Concert Series

Friday 12 August

Schubert: The Poet's Poet

Stephen King  viola
Anna Goldsworthy  piano

A selection of Schubert’s lieder transcribed for piano and viola

Schubert used many of the themes from his lieder to inspire his own instrumental music, such as the Trout Quintet and Death and the Maiden String Quartet. The great pianist Franz Liszt made many arrangements of Schubert’s 600 Lieder, proclaiming that “Schubert was the most poetic musician, who has ever lived.”

Bookings

Friday 19 August

Powerhouse

Elder Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra
Luke Dollman  conductor
Mattea Osenk  viola

Graeme Koehne Powerhouse
Hannah Wilkinson New work
Walton Viola Concerto

Playing the works of great masters is undoubtedly an important part of concert performance, but just as important is showcasing modern works. The Walton Viola Concerto, written in 1929, highlights the abilities of the viola – lyrical, with the potential to be incredibly virtuosic. Also featured in the program – works by Hannah Wilkinson, a current composition student at the University of Adelaide, and Graeme Koehne AO, Director of the Elder Conservatorium of Music.

Bookings

Friday 26 August

Where Emus Roam the Streets

Mark Ferguson  piano
Ciara Ferguson  vibraphone/voice/recorder
Kyrie Anderson  drums
Bonnie Aué  double bass

New lyrical contemporary jazz from Mark Ferguson’s ABC Jazz Composer Commission, Where Emus Roam the Streets, inspired by the dramatic vistas, the ‘ghost towns’ and the extraordinary people of the Northern Flinders Ranges on Adnymathanha country.

Bookings

Friday 2 September

In Memory

Elder Conservatorium Wind Orchestra
Bryan Griffiths  conductor

A tribute to the late Robert “Bob” Hower, regarded as an international force in the world of wind band music. Among his myriad achievements and contributions to the Adelaide music scene, Bob is fondly remembered as the director of the Elder Conservatorium Wind Orchestra for more than 20 years. This tribute concert features works by Percy Grainger, David Stanhope, Warren Benson, and Gordon Jacob.

Bookings

The Adelaide Wind Orchestra presents its own tribute concert to Bob Hower in Elder Hall on Saturday 3 September.

Friday 9 September

Spanning Centuries

Elder Conservatorium Chamber Orchestra
Elizabeth Layton  violin/director
Tom Marlin  cello

Mozart Divertimento in D major, KV 136
Bodman Rae Divertimento for Strings (Premiere)
CPE Bach Cello Concerto in A major

CPE Bach was the most successful of JS Bach’s children, his style bridging the baroque and classical periods, drawing influences from both. The concerto in A major is perhaps the most popular cello concerto that he wrote, incorporating long lyrical lines, driving scale figures, and urgent rhythmic sections.

Bookings

Friday 16 September

Piano Duo

Lucinda Collins  piano
Konstantin Shamray  piano

Debussy En blanc et noir
Shostakovich Suite for two pianos Op. 6

The sonorities and colours of Debussy’s En blanc et noir show how expressively rich the piano can be – especially when accompanied by another. Shostakovich wrote his opus no. 6 in response to his father’s death. Still relatively early in his career, before he had matured his style, there are nevertheless key elements that make this work distinctly Shostakovich – ponderous themes, charming moments and dramatic climaxes are heard throughout.

Bookings

Friday 23 September

The Meaning of all That

Zoe Black  violin
Joe Chindamo  piano

A celebration of the audaciousness, urbanity, sophistication and energy of the 20th century, through original works by Chindamo, Lutoslawski and Gershwin.

