Tidda

City Tidda was the name of this concert and it came with a veritable program like a classical concert, with tunes with explanations and performers with histories.  This was obviously an important outing for Sophia Rose, a proudly aboriginal woman from Sydney.  Tidda means sister, so City Sister, Soph who had studied at the Wollongong Con and plays trumpet and had written several of the pieces performed.  Her offsiders were, interestingly, all originating from Canberra, they were a lovely, serious, effective group: several driving drum solos; frequent fluent bass solos and intriguing piano solos, and Sophia over it all with melody and solos and chatter.  Other than her songs or jazz standards, we heard a string of personally influential tunes, of black diaspora and Aussie performers and influences to Sophia, Vampires and Dr G Yunupingu and Kokoroko and John Mayer and Bob Marley, so a fascinating and nicely played mix with a theme honouring Blak Australia and Black America.

Sophia Hunt (trumpet) led a quartet with Oscar Lubbock (piano), Harrison Whalan (bass) and Nate Griffin (drums) at McGregor Hall, upstairs at Smiths, with Nate's father occasionally sitting in (guitar).

Many happy returns

It's a regular event and quite fascinating in its presentation of development through musical education.  Jinbo Huang comes regularly to Wesley and I've seen him and the students playing this day over time.  This time, Naomi, Daniel, Arabella, Charlie and presumably sons Frank and Charles.  They play a range of composers, some obvious and challenging, Chopin and Liszt, some more forgiving, interestingly this time, one very much more theatrical or filmic.  Some names were more obscure - Gurlitt, Burgmuller, Yu, Tertu - but even amongst these some themes were well known.  Perhaps listeners to ABC Classics would know of them.  And the peak of Chopin and Schubert and Liszt, the impromptus and waltzes and that Campanella were a blast and a display of significant chops.  So, again, something more than would otherwise be expected.

Naomi Feng, Daniel Zhao, Arabella Lu, Charlie Sanoubane, Frank Huang and Charles Huang are piano students of Jinbo Huang.  They performed at Wesley.

Repeats

Could this become repetitive?  No, never.  Perhaps the greatest excitement I have in music these days in a big orchestral choral concert.  Doubly so in a good location.  This was my second play of Carmina Burana, again with National Capital Orchestra and Canberra Choral Society and the Woden Valley Youth Choir and the soloists, again in Llewellyn, second choral concert in 2 weeks in this our major Canberra concert hall.  What was different was the hall was very close to full with the upper balcony open, and the standing ovation.  I've never had a full hall doing a standing ovation for any work before.  This was something special.  Carmina is like that, though: everyone knows it from Nescafe ad or film Excalibur, or Therion or Nas or Turn up the bass.  There were times it took off in tempo but the restraint just heightened the changes so the excitement and tension.  So the arrival after 60 minutes was ecstatic like much of the work.  But first up was something very different, religious, much reduced in lyrics if again in Latin, Poulenc Gloria.  This as choral, one choir and one soloist, soprano, modern.  It didn't get the recognition, but the worth was there and the performance and musical discovery was satisfying.  At least it had standard notation, unlike the strangely presented Carmina.  But again some tricky pizz/arco changes on bass and plenty of odd and changing meters and rhythms.  So, repeated but not at all monotonous.  Loved it!  Ciao to Jeremy who's off to NYC to study.  And thanks to the NCO FB page for a few pics.

National Capital Orchestra, Canberra Choral Society and Woden Valley Youth Choir performed Orff and Poulenc under Louis Sharpe (conductor) with soloists Rachel Mink (soprano, Orff and Poulenc), Sitiveni Talei (baritone, Orff) and Dan Walker (tenor, Orff).   The bottom enders were Jeremy Tsuei, Greg Perkins, Mel Fung, Juliet Flook and Eric Pozza (basses).

Guitars

Mike Price talked of a band with two Carls, Dewhurst and Morgan, sometime in the past and I've got reports on CJ of various combinations of the 3 guitarists.  Mike was teaching and leading the jazz scool while the Carls were there, although at different times and has got together with them at various times.  It's all part of an ongoing jazz experience.  This gig was another incarnation.  Mike Price and Carl Dewhurst with James Luke and Nick McBride: a formidable combination.  The two guitarists remain diverse in presentation and approach: Mike more smooth, quick, scalar; Carl more dirty, loud, unanticipated.  The tunes were a very modern guitar bunch, from Scofield, Metheny, Stern, related sax Michael Brecker and Horace Silver Lonely woman and the uber-classic Bright size life (originally Metheny with Jaco Pastorius and Bob Moses) and a contrafact (strange word that) on The night has a thousand eyes.  To top it off, a guitar duet on Wichita Lineman: strange in this context but still a beautiful and touching tune and very fitting but different with the two guitars.  So a night of superb guitar artistry with quite different approaches, supported by top brass of the local bass and drums community.  Wonderful and 2,4 foot tapping and just a huge pleasure of many solos throughout over some testing tunes.

