Woollahra Philharmonic Orchestra Goes True Blue
In an all-Australian program, True Blue, the Woollahra Philharmonic Orchestra celebrates the music of its patrons past and present, Peter Sculthorpe and Elena Kats-Chernin in two mid-winter weekend concerts which will include a Percy Grainger favourite and young local composer Steven Kreamer’s brilliant work COGS – featuring Translucent Duo – David Lockeridge on percussion and Bernie Lagana on saxophone.
Sculthorpe’s early work the Burke and Wills Suite is an Australian 20th century classic and these concerts place it alongside two works by Kats-Chernin: Eliza’s Aria from the Wild Swans Suite and Dance of the Paper Umbrellas. The concert also features Grainger’s witty and whimsical Danish Folk Song Suite.
The orchestra welcomes conductor Brad Lucas in his first appearance with the WPO. A graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Brad has played with the SSO and is a founding member of the Sydney Ophicleide Quartet (SOQ). A passionate educator, Brad currently directs bands at multiple schools in Sydney and regionally. He also lectures in Euphonium at the Sydney Conservatorium.
Translucent Duo’s philosophy since its inception in 2012 has been “engagement through virtuosity and energy.” Bernie and David engage with a vast range of genres in a high-energy, virtuosic repertoire. They have commissioned and recorded new works including a double concerto which premiered in 2016 with the WPO. Some of their notable performances include the International Festival of Music in Hong Kong and the Australasian Saxophone and Clarinet Conference. They are also passionate educators – touring regional NSW and have worked with teachers to develop an HSC music workshop emphasising recent Australian music.
Steven Kreamer is a musician, composer and performer in both the classical and musical theatre worlds. Graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and winner of its Doris Burnett-Ford scholarship and Sarah Theresa Makinson Prize for Musical Composition, he has had works accepted into both New Musicals Australia and the Home Grown Grass Roots Initiative. In COGS, he treats the orchestra like a literal machine, with all the moving parts making up the whole. “Operating the machine are the two soloists who discover that each crotale is the on-button for a different section of the orchestra. They begin to play with combinations and also join in the conversation. They get carried away and when the machine overloads and shuts down a musical argument ensues.”
The performers: The Woollahra Philharmonic Orchestra/ Brad Lucas, Conductor/ David Lockeridge, Percussion /Bernie Lagana, Saxophone
The programme: Peter Sculthorpe: Burke & Wills Suite | Steven Kreamer: Cogs | Percy Grainger: Danish Folk Song Suite | Elena Kats-Chernin: Eliza’s Aria from the Wild Swans Suite and Dance of the Paper Umbrellas
Tickets at door $30/$25/$20 | Children under 12 free
Bookings www.Ticketbooth.com.au
