![\"\"](\"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/images2.jpg\" "\\"images\\"")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Over the years, the Sydney Chamber Choir has garnered a reputation for its sophisticated performances of the best in both established and emerging\u00a0choral music.\u00a0Musical Director Paul Stanhope\u00a0has also extended the concept of ‘classical’ choral performances and\u00a0pioneered programmes of\u00a0music that crosses faiths and\u00a0underscores similarities rather than differences\u00a0in\u00a0beliefs. The ultimate\u00a0question of this\u00a0aesthetic is \u00a0whether\u00a0religion and music\u00a0can each become a single\u00a0universal entity devoid of division or categorisation.<\/p>\n
In the past, Stanhope has programmed viols and voices, saxophones\u00a0and\u00a0singers. In their June concert, Lux Aeterna<\/em>,\u00a0the Sydney Chamber Choir is joined by cellist Julian Smiles to premiere a work commissioned\u00a0by the choir and composed by Michael Yezerski, Kaddish Avelim <\/em>for cello and choir.<\/p>\n Like the Catholic Requiem, The Kaddish<\/em> is central to the Jewish ritual of mourning. In Lux Aeterna, Kaddish Avelim <\/em>presents the Jewish tradition alongside Durufl\u00e9’s Requiem, <\/em>selections from Peter Sculthorpe’s Requiem for cello alone <\/em>and works by Messiaen, Ligeti.<\/p>\n Also on the programme,\u00a0Sculthorpe\u2019s\u00a0Lullaby<\/em>, a re-imagining of a Torres-Strait Island song, central to this\u00a0great Australian composer\u2019s own Requiem and\u00a0Durufl\u00e9’s Four motets on Gregorian themes.<\/em><\/p>\n Michael Yezerski in fact studied composition with Peter Sculthorpe\u00a0at the University of Sydney, graduating with first-class honours. He went on to study\u00a0audio technology\u00a0at The Australian Institute of Music and completed film music studies at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School. He has since written the scores\u00a0for the films The Black Balloon<\/em> and\u00a0 The Waiting City<\/em>,<\/em><\/strong> the concert\u00a0 piece The Red Tree<\/em> and the Academy Award-winning short\u00a0 film, The Lost Thing<\/em>. Yezerski ‘s music has earned him five APRA-AGSC Australian Screen\u00a0 Music Awards from ten nominations and a swag of other affirmations.<\/p>\n Of Kaddish Avelim<\/em>, he says \u201cI wanted to try to capture the essence of my remembered childhood experience. The cello assumes a rabbinical role, calling the congregation (the choir) to attention and devotion. There is interplay between our Rabbi and Congregation – we hear interjections from both sides as the weight of the text takes hold. Gradually the two move more and more towards a sanctified union.\u201d.<\/p>\n Adding to this, Paul Stanhope comments “I’ve known Michael ever since he was a student at Sydney University and knew then that he was a talent to watch. When I contacted him regarding this commission, he suggested setting the Kaddish text as a foil for the Christian Requiem in this program. It gives us a broader view of cultural traditions and a chance for Michael’s music to shine. Plus, the piece makes virtuosic use of the cello, performed here by the amazing Julian Smiles.\u201d<\/p>\n Joining the ensemble are two other artists, guest conductor Thomas Wilson and organist Amy Johansen. Thomas Wilson is Head of Music at St Marys Cathedral and\u00a0former assistant organist at Westminster Cathedral; Amy Johansen is the Sydney University Organist and regular guest organist with the Sydney Symphony.<\/p>\n The programme:<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/soundslikesydney.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/images3-100x100.jpg\" "\\"images\\"")