Events: Concert Series

Elder After Hours - Radiance

Date: Wed, 24 Sep 2025, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location: Elder Hall

In its third concert for 2025, Ensemble Lumen draws the audience into a dance of light and shadow, where three remarkable works shimmer with their own unique brilliance.

Lunchtime Concert - Cycles of Life

Date: Fri, 26 Sep 2025, 1:10 pm - 2:00 pm
Location: Elder Hall

Professor Anna Goldsworthy (Director of the Elder Conservatorium) and Andrew Haveron (Concertmaster of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra) both possess that rare quality necessary for all enduring artistic partnerships: an irrepressible energy that becomes atomic in one another’s company. It will be a special pleasure to see them reunite in Elder Hall to perform sonatas by Beethoven and Franck.

Lunchtime Concert - Orchestral Pianos

Date: Fri, 3 Oct 2025, 1:10 pm - 2:00 pm
Location: Elder Hall

In a recital that opens with a sparkling arrangement of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite for two pianos, staff pianist Michael Ierace is joined by Sydney-based pianist Vatche Jambazian (a Masters graduate of The Juilliard School in New York) to explore the inverse of this process, culminating in the premiere of a new two-piano version of Lutosławski’s Concerto for Orchestra by Dr Joe Chindamo OAM.

Lunchtime Concert - The Trout

Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2025, 1:10 pm - 2:00 pm
Location: Elder Hall

This special collaboration sees three of our faculty members team up with two very distinguished colleagues from overseas.

Lunchtime Concert - The Ringtone Cycle

Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2025, 1:10 pm - 2:00 pm
Location: Elder Hall

This 2010 commission from the Seraphim Trio has a libretto from the Australian author Peter Goldsworthy. Subtitled a ‘cabaret quintet for soprano, violin, cello, piano and iPhone’, it is a mini-operetta that tells of a love affair starring a modern-day Brünnhilde and her phone. Koehne’s continuous flow of music recalls Wagner’s revolutionary ‘speech-song’, and members of the audience might need to brush up on tech jargon to fully appreciate the text! The score is also dotted with references to famous ring tones.

Elder After Hours - Convergence

Date: Fri, 17 Oct 2025, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location: Elder Hall

Since the release of their recorded trilogy of Paul Stanhope’s quartets, the ASQ has proudly championed this beloved Australian composer, whose first string quartet, Elegies and Dances, bristles with rhythmic vitality. Benjamin Britten’s String Quartet No.2, a deeply moving tribute to the great English composer Henry Purcell, is the musical equivalent of a towering architectural marvel, weaving four distinct voices in stark contrast and breathtaking unity. The program culminates with Schubert’s enduringly popular Death and the Maiden quartet, a window into the tortured soul of a musical giant at the height of his powers.

Lunchtime Concert - Timeless Strings

Date: Fri, 24 Oct 2025, 1:10 pm - 2:00 pm
Location: Elder Hall

Vivaldi’s Concerto for Four Violins dazzles with its energy and virtuosic flair, while Leopold Mozart’s Concerto for Alto Trombone showcases the instrument’s unique lyrical qualities. Dvořák’s serene Nocturne in B major brings a touch of romance and tranquility, setting the stage for David Diamond’s vibrant Rounds for String Orchestra, a playful and rhythmically engaging finale.

Elder After Hours - Guitarissimo

Date: Sat, 25 Oct 2025, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Location: Elder Hall

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 Elder Conservatorium Guitar Ensemble. Curated by Dr Oliver Fartach-Naini.

Lunchtime Concert - French Guise

Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2025, 1:10 pm - 2:00 pm
Location: Elder Hall

Works by Jean-Baptiste Lully, Henri Desmarets, André Campra, Chiara Margarita Cozzolani and Barbara Strozzi capture a musical expression of the life and times of Julie d’Aubigny, the 17th-century French sword-fighting opera singer. Today’s concert also includes the premiere of She Who Sings Strange Songs – a new song cycle by our Adjunct Lecturer in Composition, Dr Anne Cawrse.

Elder After Hours - From little things...

Date: Sat, 1 Nov 2025, 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm
Location: Elder Hall

Here are the Elder Conservatorium Classical Voice students and Chorale as you may not have heard them before! Artist-in-Residence Timothy Wayne-Wright guides the Elder Conservatorium’s Classical Voice students and Chorale through an exciting and diverse program of small vocal ensemble and choral music.