Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Interview with Georg Mertens

Georg Mertens (Photo: Sandy Smith)


Four years ago cellist and guitarist Georg Mertens' idea of Youtube was that it was a social media site for amateur videos made by naughty skatie boys. An offer from video professional Chris Callaghan to put some clips from Georg’s well known Jenolan Caves concerts series on the same site initially make him think twice, but he was persuaded with the thought that there was nothing to lose by being involved.

Now three years later, Georg has purchased his own high end video camera to manage his own his production. His concert series clips are currently receiving hits of up to a thousand a day.
”The popularity of our Youtube site is such a surprise really, as our videos don't include popular music, and there are no special effects. Our music is not amplified or modified, but is purely acoustic cello solos and duos for violin and guitar,” says George “and I do nothing for the video promotion. Perhaps, just good music has an appeal again!” he adds.

Georg and fellow Mitchell Conservatorium violin teacher Gustaw Szelski, who play regularly as the Paganini Duo, recently enjoyed a successful tour to Canowindra, Mudgee and Bathurst as part of the Mitchell Conservatorium Musicians Spring Series II concerts. ”I applaud Georg for his ability to get his music out there” says Fiona Thompson, Executive Director of the Mitchell Conservatorium. "We try to do that same on our own Youtube Channel but have yet to achieve the same notoriety as Georg.”

Top runners in the popularity stakes are the cello solos: Bach's Prelude from the G Major Cello Suite, Georg's Asturias (Albeniz) transcription for cello and his Arabian Improvisation. Other popular videos, recently uploaded include The Paganini Duo's performances of La Cumparsita, Czardas and Dark Eyes.

The clip below, one of 78 on Georg's site today, is of Villa-Lobos' Prelude no 4 for classical guitar.


Christine Sweeney

A million hits on Youtube

Georg Mertens
Congratulations to our colleague, Georg Mertens, whose Georgcello Youtube site has now received a million visits.

As we said in a post last month, Georg Mertens is a cellist, guitarist, composer, arranger, teacher and author who combines great musical skills with an astute knowledge of successful internet marketing.

How did he achieve a million hits on Youtube? It was not by choosing to play current popular music, which was the way former Mitchell Conservatorium student, Ella Jamieson and her band, Aston, clocked up the magic million, with their classical version of Lady Gaga's Telephone.

And it was not a viral campaign, like the wildly successful Canadian Christmas flashmob version of Handel's Hallelujah Chorus.

Georg's success in attracting a million visitors to his Youtube site has been achieved through providing so many musically interesting, varied performances on guitar and cello, both solo and in combination with other musicians.

His most popular video, so far, has been an Arabian improvisation on cello.

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Musical Time Machine

Do you know your composers and which musical periods they belong to? Was Mozart born in the 20th century? Did Bach know Debussy? Who was the most famous composer in the Renaissance Period?

You might enjoy the DSO Kids Time Machine.

Would you like some hints to help you? The Naxos Brief History of Music could be just the ticket.

Britney Spears goes Baroque

Remember the Lady Gaga fugue? The very clever Giovanni Dettori has done it again: this time with his Baroque version of Britney Spears's songs Hit Me Baby One More Time and Oops, I Did It Again in his new composition called Counterpoint.

Mr Dettori has kindly made the sheet music available, too.

Counterpoint refers to the unique ability musicians have of saying two or more things at once and making sense! Lots of pieces of music have several tunes going at once, but this was developed to a high art in the Renaissance Period of Music (1450-1600 AD) and perfected by Johann Sebastian Bach in the Baroque Period (1600-1750).

The Naxos summary of periods in Music history is pretty well written and useful.

Giovanni Dettori teaches counterpoint via his Youtube website, which is well worth investigating.

I like the way you can listen to this piece and follow the scrolling score. Well done, Maestro Dettori!




Did I mention that Britney Spears is an anagram of Presbyterians?

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

What springs to mind?

When you see this picture of Beethoven, what kind of music do you think of?
His symphonies
or his wonderful piano sonatas?

It might surprise you to know what he spent quite a lot of his time doing.
Although he wrote a lot of piano variations and chamber music, and more than a hundred songs, what he wrote most of was
(drum roll, please Jamie)

Arrangements of British folksongs!

He wrote more than two hundred of them. Why? Because he was paid very well for it. The more they commissioned, the more he churned out.

The portrait on the right is a picture of a teacher of Beethoven (and Mozart). Joseph Haydn is one of the most important composers of the 18th Century.When you think of Haydn, what springs to mind? Is it  his  very popular Surprise Symphony, or his oratorio, The Creation?

You probably don't think of the odd-looking instrument on the left. Do you know what it is? It is called a baryton. Haydn wrote 175 pieces for it, because his patron, Prince Nikolaus Esterházy enjoyed playing the instrument, and kept asking, and paying, for more pieces to play.
It sounds like a bass viol da gamba, and has 6 or 7 strings which are bowed, and 10 more which vibrate in sympathy with the other strings, or which can be plucked. It is very hard to play and fell out of favour. 

Here is a movement from a Haydn baryton trio. Do you think these instruments will ever return to popularity?

Monday, November 28, 2011

Haydn Seek

He was the most famous composer of his day, more popular than Handel had been and certainly more popular than Mozart or Bach were, in their own lifetimes. He has been called the father of the symphony and the father of the string quartet. New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians says
No other composer approaches his combination of productivity, quality and historical importance in these genres.

Mozart and Beethoven were both taught by him, and were greatly influenced by his music. But surprisingly, most people would not know much of his music.

I'm hoping to change this with The Haydn Pages. This is my effort to add a little about Joseph Haydn, because there is not a lot of information about him that is easily accessible.