Bookings

Friday 30 September

Reviving Bach

Austral Harmony
Jane Downer  baroque oboe, oboe d’amore & oboe da caccia
David Macfarlane  harpsichord

BWV 894 Prelude in A minor – BWV 564 Adagio – BWV 894 Fugue
BWV 1030b  Andante from Sonata in G minor for oboe & obbligato harpsichord
BWV 528 Organ Trio in E minor for oboe d’amore & harpsichord
BWV 525 Organ Trio in Eb major for oboe da caccia & harpsichord
BWV 508 Bist du bei mir

Music by JS Bach re-fashioned to exist in fresh versions, including an oboe sonata movement conceived from two manuscript sources, a solo keyboard work later remodelled by the composer into a concerto, Organ Trio arrangements involving the unique sounds of baroque oboe d’amore and oboe da caccia, instruments essential to Bach’s orchestra, and Bach’s arrangement of a sublime aria from an opera by GH Stölzel.

Bookings

Friday 7 October

Violin Duo

Adam Chalabi  violin
Elizabeth Layton  violin
Elder Conservatorium Chamber Orchestra

Leclair Sonata for Two Violins in A Major
Prokofiev Sonata for Two Violins, Op. 56
JS Bach Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor, BWV 1043

One of the composer’s most famous works, the “Double Concerto” dates from around 1730. It’s renowned for the liveliness of the first and third movements, coupled with the sublimely beautiful and expressive second movement.

Bookings

Friday 14 October

Vanessa Perica and the University of Adelaide Big Band

Join our Artist in Residence composer, conductor, and arranger Vanessa Perica as she presents a concert of her award-winning music with the University of Adelaide Big Band (directed by Dusty Cox) alongside works by other celebrated female jazz composers. Among her numerous 2021 accolades Vanessa received an APRA Art Music Award and her Vanessa Perica Orchestra collaborated with the MSO for the Melbourne International Jazz Festival’s opening Gala. 

Bookings

Friday 21 October

Top Class

Our annual showcase concert featuring the top student performers of the Elder Conservatorium of Music. Supported by the Peter Brooker Prize for Musical Excellence.

Bookings

Friday 28 October

Swan Song

Elder Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra
Luke Dollman  conductor
Dylan Henderson  piano

Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2
Lutoslawski Symphony No. 4

Chopin’s Second Concerto is the work of a young, yet profound, artistic spirit reaching deeply into his own soul, finding moments of poetic lyricism contrasted with rapturous passages of virtuosity. In many ways, Lutoslawski’s Fourth Symphony is his swan song – being his last work in the genre and his final large-scale piece. It’s a synthesis of the composer’s life’s work, featuring many of Lutoslawski’s characteristic features, such as sweeping melodies and sharp dissonances.

Bookings

Friday 4 November

Australian String Quartet

Beethoven String Quartet in C sharp minor Op. 131

This string quartet, undoubtedly a highlight in Beethoven’s oevre, was initially intended to be played without pause. Beethoven’s creativity and ability to encompass emotion is showcased throughout – the deeply emotional opening, the light and joy-filled second section, the charm-filled andante, the energetic presto, before finishing on an intense allegro, in which we finally return to the original minor key.

Bookings

Friday 20 May, 7pm

Back to Baroque

Elder Conservatorium Wind Orchestra
Bryan Griffiths  conductor

JS Bach (transcribed Goldman and Leist) Fantasia in G major
Reynaldo Hahn Le Bal de Béatrice d'Este
Percy Grainger (transcribed Jager) Blithe Bells (after J.S. Bach BWV 208)
JS Bach (transcribed Cailliet) Fervent is My Longing — "Little" Fugue in G Minor
Stephen Montague Intrada 1631 (after Juan Pérez Bocanegra)

Join Bryan Griffiths and the Elder Conservatorium Wind Orchestra for a program of works inspired by early music and the Baroque period.

Bookings

Saturday 28 May, 6:30pm

Australian String Quartet

Beethoven String Quartet in A Major Op. 18 No. 5
Debussy String Quartet in G minor Op. 10

The String Quartet in A major is the fifth of six string quartets written by Beethoven between 1798 and 1800. It’s best described as a work full of grace and eloquence, occasionally interrupted by bursts of Beethoven’s humour. Debussy’s quartet in G minor appears in a traditional four-movement form – the first movement in sonata form, the second a scherzo, the third slow and lyrical and the finale energetic and driving. However, interlaced in this traditional form Debussy has laid his personal mark; using non-traditional scales and chords, unexpected key transitions, and more.

