BY JOHN GLOVER
We know it can take a while to trawl through all the headlines in your newsfeed. So we’ve compiled our top picks for you to absorb quickly – leaving you more time for practice (or procrastination).
This week, we give a round of applause to a few musicians in our community who have received recognition for their work both nationally and internationally – well done! Also featured are new arts collaborations, and a century-old saga put to rest.
…and GO!
WATCH THIS SPACE, ADELAIDE
Congratulations to Josh Belperio, Chelsea Smart, and Daniel Thorpe – the recipients of the Helpmann Academy Music Grants for 2017! These grants are awarded to creators from South Australia from a range of artistic disciplines to give them a springboard into fresh opportunities and projects. Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for a new cabaret show, a contemporary jazz album, and further electronic music projects – just some of the things these artists will be getting up to. Well done! You can also check out the complete list of grant recipients right here.
GOOD ON YOU, ALONDRA!
Newly elected director of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra Alondra de la Parra has been praised by the Washington Post as one of the world’s leading “female conductors to watch“. The 37-year-old certainly has quite the resume to her name, being the key founder of the Mexico American Orchestra, artistic director of the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra, and now the first-ever female principal conductor of the QSO! She kicks off this November with performances of the Brahms Violin Concerto with violinist Maxim Vengerov, and Carmen (and you can read all about her artistic vision in our interview with the star).
INVENTI AND HALCYON COMBINE
Melburnians may be excited to hear that Inventi Ensemble and Halcyon will be joining forces in their first-ever collaboration taking place at the Melbourne Recital Centre. The concert, A Child of Earth and Heaven, will see the ensembles present two song cycles by Nigel Butterley and Elliot Gyger that have been inspired by experiences of childhood and the natural world. Audiences can prepare to sit back and buckle up for “a roller coaster of emotions” in these collections of songs for voice and chamber ensemble. Tickets for this concert can be purchased here.
COMPOSERS – TAKE NOTE
The Matt Withers Australian Music Composition Competition has officially launched and is calling for entries from Australian composers. The competition offers the winner a chance to work with guitarist Matt Withers and the Acacia Quartet in producing and recording the work to be released by ABC Classics – a tantalising opportunity, indeed! Visit the website for further details about the competition, including how to enter and the cash prizes you could win.
CHOPIN CAN FINALLY REST IN PEACE…
Scientists have recently studied Frédéric Chopin’s once-beating-but-now-preserved heart to figure out the reasons for his early death. The paper declared that, upon examination of his pickled heart, Chopin had died in 1849 due to pericarditis – an illness related to chronic tuberculosis. This study has finally settled ongoing debates surrounding the composer’s death – although the scientists mentioned the jar containing the heart (and a whole lot of cognac) wasn’t opened, so who knows…
That’s all, folks – see you next Friday for the next news round-up.
If you have news to share, why not get in touch? Editor@cutcommon.com.
Image of a young Chopin painted by Maria Wodzinska back in 1836.