As a student, I learnt his wonderful late Sonata in E Flat Major, Hob XVI:52, when I was studying for my licentiate diploma (L Mus A). This is the first movement, played by Bulgarian pianist, Ivaila Ivanova.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Mitchell Con Puts Students in Hospital

Anthony Tran

Mitchell Conservatorium is still putting students in hospital. But we're not making them sick, or injuring them. We are giving them performance opportunities, through Christine McMillan, Arts Coordinator at Bathurst Base Hospital.

On Wednesday, 23rd November, 2011 Belinda Macri and Anthony Tran played some piano pieces at Bathurst Base Hospital. Their piano teacher, David McKay, also played a few tunes.
Belinda Macri, David McKay and Anthony Tran


Australian Music was a special feature of our short concert, which included pieces by Ross Edwards, Elissa Milne, Sonny Chua and the first Bathurst performance of two pieces from Justin McKay's Lewis Carroll Suite.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Ross Edwards: an Australian composer to be proud of



What a great piece of music. Written in 1999 for performance in the new millennium - and as usual, played one year early. The combination of didjeridu with Western classical instruments is very effective.

I think every Australian should know and enjoy this marvellous piece of music.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Roger Woodward recommends ...

When Roger Woodward came to Mitchell Conservatorium and conducted a piano masterclass, he recommended several books.


When Tara Chan, seen in this candid shot during the master class, asked me for information about them, I thought I should post it here for everyone:

Chopin, pianist and teacher - as seen by his pupils by Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger. The link  takes you to Google Books, currently enabling you to read at least a substantial part of the book online. The cheapest place to purchase one at the moment seems to be The Book Depository

The Art of Piano Playing by Heinrich Neuhaus has been on our book shelf for about 30 years or more. My wife, Joan bought it and liked it - now, I'll have to read it, too.

He also recommended C P E Bach's Essay On The True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments.

Roger Woodward told us that the Chopin book gives inside information on how this master performer and teacher taught. Neuhaus' book refines this. The book by Bach's most productive and most famous son gives insight into how Bach should be played by the great master's biggest fan.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

A tribute to a remarkable musician



Mitchell Conservatorium cello and guitar teacher, Georg Mertens has been busy, as you will discover if you type his name into your favourite search engine.

As well as performing on and teaching cello and guitar, Georg also composes his own music, and arranges and transcribes the music of some of the great classical and even folk composers. He has written his own cello method, which he has generously provide free of charge on his interesting website.

Over the past 13 years he has hosted 150 performances of beautiful cello and guitar music, in solo and ensemble performances in the unique Jenolan Caves.

He has 76 performances available on Youtube, which include solo cello and guitar, as well as ensemble performances with his violinist friend Gustaw Szelski, who also teaches at Mitchell Conservatorium in Bathurst.

Gustaw Joe Szelski



You can purchase signed copies of his recordings from his own website, from iTunes or from www.amazon.com

I admire Georg's musicianship, but also the hard work he has done in promoting his recordings and his concerts in Jenolan Caves, through his creative use of the online resources we have available to us today.

Well done, Georg.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

A master class with a master

Roger Woodward with Fiona Thompson
Roger Woodward led an inspiring master class at Mitchell Conservatorium today. Seven piano students played pieces for his evaluation by Elissa Milne, Gurlitt, Chopin, Liszt, Prokofiev, Haydn, Grieg and Farrenc.


The students who participated were Tara Chan, Eliza Chudleigh, Anthony Tran, Raymond and Maggie Chan, and Namaste Ossig-Bonanno. They were amazed when Mr Woodward played Tara's difficult Prokofiev and Liszt pieces without knowing beforehand what pieces were being presented.

I was also interested that he took the opportunity to practise for his concert tour in the  half hour before the program started. Others would have wanted to rest from their journey, have a cup of tea, or engage in small talk. It was most enlightening to be a fly on the wall and watch him at work.

When Ailie McGarity performed Chopin's Nocturne in E Minor, Mr Woodward told us that it was the second nocturne Chopin ever wrote. And he said that mastering the nocturnes of Chopin is an entry point to all of Chopin's other works.

He recommended Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger's Chopin: pianist and teacher [as seen by his pupils] for information on how Chopin taught. He also said that this book and C P E Bach's Essay On The True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments give lots of essential information about playing the piano, including useful tips on fingering and hand position.

He also highly recommended Heinrich Neuhaus' Art of Piano Playing as a more recent record of teaching piano Chopin's way.

What an interesting afternoon! Roger Woodward graciously gave us an hour of his time and was generous in his praise of our students and our Bechstein grand piano.

It's a bit blurry, but I do love this photo of Roger Woodward and Tara Chan interacting, as he talked with her about the Prokofiev sonata and the Liszt piece which she performed.

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Medals and Trophies

Ah, eisteddfods. (I know, I know but eisteddfodau sounds so odd!)

Over the years, our children participated in lots of eisteddfods in the Blue Mountains and Penrith, while we lived in Katoomba and then Blaxland.

And sometimes they won prizes. Usually medals and trophies, but when they were older, they did also win some money. You know the drill: Mum pays the entry fee, but you collect the winnings.

Our son Justin had a creative idea for displaying all the dust-gathering awards.



And a very cooperative golden retriever called Zac.

I wonder what Bathurst Eisteddfod students do with their medals and trophies?

Monday, October 31, 2011

All Star Program - under the stars


Today, 31st October, 2011, is the 50th anniversary of The CSIRO Parkes Observatory, iconified in the 2000 Rob Sitch film The Dish.

