Ensemble Offspring are champions of new music and emerging composers. Hailing from Sydney, the ensemble has premiered more than 300 new works over their 25-year history. Lead by percussionist Claire Edwardes, the ensemble includes Jason Noble (clarinet), Lamorna Nightingale (flutes),…
Review | Australian Haydn Ensemble Dreamed Away
Australian Haydn Ensemble: Haydn’s Dream Melbourne Digital Concert Hall 8th October 2020 Australian Haydn Ensemble’s livestream concert on Thursday night was the perfect way to relax and dream away the week. Broadcast through Melbourne Digital Concert Hall, the concert was…
Review: Elysian Fields | FIKA
Elysian Fields’ latest offering Fika — The Scandinavian Project, is a celebration of culture, personal history and sharing together during times of isolation. Formed in 2015, Elysian Fields are Jenny Eriksson (electric viola da gamba), Matt McMahon (piano), Matt Keegan…
Review: Sideband – From the Depths
…an engaging and interesting showcase of a selection of Australia’s emerging composers Sideband are a contemporary collective of composers, founded by Tristan Coelho, Brad Gill and Peter McNamara in 2011. Their aim is to develop and support the music of…
Funk Engine’s 3rd album Jazz-Funk is a whole lot of fun
On a windy evening in Brisbane, I watch the last of the leaves fall off my pecan tree, when in a previous life I would have been at orchestra rehearsal. I put on a CD to wash away the COVID…
Ensemble Trivium’s Purely Mozart shared the man behind the music
Ensemble Trivium’s Purely Mozart concert was a journey into Mozart’s life and lasting influence. Held in heritage-listed Old Government House, with its oak-panelled doors, high ceilings and chandeliers, this intimate chamber concert was fit to welcome in the weekend. Ensemble…
Ensemble Trivium showcased chamber music with a French twist
Ensemble Trivium’s French Revelations concert was the perfect way to unwind on a Friday evening. Heritage-listed Old Government House, Brisbane, with its oak-panelled doors, high ceilings and chandeliers, was an intimate setting for chamber music. Ensemble Trivium is a collective…
18th Bangalow Music Festival conducted conversations through chamber music
Set in the heart of the quaint town of Bangalow, Northern New South Wales, the A&I hall was an intimate venue for chamber music. Locals flock each year to attend the Bangalow Music Festival, an important event for their community.…
Queensland Baroque’s Radiance shone brightly through a drizzly Brisbane afternoon
Queensland Baroque: Radiance shone brightly through a drizzly Brisbane afternoon on Sunday. The concert took listeners on a musical journey, rediscovering the Baroque period. The lush melodies radiated through the historic church, as the sunlight struggled through the stained-glass windows.…
Elysian Fields ‘What Should I Say’ is a thoroughly enjoyable CD that challenges boundaries
Brisbane’s Poinciana trees are bursting with vibrant red flowers, showering footpaths, rooftops, roads, and parked cars with flamelike petals. A perfect afternoon for listening to Elysian Fields. What Should I Say is the first CD to be released by classical jazz…
[A]part: Ellen Kirkwood & Sirens Big Band is [A]part from the Crowd
As the Brisbane heatwave sets in like thick soup, an afternoon of lying under the fan, listening to music is a welcome reprieve. The volume knob has to keep being turned up, so the speakers can compete with the beats…
Halcyon’s From the Hungry Waiting Country is an expansive, dreamlike journey
The grey haze of clouds hangs over Brisbane. I watch the sky in distrust, waiting. I walk on dull, dead grass, and watch the angling, fat crows. An hour’s train ride, and then I’m home to my back yard, to…