and All Those Ways of Leaving. Paul Dean himself has written Fractured Moments and there are two works by APRA award winning composer Paul Stanhope – Throbbing and Yanihndi.
Hankerings for 20th century classics may be satisfied by Samuel Barber’s ethereal Adagio and song cycle Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Stravinsky’s A Soldier’s Tale and Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time.
The town of Bangalow is a perfect rural retreat for a weekend of immersion in music. Located in northern NSW, 10 minutes from Byron Bay, it has a population of just over 1300 and variety of shops, cafes and restaurants. Create a picnic from the fresh local produce, or vist the weekly Saturday Farmers’ Markets. More at http://www.bangalow.com
So pack your bags, book your flight or set the Sat Nav and clear the diary. ..
Tickets: 07 3842 9458
www.southernxsoloists.com