Public Open Days were held to celebrate this on the weekend of 8-9 October, 2011, culminating in a grand opera concert, which was the brainchild of soprano Helen Barnett.

Two thousand people attended Bellini to Broadway, a wonderful evening of great operatic music, including US Consul-General Niels Marquardt, who read out a congratulatory letter from NASA, and Australian Governor-General Quentin Bryce.

The orchestra featured was our own regional Macquarie Philharmonia, conducted by Mark Shiell.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Antony Field and Daniel McKay
On Friday, 21st October, 2011 we had the privilege of witnessing Duo 19's first performance in the ACT, at a Canberra Classical Guitar Society concert, in the Wesley Music Centre.

Taking their name from their tram route, Duo 19 consists of Antony Field and Daniel McKay, both of whom are graduates of ANU's School of Music and currently teach at the Victorian College of the Arts.

The concert included performances of works by beloved Australian composers Phillip Houghton and Nigel Westlake. It was interesting to hear Westlake's Hinchinbrook Riffs, originally composed to be played by one guitarist with a digital delay machine, expertly executed by this duo.

We also loved hearing Songs from the Forest, also by Westlake, and originally written for Antony and Daniel's teacher, Tim Kain, to play with John Williams.

It was also intriguing to hear two of Castelnuovo-Tedesco's preludes and fugues from his Well-Tempered Guitars. His 24 pieces were written as a homage to J S Bach and for his favourite guitar duo, Pesti-Lagoya. You can hear one of these works performed by the Brasil Guitar Duo in the following clip.


Thursday, October 20, 2011

What Is The Easiest Instrument To Learn?

Reggie McKay
The ukulele may be the one of the easiest instruments to play, as this picture may reveal. You don't have to manage six strings as guitarists do, on the standard ukulele, and its size suits small hands.

But, as Michelle Griffin, Mitchell Conservatorium teacher, will tell you, it takes skill and practice to play any musical instrument well.

Jay Laga'aia's My Ukulele reminds us of the instrument's Hawaiian roots.



And Jake Shimabukuro's amazing rendition of George Harrison's While My Guitar Gently Weeps, shows what the humble ukulele can sound like, in the hands of a virtuoso.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Anyone for a piano duet?

Painting by Ron Hedrick



This clip, of a PDQ Bach piece, shows why piano duets were invented. Schubert knew all about it, and wrote some cosy piano duets, too.

I'd love to know who the two young folk are and if they have made any other videos of their performances.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Music therapy: a satisfying career

If you would like a career which engages your musical creativity and which makes a worthwhile contribution, you should check out the terrific article by Sue White on page 9 of The Good Weekend, October 8, 2011.

Verena Clemencic-Jones is a musician who works with children who are patients at Sydney Children's Hospital. She has trained as an early childhood teacher and has specialised in the specific field of music therapy.

She says that
the best thing about being a music therapist is being able to sing for a living while facilitating creativity, self-expression, relaxation and laughter in families of children with life threatening illnesses.

The Good Weekend article shows that this vocation allows musical people to use their skills creatively to engage people in experiencing the joy of musical creation. An experienced therapist can enable a client to discover their own musical ability, which, in the 21st century, might involve a teenager composing a song using an iPad and conveting it into an MP3 which can be shared with family and friends.

There is some sadness in the job, too, because working with clients with cancer can involve losing some to the disease. Ms Clemencic-Jones says that this made the first year of the job difficult, but that therapists develop ways of taking care of themselves when they experience these situations.

This Youtube clip shows a Brisbane music therapist working with Baby Flynn.



Jammin Jenn, a New Jersey music therapist, shows how she can assist children with autism through her music therapy skills in the short film here.



Mitchell Conservatorium's Graeme Hunt and Kerrie Davies are music therapists who have worked with clients in a variety of locations, including Lithgow Correctional Centre, at St Vincent's Hospital, Bathurst as well as in the conservatorium itself.

If you would like to know some more about music therapy, whether as a career or for a music therapy client, please contact the conservatorium on 02 6331 6622 for more information.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Songwriting: sometimes it's easy

About 40 years ago, someone asked Paul McCartney how the world's most successful songwriting team approached writing a song. He gave this cheeky answer:
There are two things John and I always do when we're going to sit down and write a song. First of all we sit down. Then we think about writing a song.

And some of The Beatles' most well-known songs came very easily, as this website reveals.

John David's account of the composition of his beautiful song You Are The New Day shows how easy it can sometimes be.

The inspiration for New Day was quite simple; I had just had a major blow in my personal life, and was sitting alone late at night on the settee feeling very low, and watching an ominous story on the news about the very real possibility of nuclear war.

I started singing to the (hopefully) soon-to arrive New Day like it was an entity, that would rescue me from the depths. If the sun came up and the birds started singing as usual then I could believe that it really was the new day in which life would go on, and in which hope would survive.

The tune and the words popped into my head at the same time, and it was all written in about 10 minutes, which is why (to me at least) it's not perfect. But I didn't feel I had the right to change anything.

The best performance of this song is undoubtedly by the group who made it famous - The King's Singers. But the video below has 2 minutes and 10 seconds of chat before the fun begins.



This very good performance by Marchmont St Giles' Church choir begins immediately.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Drumming up a beat

James Vanderhel, 2011 Scholarship concert

One of the most popular choices at Mitchell Conservatorium is percussion. Did you know that percussionists have over 600 instruments to hit, scrape or shake?

There's a lot more to being a percussionist than playing a drum kit, though that might be what we first think of when we use the word.

