sirius chamber ensemble

Sirius Chamber Ensemble are pleased to announce our Concert Series for 2012. We are very excited to be performing again at St Philip’s Church in York Street and have planned a very exciting program for the year. For our first concert in April it is our great pleasure to welcome home Australian flautist Helen Vidovich. Since 2006 Helen has been living in London where she completed postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music and now works as a freelance player with the Welsh National Opera and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. She also performs as a chamber musician with the Marsyas Trio. In her only Australian performance while she is home, Helen will join us to perform works for flute, clarinet, cello and piano. To read more about the Marsyas Trio please use the link to visit their webpage.

The program for Wednesday 4th of April at 7pm will include: Beethoven Clarinet Trio Op.11, the Martinu Trio for flute, cello and piano, “The Wind Stirs Gently” for flute and cello by  Nigel Butterley, Sonatine et Trio for flute, clarinet and piano by Florent Schmitt, “Disco Toccata” for clarinet and cello by Guillaume Connesson, and new arrangements of pieces by Adrienne Albert for flute, clarinet, cello and piano.

Tickets can be bought online  www.trybooking.com

 

Rehearsal of Barber Summer Music for wind quintet

Our last concert for 2011 at St Philip’s Church was enjoyed by all. A big thank you to all our all audience members, family and friends for making it a very special evening. We received great feedback from a number of you which we appreciate wholeheartedly. A special thanks to our amazing colleagues and friends Huw Jones, James Fortune and Claire Howard Race for a spectacular performance. We also wish to thank St Philip’s Anglican Church for the opportunity to perform in such a beautiful space.

In the next month we will be adding to the site a collection of photos and music clips taken from this year’s concerts. Ian and I are already starting to make plans for our 2012 Concert Series. We have some really exciting pieces to program next year which we hope you will enjoy. So please watch this space for more details.

Image via Wikipedia

Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) composed the Sextet for piano and winds in 1932/39. Written around the same time as the Trio for piano, oboe and bassoon, both works reflect Poulenc’s neo-classical influence also had by Stravinsky. In fact the work closely references Stravinsky’s Concerto for Piano and Winds (1924).

This three movement composition has the same stylistic approach to the Trio. Both outer movements are sprightly and never seems to rest on any one theme before introducing another. The slower second movement has been likened to the middle movement of Mozart’s Piano Sonata K. 545. The lyrical lines are blended well with the upper wind instruments.

This period of Poulenc’s compositions exploit the characteristics of all the wind instruments. There is a constant excitement underlying Poulenc’s writing demonstrated through his choice of tempis.

Let’s hope we can keep up with all the bustling notes….

Concert: Saturday 12 November at 7pm at St Philip’s Church, 3 York Street.

Tickets at the door: $20-$30, $70 family.

Image via Wikipedia

Samuel Barber composed his Summer Music for flute, clarinet, oboe, french horn and bassoon in 1956. For someone who didn’t write many compositions for wind instruments, Barber certainly wrote a sensational piece that showcases each instrument. The music was drawn from his orchestral work Horizon.

Our rehearsals are well underway for our next concert on Saturday 12 November. Just hope we can learn all the notes in time!

Summer Music was so well received at its premiere of Summer Music Barber accepted donations from the audience instead of a lump sum.

…although we might not be able to taste success so easily…we’d just be happy to have an appreciative audience to enjoy this fantastic music.

Stay tuned for more notes from our rehearsal room…

Thank you to all who came to our last concert at St Philip’s in August. I think you all agree the church a perfect venue with a beautiful atmosphere. Everyone was so pleased with our performance. Here is what some have said;

“The venue is superb and a fitting setting for the group”

“The programme was very well balanced. Each piece was beautifully executed.”

We are very pleased that St Philip’s will let us return on Saturday 12 November at 7.00pm for our next concert of Poulenc, Barber, and Bruch. Both Claire Howard Race (piano) and Huw Jones (oboe) will joining us again. And adding to our ranks will be Georgina Price (Viola) and James Fortune (Flute).

The program will include Poulenc Sextet for piano and winds, Barber Summer Music, and the Bruch pieces for clarinet, viola and piano.

Stay tuned for more details.

Our first concert was a hit with our small fan club cheering us on! The Cooper String Quartet were amazing and we look forward to collaborating with them again in the near future.

We are excited to be putting on our second concert at the St Philip’s Church in York St, Sydney on Saturday 13th August at 7 pm. It is shaping up to be another exciting program. Again we have invited two of our esteemed colleagues to join us. Huw Jones on oboe for the Divertissement for Oboe, Clarinet and Bassoon. And we are pleased to welcome back to Sydney the pianist Claire Howard Race for the Mozart Quintet for Piano and Winds and the Muczynski Fantasy Trio for Clarinet, Cello ad Piano.

Please save the date and bring along friends. Why not make a night of it and have pre-concert dinner or supper afterwards.

Look forward to seeing you soon.

It is with great enthusiasm we announce the new Sirius chamber ensemble. We are very excited to have planned our first two concerts for the year. Our core group consists of Ian Sykes (clarinet), Alison Evans (bassoon), Julia Zeltzer (french horn), Georgina Price (viola), and Clare Kahn (cello). We will be joined by our lovely friends from the Cooper string quartet for our debut concert at the Mosman Art Gallery & Community Centre on Sunday 22 May at 3pm. We will be performing the Mozart Clarinet Quintet, Conesson Disco Toccata for Clarinet and Cello, and the Beethoven Septet.

It will be a showcase for the wind instruments on Saturday 13th August at 7pm at St Philip’s Church, 3 York Street, Sydney. On the program will be the Mozart Quintet for Piano and Winds, Francaix Divertissement for Oboe, Clarinet and Bassoon, and Muczynski Fantasy Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano.

We look forward to performing these great works for wind and string chamber ensembles.

Stay tuned for more details.