Bookings

Saturday 11 June, 6:30pm

Taneyev Ensemble

Elizabeth Layton  violin
Stephen King  viola
Simon Cobcroft  cello
Konstantin Shamray  piano

Mozart Piano Quartet in E flat major K 493
Schubert String Trio in B flat D 471
Taneyev Piano Quartet in E major Op. 20

Sergei Taneyev was perhaps one of Russia’s most influential and important composers of the late 19^th and early 20^th century. His piano quartet, written for violin, viola, cello and piano, features key elements of his compositional style – passion in the first movement, the highlight of melodic writing in the second, and an exquisite understanding of counterpoint in the third.

Bookings

Saturday 25 June, 6:30pm

Upon a Ground

Adelaide Baroque

Emma Horwood   soprano
Ben Dollman  violin
Simone Slattery  violin
with baroque chamber ensemble

Program to Include
Henry Purcell Dido’s Lament
Claudio Monteverdi The Lament of the Nymph
Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber Passacaglia in G minor

From the earth springs all manner of creation, rich and varied in its beauty. So it is in the flowering of the art of music over a ground bass or ostinato. The outstanding musicians of Adelaide Baroque celebrate this tradition in this vibrant and passionate concert, featuring the music of Monteverdi, Biber, Purcell and a host of others.

Bookings

Saturday 6 August, 6:30pm

Lyrebird Trio

Glenn Christensen  violin
Simon Cobcroft  cello
Angela Turner  piano

Beethoven Piano Trio Op. 1 No. 3 in C minor
Cathy Likhuta New work
Brahms Piano Trio No. 2, Op. 87

Beethoven’s first opus was a set of 3 piano trios. After their premiere performance, Haydn advised Beethoven to hold off publishing the third in the set – the trio in C minor – on account of its ‘boldness’. In spite of the advice, Beethoven published the sonata along with the others and it was a hit with the public. This concert also features a work by Australian-based pianist and composer, Cathy Likhuta, who holds a PhD in composition from the University of Queensland.

Bookings

Saturday 27 August, 6:30pm

Ella Sings, Basie Swings

University of Adelaide Big Band
Dustan Cox director

The University of Adelaide Big Band recreates the vibe of the swingin’ Big Bands of the 30s, 40s and beyond. Stand-out jazz vocalists from the jazz program fill the role of Ella Fitzgerald, singin’ and swingin’ out the front of the band.

Bookings

Saturday 10 September, 6:30pm

Journeys 2

Elder Conservatorium Chorale & Bella Voce
Carl Crossin  conductor
Karl Geiger  piano

Paul Stanhope Ban.Garay!
David Hamilton Una Noche de Verano
Eric Whitacre Cloudburst
Carl Crossin Winter Stars

…and more inspired music of passage and place.

Bookings

Sunday 2 October, 2:30pm

Academy Trio

Madeline Melrose  violin
Joseph Freer  cello
Kenan Henderson  piano

Haydn Piano Trio No.44 in E major, Hob.XV/28
Smetana Piano Trio in G minor, Op.15

When composing a piece of music, one of the hardest questions to answer is: how do I start? In Haydn’s piano trio, he answers this question in a peculiar way – starting with pizzicatos in the strings. The melodic lines between the strings and piano then develop throughout, resulting in an exuberant piece of music. Smetana’s piano trio, in which all three movements are unusually in G Minor, was inspired by tragedy. In the year 1855, he celebrated the birth of his third daughter, but also found himself mourning the deaths of his first daughter in 1854 and second daughter in 1855. The work was dedicated to his eldest daughter – it is filled with nostalgia and deep emotional longing.

Bookings

Saturday 22 October, 6:30pm

Guitarissimo

A delight for lovers of classical guitar, this annual showcase concert features an array of works for solo guitar and small chamber groups, culminating in a performance by the heralded Elder Conservatorium Guitar Ensemble. Curated by Dr Oliver Fartach-Naini.

Bookings