In this clip on ABC Central West's website, Mitchell Conservatorium teacher, Jamie Briton shows his wizardry on the tympani, which are drums played in a symphony orchestra.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Time for a windfall?

windfall, noun

1 an apple or other fruit blown down from a tree or bush by the wind.
2 a large amount of money that is won or received unexpectedly
3 dynamic ensemble of wind instruments, sometimes also including a piano

Mitchell Conservatorium has not gone into greengrocery and has not become a bank, with free samples for everyone, but next month, we do have a windfall for you.


The group members are
Jocelyn Edey-Fazzone (flute)
Teléna Routh (oboe)
Carol Coomber (clarinet)
John Cran (bassoon)
Graham Nichols (french horn)
and
Julia Brimo (piano)

You can expect to hear music from the Baroque and Classical eras, but also music that was written this century. These soundfiles demonstrate the kind of music that the group performs. I wonder if they will play any of those particular pieces for us?

Windfall is coming to Bathurst to perform at Mitchell Conservatorium at 7.30 PM, on Friday, 28th October. And at 10 AM on the following Saturday, they are providing a masterclass for wind players. This is an opportunity to get expert advice, whether you come to perform or listen to others get taken through their paces.

Please contact Mitchell Conservatorium on 6331 6622 or come into our office in the West Wing of the Court House, in Russell St to book tickets for the masterclass and concert.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Gil Sullivan

Gil Sullivan: Mozart K498a First Movement from David Banbury on Vimeo.


On Saturday 22 October 2011, distinguished Australian pianist, Gil Sullivan will play some delightful piano music at Mitchell Conservatorium in Russell St, Bathurst at 7.30 PM

The program will include works by Liszt, whose bicentenary we are celebrating this year, Mozart and Tristram Cary.

Mr Sullivan's previous concert in Bathurst a few years ago was warmly received. i particularly enjoyed the Polly Fillers by Tristram Cary.

You can order your tickets, during office hours, Monday to Friday, by ringing 6331 6622

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Putting your toe in the water

Do you rush straight into the surf? Or do you walk in gingerly and only put a bit of you in at a time, until you have adjusted to the temperature of the water?

How would you like to be able to do it gradually with your Piano exams? The new AMEB P Plate Piano exams allow you to do just that.

There are three terrific full colour books of interesting pieces to choose from, but you only have to play three pieces in your exam. This can include a duet with your teacher, parent or friend, too.

You can take Mum along with you if you'd like.

There are no other requirements. No scales, no sight-reading, no general knowledge or aural requirements.

And every student receives a written report and an attractive colour certificate.

Will Schoenmaker

We think Will Schoenmaker is Mitchell Conservatorium's first P Plate Piano graduate, but please give us a shout if you got there before him!


Wednesday, August 17, 2011


Tara Chan is a talented pianist and violinist. She has already been awarded an Australian Music Examinations Board A Mus A diploma, and is currently working towards her licentiate L Mus A diploma, and is not yet 16 years of age.

Tara enjoys playing violin with fellow violinist Chloe McCormick, violist and pianist, Ailie McGarity and cellist,Nicola Ball in the delightful Bella Forte string quartet.

On Sunday, 28th August, 2011, Tara will perform her L Mus A program in a 12.30 PM concert in The Orchard Room at Mitchell Conservatorium. The concert is free of charge and includes J S Bach's Prelude and Fugue in G Minor, from his Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Mozart's Sonata in A Minor, K.310, Chopin Prelude in C# Minor, op 10 no 4 and Prokofiev's one movement A Minor Sonata.

A splended time is guaranteed for all.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

The one thing better than one guitar ...

Peter and Marion Constant
... is Two Guitars, according to Frederic Chopin.

And on Sunday, 14th August, 2011, at 3 PM you can prove this for yourself at a concert at Mitchell Conservatorium, in the west wing of Bathurst Court House, in Russell St.

Peter Constant learnt guitar through Mitchell Conservatorium in the 80s, as a student at St Stanislaus College (Stannies). He later joined Guitar Trek, Canberra's terrific ensemble, modelled on the string quartet.

In this clip, Peter plays a bass classical guitar, while Marion plays an octave guitar, crafted by Australian luthier, Graham Caldersmith.

Bach's well-known Bourrée in E Minor inspired Paul McCartney's song Blackbird, featured on The Beatles white double album.



Watching videos on Youtube is enjoyable, but is a pale reflection of a live music concert. And Mitchell Conservatorium's Orchard Room is a great intimate venue for live musical performances.

See you there!






Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Do all children have the ability to be musical?

When I was an HSC Music Examiner, I once went round Newcastle high schools with Anne Clipsham, who was teaching at Kambala, a Sydney K to 12 girls' school.

She made an interesting comment about our ability to be musical. She didn't believe people who said they were tone deaf, and pointed out that in her many years teaching at the school there had been only one girl who hadn't learnt to sing tunefully. "And she," said Anne, "began in Year Seven." She was confident that if this one student had begun earlier, she too would have sung beautifully.

In her interesting article Unlocking Kids' Musical Gifts, Fiona Baker says that everyone can enjoy music, but that lessons need to be geared towards what people want to learn.

When she was a girl, she had her heart set on singing and playing The House of The Rising Sun like Joan Baez, but instead her guitar teacher insisted on her learning Spanish and classical style guitar, which she deeply resented and which turned her off.

You won't find that attitude at Mitchell Conservatorium. We certainly have many students learning to play classical piano and taking music exams, but many others are playing and singing a wide range of musical styles. They are encouraged to develop their musicianship in areas of interest to them (and also gently prodded to increase their enjoyment of Music by exploring styles they are not yet familiar with).

The article also shares insights from Amanda Niland, who coordinates Macquarie University's Institute of Early Childhood Music . Ms Niland believes that
... a love of Music is inherent.
We can start to love music before we're born. Humans are hard-wired to be able to process music. A musical instinct is in all of us.