Mike Price Guitar summit featured Mike Price and Carl Dewhurst (guitars) with James Luke (bass) and Nick McBride (drums) at Smiths for a Geoff's jazz session.

Immersion

Mark Jurkiewicz presented a string of Chopin works for the latest Wesley lunchtime concert and I was mulling over such depth of immersion in the topic and long term commitment.  Chopin gets a poor showing at times, given every young pianist has a go at his waltzes or other and thus they can present as trivial, but hear someone with training at the Chopin Academy in Warsaw, playing from memory, with a program named also for George Sand, and with an obvious depth of musical knowledge in the program notes, and Chopin comes alive and his renown is immediately obvious.  Read the notes and learn of the Mazurka as three types of folk dance: the mazur, oberek and kujawiak.  The concert was entitled Chopin and George Sand: Love above all and the works date from the time of their relationship.  The works performed were Mazurkas op.33, as well as an impromptu, a ballade and a scherzo. There's more in the notes and much more in the performance and composition that becomes obvious in Mark's hands.  A concert to mull over for some time.

Mark Jurkiewicz (piano) performed works of Chopin at Wesley.

Mo' blues

Well I don't have pics of all the bands at the Canberra Blues Society jam session, a few because I had to leave early and another because I was playing in it.  It's fun to get out an e-Bass (my preference is a run-of-the-mill Fender MiM JB) but I never play it other than for the Blues jams, so it's a bit of a new experience, but it is light to play.  And fast... I can get carried away!  Otherwise, Key Grip was the host band for the session and they were great to hear, well informed on blues and related styles and capable players all round.  The jammers were consistently capable too which bodes well for the blues in town and perhaps is a function of the blues training offered, esp to next gen.  Still, the audience numbers were down, perhaps given Hendrix the previous night.  But a nice outing and friendly people and great stage gear to indulge in.  Much enjoyed.

Key Grip are Leo Joseph (piano), Angela Lount (vocals), Lauren Thurlow (tenor), Alec Coulson (bass) and Mitch Preston (drums).  Key Grip were the host band for the monthly Canberra Blues Society jam session at the Harmonie German Club.

History repeats

It just goes to show that my interests have long histories.  It's a Blues weekend for me and a guitar trio was playing Hendrix and heroes and I soon realised I'd seen this very trio in this very place only 18 months before.  Someone mentioned it was better this time.  That gig had the drummer playing a first or early gig.  This time someone specifically praised the drummer.  They were all good.  Drums in a rock band of the period is not central but what he did was solid and pushy and right.  Neither is bass, although his role was taken a bit further than Noel Redding on my LP with a several solos and a little slap and some front line singing.  First half was Hendrix with one SRV; second half was ZZTop, Canned Heat, Steely Dan, ACDC, Stones, even the Beatles, in a series of medleys.  I loved the takes on The Beatles, the best of the bunch in my estimation.  No Led Zep, Deep Purple.  There was even Zoot and an end with Stevie Wright Evie Pt.1.  Ah, I remember Stevie Wright singing Evie Pts 1,2,3 at the Irish Club years back playing with CBS members.  In a wheelchair, as I remember.  He died in 2015.  But good to hear the Aussie classics, too.  As for Hendrix, capable cloned lines at times or otherwise interesting takes on Watchtower, Hey Joe, Manic depression, Purple haze, Wind cried Mary, Foxy lady, Little wing, Voodoo chile and a string of others.  It's a stunning revelation of Hendrix' genius.  Wonderful night done by authentically interesting and respectful musos, primarily, of course, guitarist Steve Edmonds.  Great fun and given the grey hair all round, great memories!  And a pic of the slab of Berlin wall outside the Germo.  Bought when the Wall was being dismantled and now a significant piece of history right here in Canberra. 

Steve Edmonds (guitar, vocals) led his trio with Graham Burns (bass, vocals) and Ben Elliot (drums) at the Harmonie German Club under the auspices of the Canberra Blues Society.

