A sparse musical year but a packed weekend

It's been a busy musical weekend with Mike's oratorio sandwiched by a pair of Musica da Camera concerts.  It's my last concert of the year.  MdaC always plays a local concert, in our rehearsal venue, a church in Cook, then we tour to a local town for a gig on the Sunday.  It's fun.  This time it was again at Gunning.  They have a decent music import system from Canberra and maybe Sydney.  We play in a hall that's awash with reverb.  I don't always like that, but did this time.  The group seemed so large and loud and sweet and mercifully resistant to highlighting mistakes.  This was a program that's been in preparation for yonks.  Originally for September with Lizzy Collier as director.   That was kyboshed by Covid, then Lizzy was to take this December concert but had an operation and is in moonboots for Christmas.  So, we got a new conductor, Craig Woodland, head of music at CGS and very expert.  Not many mistakes passed his ears!  The program was not an easy one but not too long.  Plenty of tricky early C20th complexities.  Penderecki, FS Kelly, Holst, Foote and Dvorak.  Not an immediate favourite, but I did warm to it.  Preparation, even after this extended time, was interrupted.  So a few slipups Saturday and a few others on Sunday, but pretty well covered.  We had some guests form NCO, Angela Liu and Elizabeth Alford, but especially Jodie Petrov playing excellent flute as the soloist.  The horn and harp also added new colourings.  So busy: Friday night final practice, gigs on Saturday and Sunday.  It's a busy weekend but you can only love it with such a capable ensemble and exciting visitors.  And the touring: I've done hardly any so I can still enjoy it. For the sights and more.

Musica da Camera performed Penderecki, FS Kelly, Holst, Foote and Dvorak under Craig Woodland (director) with soloist Jodie Petrov (flute) and guests Angela Liu (horn) and Elizabeth Alford (harp).

Blessings

It's funny to think that I cut my middle finger, left hand, cutting a tomato for lunch, and I got through the NCO concerto concert with a bandage. It wasn't so bad (not bad at all) but it's a fear of musicians. I've heard tell of musicians' hands insured for millions; apocryphal, perhaps, and worthy of some amusement. This was the National Capital Orchestra's Concerto Concert. It's an annual end-of-year event where members take the limelight to play movements of concertos or perhaps take the stand as conductor. This time, the concertos were an interesting bunch: for two violas (Prot), for four horns (Schumann) and one more common, for flute (Mozart). Also a few songs from G&S and Verdi and a devilishly difficult piece, Liszt Les preludes, and a famous unfinished symphony (Schubert). It was a varied mixtape of music with plenty of challenges. That's how I like it. As expected, we cut the Liszt better than ever before ("she'll be right on the night") but still not perfectly. That must be a common refrain. The Mozart and Prot sat with nice classical order, so much so that we played the Mozart without conductor, in chamber style. Kaitlin was lovely in the arias and hit plenty of high notes. The four horns fascinated me with their volume and smooth interactions. Interesting to see the ear plugs out in the front rows that took the full force of the horns. (I wished for earplugs for the percussion to finish Liszt: it was ecstatically loud and close behind me). Then to end, Schubert's Unfinished symphony, simple lines but quite compelling. To end my first year with the NCO. I feel blessed. These guys can really cut it.

National Capital Orchestra played its end-of-year Concerto concert at John Lingard Hall at Canberra Grammar School. Composers were Liszt, Prot, Mozart, G&S, Verdi, Schumann and Schubert. Conductors were Leonard Weiss and Christian Renglii. Soloists were Alex Kunzelmann and Suzanna Powell (violas), John Smiles (flute), Kaitlin Nihill (soprano) and Angela Liu, Dianne Tan, Anne-Marie Siiteri and Iain Hercus (horns).