Everyone has the ability to be musical and love music. It's highly likely that those people who say they're not talented musically just weren't exposed to music early enough.

She says that the best music to expose children to is their parents' own singing voices.
Singing to children gives them an ear for music from an early age. Hearing their mum sing relaxes them, entertains them and makes them happy.

Singing traditional lullabies and nursery rhymes to babies and infants has been described as "an essential precursor to later educational success and emotional wellbeing."

Learning to love Music can begin before birth (someone once said that the best age to begin is 9 months before the birth of the mother!) and can be developed by enrolling your child in our Early Childhood Music classes.

You can find out more by phoning 6331 6622 between 10 AM and 5 PM, Monday to Friday, or by coming along to the conservatorium in the west wing of the Bathurst Court House in Russell St.

This blog is one year old today. Happy birthday MitCon blog.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Which film composer?

Here is a question for you.
Which composer has written the most film scores?

Answer: I don't know.

But I do know that John Williams has received more Oscar nominations than any other individual and has written the scores for over 100 still well-known films, several of which have received top awards.

He has not only made more money from composing than any other film composer: he has also made more than all of the others put together.

Here are a few films which have featured his music:
The Harry Potter movies
The Star Wars movies
The Superman movies
The Indiana Jones movies
E.T.
The Jaws movies
Schindler's List
Angela's Ashes

The music sounds terrific in the films, but even more enjoyable when you listen to it without the dialogue, sound effects and film distracting you from discovering its beauty.

When we lived in the Blue Mountains I was privileged to occasionally play piano in the Penrith Symphony Orchestra. One year, we performed a Star Wars medley and as we played, I began to notice things I hadn't heard in watching the films or listening to the soundtracks.

Williams had written special themes for many of the characters in the story. In one of the excerpts which was played while Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia were together in a scene, you could hear Luke's theme (which is also the main Star Wars theme) interweaving with the themes for the other characters. Maestro Williams had cleverly created his themes so that they could be played together!

Do you remember the quirky jazzy theme which is played when there is a scene in an odd sort of cafe, with lots of odd-looking aliens whooping it up? Here is a great piano duet version to enjoy.





And this 7 minute medley presents soem of Williams' most memorable themes, with a few lesser-known, but enjoyable ones.


Tuesday, July 5, 2011

An Enjoyable Way to See the World and Explore Classical Music



We have just finished watching the first series of Classical Destinations. We enjoyed the thirteen episodes and were chuffed that the composer of the theme music, Paul Terracini, was working beside us last year at Mitchell Conservatorium in Bathurst.

There is some gorgeous scenery and beautiful music in the series. We enjoyed the episodes about Bach and Mozart. I loved the Prague episode, with Simon Callow showing us around some locations in Prague where Amadeus was filmed.

The thirteenth and last episode is particularly moving, featuring the music of Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich. We are told of the tense relationship which Shostakovich had with the communist authorities, and of the bravery of Russian people during the 1942 siege of Leningrad.Hundreds of thousands of people died during the siege, but students continued to do exams, composers kept composing and people tried to keep living as normal lives as possible.

When Shostakovich's Leningrad Symphony was performed, half of the orchestra had died of hunger. The performance went ahead, with the instrument of each deceased member placed respectfully on their usual seat.

A poignant story to conclude the first series.

My wife, Joan and I now look forward to watching the second series, featuring Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Monday, July 4, 2011

The Reluctant Consort

The Reluctant Consort is the clever title of a a group of serious amateur musicians playing Mediaeval to Contemporary Music on a range of instruments, including recorders, lute and cello. The group has been performing in Sydney and environs since 1975 and has presented almost 300 concerts in that time.

The group currently includes performers on numerous recorders, from the sopranino to the bass. One of these performers is former Mitchell Conservatorium scholarship holder, Jacqui Smith. Other players perform on cello, viola da gamba, lute, guitar and spinet [small harpsichord-type keyboard].

The players were thrilled to be finalists in the recent ABC Classic FM Classic Recorder Romp Competition. The video clip below features them playing Steve Marshall's Major Pipework Tango.


Helen Sherman: we're proud of you!

Helen Sherman, former Mitchell Conservatorium student, represented Australia in this year's BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition.

She sang beautifully, as you can hear in this performance in Concert Three from the competition. I particularly like the second song in the video, Una voce poco fa which begins at 6:12



On Sunday, 3rd July Helen was a featured artist in the Cheltenham Festival. On Friday, 8th July she will perform in the City of London Festival.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Minus Two?

Conagh McMahon-Hogan with Michelle Griffin
Conagh McMahon-Hogan is a talented Mitchell Conservatorium scholarship holder, who studies Voice with Marisa Mariani-Starr and Piano with David McKay. He is pictured here singing Non Siate Ristrosi, from Mozart's Cosi fan tutte.

Conagh is St Stanislaus' College's Senior Songman of the Year and also Head Boy. He has enjoyed performing in local musical productions, including taking the roles of Major-General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance, Mr Bumble in Oliver and Leo Bloom in The Producers.

He also enjoys working with his friends Ryan Sanders and Senio Toleafoa in Minus One. Their latest recording is their version of the Mumford and Sons song White Blank Pages.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Multi-instrumentalist, Elné le Roux

Elné le Roux, Scholarship concert, 2011
On Saturday, 2nd April this year, Mitchell Conservatorium scholarship holders presented two concerts to showcase their talents. One of these performers was Elné le Roux, pictured here playing Australian composer, Andy Firth's Big Belly Blues with accompanist Michelle Griffin.

