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A season of fabulous fine music

The Scotch Arts 2009 season delivers a complex smorgasbord of Beethoven, Debussy, Brahms, Bernstein, Durufle and others – with wine and more to come!

WORDS: Mr STUART CONNEW – SCOTCH COLLEGE MUSIC SCHOOL STAFF

Ensemble Liaison (Svetlana Bogosavljevic, Timothy Young and David Griffiths) perform

Scotch Arts promises to give the listener a chance to experience the magic of live classical music in the comfort of the world-class acoustic space in the Ian Roach Hall at Scotch College Music School. This certainly has been the experience of many Scotch families, lovers of fine music, in two magnificent concerts presented thus far.

Under the artistic direction of John Ferguson and the presidency of the super-efficient and energetic Susan Gin, an exciting program of visiting artists has been prepared for 2009. The opening concert on 20 March featured three internationally-acclaimed musicians: David Griffiths (clarinet), Svetlana Bogosavljevic (cello) and Timothy Young (piano) who perform under the name Ensemble Liaison. It was an absolutely dynamic group and the hall was full, with some of Melbourne’s leading players from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in attendance. The program opened with the Beethoven Trio, Op 11 for piano, clarinet and cello. This was a lively and energetic performance enjoyed, I felt, as much by the performers as by the audience.

A more reflective Sonata for Cello and Piano by Claude Debussy followed. The rich sound of the cello with some unusual sound effects provided listeners with a performance of great interest. The program ended with a beautiful and lively performance of Brahms’ Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano Op 114. In response to the enthusiastic and appreciative applause of the audience, the Ensemble responded with three delightful encores. What a great start to what promises to be a great season for Scotch Arts!

The second concert in the series was held at the end of May and featured the Concordis Chamber Choir (directed by Andrew Hunter) and the Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra (directed by John Ferguson). They chose a demanding program: Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and Durufle’s Requiem. Andrew Hunter took the podium to direct Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms which is a challenging work for conductor, choir and orchestra. All responded magnificently and it was a very moving performance, especially the beautiful setting of Psalm 23 (second movement). This was truly exquisite singing and sensitive and beautiful orchestral accompaniment.

John Ferguson took the podium to direct the orchestra in a lively and boisterous rendition of two sets of English Dances by Malcolm Arnold. They were absolutely delightful and sent the audience out to enjoy the complimentary wine with a lively bounce in their step. Returning after refreshments, the choir and orchestra (directed by John Ferguson) presented the Requiem by French composer Maurice Durufle. Lynlee Williams (mezzo soprano) was the soloist in this work and sang with great sensitivity. Hers is a truly beautiful voice and it was a real pleasure to listen to such emotionally moving music sensitively accompanied by the orchestra. Having only ever heard the Requiem sung by a choir accompanied by an organ it was a real delight for me to hear the rich full sound of the orchestral accompaniment. There was hardly a vacant seat in the Ian Roach Hall for this concert and the audience responded with great admiration and enthusiasm for a wonderful night of choral and orchestral music of the highest standard. GS

Updated: Monday 24 June 2013