Neighbours

It was a stunner that such a complex performance would be gathered by singer and pianist for a Wesley lunchtime concert, it being unpaid as a musical donation to the music centre.  The works were complex, demanding and the performance of great worth.  To be expected with Rachel Mink singing with Ian Le accompaniment.  I didn't know of Ian Le, but he's trained in both math(s) and music and a Senior Lecturer at ANU, in maths, but even more unlikely, Rachel and Ian were neighbours in their childhoods, growing up half and hour from each other in the USA.  Here's one we won.  The works were major: several movements of Faure Chanson d'Eve, singing of nature and God and death, Randall West Judith, a mad and lively musical description of Judith cutting off Holoferene's head (ref. Botticelli and more) and Lori Laitman This canopy of trees, an aria from The scarlet letter, ultimately derived from the Nathaniel Hawthorne novel of Puritan settler Hester Prynne's accusation of adultery in a Massachusetts settlement in the 1660s.  So the program had the title In the Garden of Good and Evil; apt.  It must have been a massive job to deliver very richly complex music, for piano and voice, for just this gig.  Wordy, in French and English, convoluted melody and responsive or explosive accompaniment.  And for one gig one afternoon in Canberra.  Stunning ... and a perfectly good way to recognise a neighbour!

Rachel Mink (soprano) and Ian Le (piano) performed at Wesley.

10+10=~14

It was only at the last minute that I noticed two dectets, from Melbourne and Sydney, coming together to play at Smiths.  After 10 Part Invention, this was a shoe-in.  I love a little big band and what it can achieve and these were young and adventurous and playing original music.  It a bit hard to get everyone to travel so the two dectets covered each other, mainly Melb covered by Syd and a few local Canberrans, and despite charts and and decent readers, it's always nice to have played the tunes a few times.  And there was a singer who was just asked days before by Syd to cover a song and did one for Melb as well.  Not surprisingly, Miro was a further sit-in with Syd, after a workshop with 10 Part Invention.  Syd leader Lee also mentioned several other players who were first timers.  I guess this is the way with any large ensemble: it's hard to gather them all together at specified times and harder for a tour.  The bands were Mosaic from Sydney and Woolgathering from Melbourne.  As an aside, Lee's surname is Orszaczky so links to a certain Sydney bassist came into several minds, but I met his Dad (in the loo!) and Jackie seems to be distant if a relative.   Whatever, these were two impressive bands.  Mosaic writing its own material and also commissioning from composers aged under 25, so seeking new sounds; Woolgathering mostly writing its own material.  M has a very successful first album under its belt and it was touring their new work, album no.2.  W has recorded an EP with Melb Con support and has a history of sellout shows at JazzLab.  So these are precocious players.  W was more sedate on the night given so many sit-ins but still lovely with brass colours and flute melodies and melded brass and wind solos and a few Canberra locals helping out on drums and guitar.  M was more vibrant although with variety including a contemporary ballad, again lovely horn fills and favours and some driving solos, notably a blow out from drums at the end, some intriguing floating piano at times and a very sturdy bass with nicely broken beats.  So some fabulous original Australian music with convincing complexity and colour and chops from a next gen.

Mosaic toured from Sydney and Woolgathering from Melbourne to play at Smiths.  Listed players for Mosaic were Lee Orszaczky and Cailey Soon (trombones), Braden Clarke (flugelhorn), Sarah Morrisson (trumpet), Ravi Trachenberg-Ray (piano), James Watt (bass), Noah Meija and Leo Marland (saxes) and Matt Simmonds (drums).  Listed players for Woolgathering were Ava McDermott (vocals), Adam Davidson (piano), Jack Smythe (double bass), Patty Walkter (drums), Yael Zamir (flute), Christopher Rozakeas (trombone), Brandon Bartholomeusz (alto), Elly Blackham  and Thomas Coleman Bell (woodwinds) and James Morrissey (bass clarinet).

Feel like a pro

Feel like a pro?  Nothing to do with money.  What I loved was a program that we could get together in a week, admittedly just for one half, but we had just one fairly short orchestral rehearsal, then a rehearsal with the choir, then a playthrough warmup on the day, on the mighty and very pro Llewellyn stage, then the gig.  We were a group of 19 strings from NCO invited to play with Qwire, our local LGBTQI+ choir, unauditioned but taking on significant complexity and very varied works with considerable competence.  The first half had Qwire on stage unaccompanied, singing a range of musics from 1100CE to today, a mix of renaissance, classical and well arranged pop.  Hildegard von Bingen and Jennifer Cook and John Tavener, through Arthur Sullivan to Dylan, Enya, Jake Runestad (there were some names I didn't know), Cyndi Lauper and kd lang, with an entrance song gifted from Aboriginal supporters.  You can feel the power and insinuousness of a great pop song: I'm singing some still.  The second half had us strings up on stage.  First with an intro of Elgar Serenade for strings mvt.2, very lovely and larghetto.  Then our major work, Ola Gjeilo Sunrise Mass, a modern work in four movements with latin text by the Norwegian composer.  Not difficult for the basses despite some powerful and driving lines and much counting but some very tricky string patterns working essentially as effects for strings down to cellos and some lovely solo violin from concertmaster Laura Lay.  It reminded me of The armed man that we played with CCS in 2025, modern and seemingly fairly simple while immensely powerful in the whole.   The concert was a pleasure, the choir members were inviting and thankful for our string presence and the audience response was resounding, so a very pleasureable outing of considerable artistic value.