Born in South Africa, Elné began playing the euphonium when her family moved to Queensland. She later took up the flute and saxophone and enjoys playing these in a variety of ensembles in Bathurst, including the Mitchell Conservatorium Senior Flute Choir and Bathurst RSL Band.




Take Five is one of the most iconic alto saxophone solos. Here performed by Dave Brubeck's band, and featuring Paul Desmond, the composer of the piece, on alto saxophone.


Wednesday, June 15, 2011

We Love Jane Rutter

Happy flutists: Felicity McKellar with Jane Rutter

Mitchell Conservatorium recently hosted a visit of Australia's famous flutist, Jane Rutter to Bathurst, Lithgow and surrounding towns. Jane is a great model for students to follow. She makes her performances so enjoyable with her amazing technical ability and sensitivity and in the way she always engages with her audience.

Students loved the way she led the flute workshops and also enjoyed being acknowledged in her concerts.

An audience member at Lithgow was greatly moved and uplifted when she attended the concert in the church, which had been the venue for her sister's funeral the day before.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Free sheet music

Stephen Watson, conducting his prize-winning entry in the composition competition


Does it surprise you to learn that our most popular post so far was the one about free sheet music? In that post, we told readers about the terrific Petrucci Music Library, which now contains 94,000 scores of music for orchestra, violin, piano, chamber ensemble, guitar and almost any instrument you could imagine.

If you are interested in playing music that is over 70 years old, this is a great site for you.

We also gave a link to a site where arranger, Richard Harris, has generously hosted oodles of pages of free copies of his arrangements of film music, popular classics, Christmas music and more.

If there is so much sheet music available free of charge (not forgetting the many illegal download sites), why would anyone visit a music store, whether physical or online, and pay for the stuff?

One good reason is that music stores sell books. Remember them? One great thing about a music book is that it probably contains music you weren't looking for, but which may be a great complement to the music you wanted.

For example, if your music teacher tells you to get a copy of Scarlatti's Sonata in C Major, L 252, you could download one from here. You'd get a readable copy and you'd have it almost instantly.

But if you decided to buy this book which contains that sonata, you'd get a modern edition, with fingering, information about the meaning of the signs on the music, advice on how to play the trills and ornaments, an introduction about Scarlatti, an article on how to paly ihs style of music and 13 other sonatas to have a play through.

You can't beat the price of a free download, but a book gives you a lot extra for only a few dollars.

Monday, May 30, 2011

Music for your Chamber

Fancy a spot of chamber music?

This is music written for small groups of players, where there is only one instrument per part. (A chamber orchestra, such as The Bathurst Chamber Orchestra is a much smaller orchestra than the Sydney Symphony, and may have only two instruments playing each line of music.)

A good place to start is with Schubert, one of the most amazing composers in music history. He composed an enormous amount of music in his short life of 31 years, including symphonies, operas, over six hundred songs, and quite a bit of chamber music.

Let's begin with his terrific song, The Trout, here sung by Ian Bostridge.



Schubert wrote an interesting set of variations on this tune in the fourth movement of his very popular Trout Quintet.



This piece of music was written for an unusual combination of
Piano
Violin
Viola
Cello
and
Double Bass.

(It is unusual because double basses do not usually feature in small string ensembles (though they are used in chamber orchestras).

The string quartet usually consists of two violins, a viola, and a cello as seen in this article and photo of Bella Forte, a group of four Mitchell Conservatorium students who play for weddings, parties, anything.

We'll finish this introduction to chamber music with the beautiful Nocturne movement from Borodin's Second String Quartet, performed by the distinguished Jerusalem Quartet.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Beautiful solo flute performance

Here is a great solo flute performance by Jane Rutter, to be heard in Bathurst on Friday, 3rd June at All Saints Cathedral

Jane Rutter Hits The Central West

This winter, the Central West will play host to Australia’s Flute Queen, #1 Adventurous Classical Artist and Concert Soloist Jane Rutter. Throughout June, Jane will tour Lithgow, Bathurst, Forbes and Young performing her most romantic, classical and popular pieces from her repertoire. Her concert program includes virtuosic favourites Donizetti, Ravel, Debussy, da Falla and Gershwin played on her many gold, silver and wooden flutes. The flute is the instrument of the heart and spirit, the oldest musical instrument known to man...these concerts are a love affair with the flute. Bring that someone special and fall in love all over again.




Thursday 2 June, 7.30pm Hoskins Church, Lithgow
Friday 3 June, 7.30pm All Saint’s Cathedral, Bathurst
Saturday 4 June, 7.30pm Forbes Town Hall, Forbes
Sunday 5 June, 5.00pmSouthern Cross Hall, Young




Tickets at the door
For further information www.mitchellconservatorium.edu.au or call (02) 6331 6622

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Try Before You Buy

This coming weekend, two great local performers will be touring Lithgow, Mudgee and Bathurst with some interesting and engaging music for you to enjoy.

Aaron and Rob are two of the popular guitar teachers at Bathurst campus of Mitchell Conservatorium. The samples below are from recordings they have made with their own groups, Stringmansassy and The Straight Back Fellows.

In Stringmansassy, Aaron Hopper combines his special stylings with vocalist Kasey Patrick.



Rob's group, The Straight Back Fellows, combines clarinets, saxes and flutes with a wide range of percussion instruments and of course Rob's guitar. You can hear short excerpts of Rob's music with the band here, but if you sign up with Myspace, you will be able to hear the full versions.


