CONTENT COURTESY TASMANIAN YOUTH ORCHESTRA
The Tasmanian Youth Orchestra will perform a concert of Churchill’s choice, chosen by guest conductor and TYO alumnus Gwyn Roberts. Gwyn was a music director for TYO when he received his Churchill Fellowship in 1974, and has curated this program to feature TYO and Churchill Fellows alike.
This concert will feature a diverse program of music including Symphony of Three Centuries as well as a piece selected to showcase the guest speaker for the event. Read on to find out about the TYO’s guest superstars.
HAYDN Symphony No. 104, D major (London): Movement 1
DVORAK Symphony No. 9: Movement 2
BEETHOVEN Symphony No. 8: Movement 2
SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No. 5, Op. 47 in D minor: Movement 4
Tasmanian Youth Orchestra
Gwyn Roberts, Guest Conductor
Stanley Burbury Theatre, UTAS, Churchill Avenue, Sandy Bay, 3.30pm April 6
Adults $27 / Concession $17 / Family $70
Tickets available online. Door sales available. General admission.
Churchill Fellows and guest performers include:
Gwyn Roberts – Guest Conductor
Gwyn was for a number of years the Principal Cellist with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. Prior to this appointment, he studied with cellist Sela Trau and pedagogue Jan Sedivka at the Tasmanian Conservatorium. Awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 1974, Gwyn studied conducting and researched youth orchestra administration in the USA and the UK. He has performed as Guest Principal with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Adelaide and Auckland Symphony Orchestras, the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, and also as guest Associate Principal of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra.
Gwyn has been a member of a number of respected chamber music groups including the Mayne String Trio, the Queensland Piano Trio, and the contemporary ensemble Perihelion, and continues to perform with the chamber group Ensemble I. He is regularly invited, both as a cellist and conductor, to perform in and direct concerts, vacation workshops and seminars with youth orchestra and professional organisations throughout Australia, and his past cello and conducting students hold teaching and performing positions in Australia and internationally.
Gwyn was the Musical Director of the Queensland University Symphony Orchestra for a period of 25 years as a Senior Lecturer in the School of Music at UQ. Recently the principal cellist of the Canberra Symphony, he also performs in a variety of solo and chamber music concerts in Australia, and is active as a teacher, examiner and adjudicator. Gwyn teaches lower strings at Kenmore High School, and directs two string ensembles there. He also directs the Young Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra. His current projects include researching early cello history in Australia, developing his keen interest in photography, and recording an educational CD of cello repertoire together with pianist Jenni Flemming.
Meriel Owen – Harpist
Meriel Owen enjoys a versatile musical life and is in demand as a pianist and harpist. A student of the renowned composer and pianist, Larry Sitsky, Meriel graduated from the Canberra School of Music in 1990. She resided in the United States from 1995-2006 and during this time was occupied with a variety of activities including attendance at the Aspen Music Festival and School as a student in the collaborative program in 1998, completing a Master of Arts in Theology in 1999, and playing countless weddings and liturgical events. Meriel graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2002 with a Master of Music in collaborative piano studying with Rita Sloan. Subsequent recital opportunities have taken her to Washington D.C., Houston, Chicago, Italy and Australia.
As the recipient of the Stuart and Norma Leslie Churchill Fellowship in 2013, Meriel travelled to Austria and Germany to undertake further study of harp technique and repertoire in ensemble. Now based in Hobart, she performs regularly with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. As a chamber musician she has performed for Virtuosi Tasmania, the Canberra International Music Festival, and Canberra Symphony Orchestra’s Australian Series and Recital Series. In her spare time she stumbles through domestic chores with her two children and high-maintenance cats, and nurtures a covert passion for dressage.
Peter Cundall – Guest Speaker
Peter Cundall, a 1974 Tasmanian Churchill Fellow, is a well known horticulturalist, conservationist, author, broadcaster and television personality. Until the age of 81 he continued to present the ABC TV program Gardening Australia. Each Saturday morning on ABC Tasmania until December 2018, Peter had his own talk back radio show assisting callers with many and varied gardening issues. You might say that he did ‘the blooming lot’!
Ryk Goddard – MC
Ryk Goddard, a 2005 Tasmanian Churchill Fellow, is an experienced artistic director and performer. Before coming to ABC Radio in 2011 as the Breakfast Presenter, Ryk worked in theatre, was director of a contemporary performance company and has been a writer and producer of several online and radio comedy series. Ryk continues to work in creating TV and Film projects both as a writer and actor. He loves to entertain and is a talented communicator.
Pick up a copy of CutCommon print issue #2 for FREE when you attend this event!