Canberra Qwire performed at Llewellyn with strings from the National Capital Orchestra under Callum Tolhurst-Close (musical director).  Concertmaster was Laura Lay (violin 1) and the bottom end was Lizzy Collier, Mel Fung and Eric Pozza (basses).  

Eyeing the future

Wesley runs a music scholars program.  I don't know much about the services it offers, but I do see the scholars once or twice a year and when they perform and I record and it's always quite fascinating.  This time was five performers of various instruments playing a range of musics, even into musical theatre.  A Handel harp concerto from Alex and a Bach sonata played by traverso Harry (a baroque wooden flute) and viola.  Then piano Harmoniche backing Santrix who I had met setting up who was a bass, meaning bass vocals, singing a lovely rendition of a lovely musical theatre tune, If ever I would leave you from Camelot by Fredrick Loewe.   Not sure if the original was sung by a bass, but this was nicely done, and with a presence that singers usually have more than do instrumentalists, voice being such a human expression.  Then bass and soprano voices on Mendelssohn with piano, then soprano Angel singing Brahms with cello and piano, then swapping to (modern) flute still with cello Ben and piano and then finally swapping to piano behind Ben on cello playing La Folia.  So it's a whirlwind of different composers and instruments. A pleasure and an indication of our upcoming professionals.

Wesley Music Scholars performed at Wesley.  They were Alex Munro (harp, viola), Harry Howard (traverso), Santix Redston (bass), Harmoniche Deng (piano), Angel Zheng (soprano, flute, piano) and Ben Munro (cello).

Never wearied

It's their 45th anniversary concert tour and CD and these are masters and seasoned of our jazz craft so it's so surprise that this was such a deeply satisfying gig to attend.  Sure, we see them in smaller groups but to hear the compositions, the solos, the personalities, the arrangements of little big band colours is a special thing.  I'm still thrilling at the precision of those colours; of the contemporary classical crossover of Kevin Hunt's piano outings; of the touching depth of Sandy's introduction to the gig and Miro's Ornette-infused Nostalgia (isn't what it used to be) to end it all, of Steve Elphick's understated but ever correct Hadenesque presence.  And they fit a space like this, theatrical, spacious, respectful, nicely amplified.  It was casual, too, compered by Sandy and a space and casualness that we could see, experience the personality, musical and other, of each of these players.  I was amused by the cool pleasure of Warwick Alder and his chat with Miro; ever gregarious and friendly James Greening and his quips and then floored by his trombone responses to a Sandy solo; the as-one pairing of Sandy and Andrew and offsider Paul; Matt filling in for John Mackey, blowing in this own style and verve.  Rease Cameron was new to me, but nicely effective.  Just 10 tunes over 2 hours and two sets.  A hugely mature set of musos and musical and compositional grouping ends in a fabulous and deeply satisfying night of music.

Ten Part Invention performed at The Street Theatre.  10PI comprised Miroslav Bukovsky (co-musical director, trumpet, flugelhorn), Sandy Evans (co-musical director, tenor, soprano saxes), Paul Cutlan (tenor, baritone saxes, clarinet), Andrew Robson (alto), Matt Ottignon (tenor, flute), Warwick Alder (trumpet), James Greening (trombone),  Kevin Hunt (piano), Steve Elphick (bass) and Rease Cameron (drums).

Just how good

Best composition?  I wondered about that but it's a stupid question, especially given my limited knowledge, but my favourite work?  I think so.  I've listed every classical piece I've performed in concert (now 506 with some repeats) and it includes Beethoven 3,4,5,6,7 and plenty more, but my faves are choral and this seems my most memorable of all.  Sitting through Brahms German Requiem by Igitur nos tends to confirm it.  Gloriously rich and attractive, emotionally dense, wonderfully informed bass lines, extensive chromatic and substituting lines, beautiful harmonies in voices to drool over, high sopranos, inventive harmonies and challenging fugues.  I closed my eyes and fell into this density, knowing it well after having played it myself.  I find when I've practised and performed a work, it stays with me, so I know upcoming phasings and predict every line.  Strange that practice, or perhaps performance, can be so permanent.  I can't play from memory but I can revisit and predict a listen.  Hayley did a great job on so many lines, slow or busy as they were.  Otherwise, just a small accompaniment of piano, single strings and woodwinds, 8 players in all in the arrangements, rather than a full orchestra.  And the choir and two soloists, bass and soprano.  Very nice soloists, but I preferred the massed parts, the power and precision and movements of lines in harmony.  My German was nil, so the words were of nothing, but still power remained and glorious, emotional music.  Brahms German Requiem: a work of beauty and huge emotional density.