Friday 20 May 7.30pm Secret Creek Sanctuary Café & Restaurant, 35 Crane Rd, Lithgow

Saturday 21 May 7.30pm Baptist Church & Community Centre, 70 Bruce Road, Mudgee

Sunday 22 May 3pm Mitchell Conservatorium, Russell Street, Bathurst

Tickets: Adults $30, Concession $20, U3A/CPSA $10 Enquiries 6331 6622

Explaining the strange notation




















This piece of music, which looks like one note on a strange musical stave, is actually 4 notes, spelling the name BACH.

There's no H in the musical alphabet in English, but there is in German. Germans call our B flat B and our B H.

Reading the music anticlockwise, also known as widdershins, you have the well-known treble clef, then a tenor clef (used by cellos, bassoons and a few other instruments), an alto clef (mainly used by violas) and another treble clef.

The notes are then
B flat = B
A
C
and
B =H

But the source of this ingenious musical curiosity is unknown. Musicologists would love to find that it comes from Bach himself, but so far its origin is undetermined.

Monday, May 16, 2011

A musical curiosity


This image is a piece of music with four notes and spells the name of a well-known composer?

Do you know what it spells and can you explain how it spells this composer's name?

Monday, May 9, 2011

Cafe of the Gate of Salvation



The Cafe of the Gate of Salvation has been called Australia's premier a cappella gospel choir. If you haven't yet heard them, you have the opportunity to hear them in Bathurst on Saturday evening at 7.30 PM in All Saints Cathedral, a great venue in which to hear their voices resounding.

And if you love singing, concert ticket holders can join in their workshop at 3 PM.

For more details, please phone Mitchell Conservatorium on 6331 6622 during office hours.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

A Lady Gaga Fugue?

As far as I know, Lady Gaga hasn't written any fugues. She may not even know what a fugue is... Do you?

Giovanni Dettori's Lady Gaga Fugue shows you what a fugue is and, if you read music, you can follow along as you listen. It is based on a part of the song Bad Romance



Do you notice how the tune from Bad Romance keeps coming back in different ways? It takes a lot of skill to write a fugue. Giovanni Dettori teaches people about counterpoint, which is the discipline of writing a piece of music that has several tunes going at the one time. Sometimes, as in a fugue, the tune is being harmonised with itself.

Composer, Giovanni Dettori has kindly published the sheet music for you to download and play as a free pdf file.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Two flutes and a piano

What more could you want for an afternoon or evening of beautiful music?

Perhaps you'd like some top-quality players to play them ...

We have that organised for you.

Does this whet your appetite?



Mitchell Conservatorium's version is the reverse of the video, because our performers are two men and one woman: Prem Love, Phil Braithwaite and Cindy Fox, all teachers at our Bathurst campus.

The concert also includes some beautiful Bach, Doppler's Hungarian Fantasy and a piece that is becoming very popular around Bathurst: Eliza's Aria, from Elena Kats-Chernin's Wild Swans ballet.

You can enjoy this beautiful music at
Hoskins Memorial Church, 43 Bridge St, Lithgow on Friday, 29th April, 2011 at 7.30 PM
or at
Baptist Church Community Centre, 70 Bruce Rd Mudgee on Saturday, 30th April, 2011 at 7.30 PM
or on
Sunday, 1st May, 2011 at 3 PM at Mitchell Conservatorium in Russell St, Bathurst.

The concert is free for Conservatorium students and costs
$20 for Adults
$15 Concession
$10 for U3A and CPSA cardholders

Monday, April 25, 2011

Nelson Ferguson: One First World War Story

Some treasures from Nelson Ferguson's service in Villers-Bretonneux

On Sunday, 24th April, 2011 ABC Classic FM broadcasted The Glass Soldier, a concert from last year's Port Fairy Spring Music Festival.

The Glass Soldier is Nelson Ferguson, a young Ballarat artist who became a stretcher-bearer in the First World War. On 24th April, 1918 the church he was in was bombed with mustard gas, as part of the battle for Villers-Bretonneux.

This resulted in him being blinded and coming home from the war. Later, he regained partial use of his eyes and lectured at RMIT. He was called The Glass Soldier because of the factory he founded which made beautiful stained glass windows, some of which are now heritage-listed.

The music in the program is composed or arranged by Nigel Westlake, one of Australia's most popular film composers. The performance, by Melbourne Symphony orchestra brass players featured Geoffrey Payne playing the original cornet that Ferguson had played during his time in France, which you can hear in this extract of The Last Rose of Summer.

There was good news at the end of the story. After many years of sight-impairment, a British eye surgeon was able to restore Ferguson's sight, so that he could spend his last days enjoying the full use of his eyes again.

Monday, April 11, 2011

The Fifth Wiggle

Phillip Wilcher

In the 1990s your blogservant was a high school music teacher and heard a Year Twelve girl at Fairfield High School play Chiaroscuro, a beautiful 3 part piano piece by Phillip Wilcher.

Phillip was one of the original members of The Wiggles. In fact their first recording session was held in his home.

He was mentored by Miriam Hyde, one of Australia's most beloved composers. His website gives a fascinating account of his experience of learning from her. She wrote him at least 160 letters, from his early days of composing, until close to her death in 2005.



Sally Whitwell plays his Ballade sensitively. If you click through to her Youtube channel, you can read Phillip's comments about her playing.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Music You Can't Get Out Of Your Head



Have you heard this beautiful piece of music? It is one of the most popular pieces of contemporary Australian music. It is called Eliza's Aria and was composed by Elena Kats-Chernin for her ballet Wild Swans, which is based on a Hans Christian Andersen story about Eliza, a princess, whose eleven brothers have been transformed into wild swans by a wicked witch. Eliza must knit magic shirts from stinging nettles to break the spell.

The tune is the third most performed in UK television advertising.