Igitur Nos performed Brahms German Requiem at Wesley.  Matthew Stuckings (conductor) led a choir of 22 with two vocal soloists, Elsa Huber (soprano) and Colin Milner (baritone) and an octet comprising Rowan Harvey-Martin (violin), Elizabeth Chalker (viola), Alex Voorhoeve (cello), Hayley Manning (bass), Jodie Petrov (flute), Yu-Lan Chan (oboe), Lis Hoorweg (clarinet) and Emily Leong (piano).

Salut

Salut can mean both hi and bye in French and it's a greeting between family and friends so it's apt for Salut! Baroque, partly for the intriguing invitations to the musics of composers or places or purposes that S!B explore in their programming and explain in their programs.  This concert was Bohemian Rhapsody.  We read of the first rhapsodies for piano composed by a Bohemian Vaclav Tomasek; of the relevant geographic area; of the manufacturing and trade links that associated with movement of arts and music through Prague, Vienna, Krakow, Leipzig, Venice and more; of the Defenestration of Prague and the Thirty Years War; of the Hapsburg Empire and the Peace of Westphalia; of the relationships of Bohemian, Venetian, Veronese and Viennese composers and the nature of the musician's life in court.  All fascinating, leading to a program of Biber and Vivaldi, and Zelenka, Bertali, Fox, Caldara, Schelzer, Fischer, Jiranek and Brentner.  There are many new  or lesser known names: a concert by S!B is nothing if not inquisitive.  And pretty, ordered, danceable, dignified, even suggestive and so well played by strings, harpsichord, recorders, theorbo and the like.  This is music that was new at the time, now played from the past, but very much a part of our musical development and so often just delightful and courtly.

Salut! Baroque performed at Wesley.  S!B comprised Sally Melhuish and Anitra Blackburn (recorders), Rachael Beesley and Julia Russoniello (violins), Marianne Yeomans and Brad Tham (violas), Tim Blomfeld (bass violin), Jude Hill (bass), George Wills (guitar, theorbo) and Monika Kornel (harpsichord).

Songs of lament and reflection

They advise The Elegy Project is "a contemporary chamber music ensemble blending classical, jazz and folk".  It's strange, yes, but beautiful and deeply satisfying.  Think a vocal dectet (a nonet on this day) singing Megan Washington or Lonely woman by Horace Silver and Leonard Feather, or a solo pianist playing Rachmaninov or Chopin's famous Funeral march then joined by the choir, or Joni Mitchell Both sides now, a key song of the '70s, played by a jazz quartet (on this day a trio of piano, bass, vocals).  This is a new group, directed on the day by Kimberley Steele with a string of renowned locals.  It's not a small chamber group given 13 names are listed, but a fascinatingly broadminded and exploratory combination.  Full marks for the mix of musics.  And there were some seriously satisfying performances, too.  Kimberley on solo classical piano and voice; Rachael on jazz vocals, deeply effective and emotive, and also joining in the choir; Chris just that fabulous bassist that he is, but then picking up a Telecaster to back the choir on one tune; Micah impressively spelling tunes and improvising, unhurried and purposeful, on a much nicer piano than I'd heard him on recently.  And the choir, some lovely voices, well intoned on some challenging and well arranged harmonies.  Gus is the drummer to come and he can only add.  I was taken deeply by this concert, the breadth and emotional expression of it all.  Fabulous and still very new.  If you read this post promptly, perhaps you can catch them at Wesley 3pm Sat 13 or All Saints 3pm Sun 14 June.

The Elegy Project performed at Wesley and comprise Kimberley Steele (piano, musical director), Chris Pound (bass, guitar, synth, director), Rachael Thoms (vocalist), Micah Knight (piano), Angus Henderson-Mack (Gus Henderson, drums), Emma Griffiths (soprano), Petta Lindsay and Neille Williams (altos), Oliver Bruhl and Cody Christopher (tenors), Martin Magill, Lachlan Rankin and Daniel Westbury (basses).