We heard it recently in a staff concert performed by Prem Love and Elena Day-Hakker, in a student performance opportunity, played by Chloe Walker and Elena Day-Hakker and then by David Pereira (cello) and Alice Giles (harp) at All Saints Cathedral.

Not sick of it, yet. There are several interesting versions of it available on Youtube, including Sarah Cracknell's The Journey Continues.

Friday, April 1, 2011

My Baby Girl



What a nice song. And a cleverly crafted performance, with good intonation and excellent use of musical expression.

More, please!

Performed by Mitchell Conservatorium student Conagh McMahon-Hogan's band Minus One

We'll tell you more when we get some more details. I believe the composer is the middle bloke, Ryan.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Cello and Harp Concert

Two of Australia's best-loved musicians are performing at all Saints Cathedral, Bathurst on Friday 1st April at 7.30 PM
Alice Giles is a superb musician whose skills on the harp are world-class. She has performed recitals in Europe, Israel, America and even Antarctica.


In this concert, Alice will be joined by David Pereira, whose name is inseparably associated with the cello in the minds of many.



You can find several of his beautiful performances at his homepage, including this wonderful recording of The Swan by Camille Saint-Saëns.

Tickets will be on sale at the concert
$30 per person
$20 concessions
$10 U3A/CPSA cardholders
For further information please call 6331 6622

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Highlights of Open Day, 2011


On Sunday, 20th March, 2011 students and staff performed for one another, for their families and interested community members in a variety of ensembles, including groups of recorders, guitars and flutes.

The afternoon concert featured piano solos from Heming Luo, Courtney, Luke and Timothy Powell, flute solos from Bethany Windsor and Elne Le Roux, a Scarlatti guitar sonata played by Tim Burrey and Larissa Beer singing Hopelessly Devoted to You.

The Conservatorium executive director, Fiona Thompson accompanied performers.

At the end of the day, we enjoyed a relaxed staff soirée which featured some great guitar playing from Aaron Hopper and Mark McLaughlin, a Bach flute solo from Prem Love, Oliver Harris' entertaining tuba variations on Incy Wincy Spider and this performance of a Schubert Impromptu by piano teacher, Elena Day-Hakker.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

What an artist, what a man!

Percy Grainger

Percy Grainger, one of Australia's best-known composers, though also claimed by the United States (where he lived for most of his life). The title of this post is a quote from Edvard Grieg. Grieg and Grainger were admirers of one another. After Grieg died, Grainger enjoyed playing his friend's famous Piano Concerto in A minor and even made a piano roll of it, which has been used to create a performance performed by Sydney Symphony and ... Percy Grainger (via a grand piano, specially modified to play piano rolls).

Grainger died 50 years ago, on 20th February, 1961. There are some great commemorative recordings which have been released to coincide with this.

Percy would not be happy with the Youtube clip below, because he was disappointed to be best-known for his arrangement of the English folksong, Country Gardens. I wonder what he would have made of the performance by Rowlf and Fozzie Bear?

Thanks to Mitchell Conservatorium Singing and Piano teacher, Michelle Griffin, for sharing this fun video with us.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Bathurst's Singing Star

Helen Sherman, courtesy of Hanya Chlala

Twenty opera singers from across the globe have been selected to compete in this year’s prestigious BBC Cardiff Singer of the World and one of the select finalists is local Bathurst talent Helen Sherman. Helen will be performing in Cardiff when the competition gets underway in June and she will have the added distinction of performing in front of Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, internationally renowned singer, who takes up her role as Patron of BBC Cardiff Singer of the World for the first time.

Securing a top 20 place against the original six hundred opera and concert singers who auditioned for a place in the competition is no mean feat, however Helen is no stranger to the hard work and discipline.
Helen was always determined - she was like that as a little girl says her proud father, Brian Sherman.

Helen, a mezzo-soprano, debuted at Bathurst Eisteddfod, singing, dancing and playing the piano at the age of three! She began singing lessons at the Mitchell Conservatorium, learning from Olga Reeder and then graduated from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2003.

Since then her professional singing development and career has gone from strength to strength, most recently giving debut concerts at Wigmore Hall, the Purcell Room, Bridgewater Hall and Royal Albert Hall and appeared with Roger Vignoles and Mikhail Zemtsov in the Cambridge Summer Recital series.

At the RNCM she sang the roles of Hélène (Offenbach‘s La Belle Hélène), Sesto (Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito) and Cyrus (Handel's Belshazzar), the latter in a co-production with Manchester Camerata.

She has also recorded with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra as part of an International Opera Productions prize and has broadcast a recital for Australia's ABC Classic FM.

Young Concert Artists Trust has a page about Helen, which gives links to recordings of her singing the ever-popular Une voce poco fa from Rossini's Barber of Seville and Va, liasse couler mes larmes from Massenet's Werther.

(Clicking on the hyperlinked text should take you directly to the recordings. If it takes too long, you can right click and save the files to your computer and then listen to them.)

Mitchell Conservatorium staff and students wish Helen all the very best for her performance to take out the Cardiff Singer of the World 2011 competition.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

A remarkable Australian

I thought I had put all of this week's papers in the recycle bin, but discovered that a page had fallen out of Tuesday's edition of the Sydney Morning Herald and was sitting on the kitchen table.

I'm so pleased that I hadn't thrown it out, because it contained a great story about one of the world's most remarkable musicians.



Leslie Howard has a place in the Guinness Book of Records for completing the largest recording project by a solo artist. This project is his 99 cd set of the complete piano works of Franz Liszt. He has also recorded another 60 or so cds, giving him the largest discography of any solo instrumentalist. And he has the largest repertoire of any pianist who has ever lived.

Mr Howard has recorded and performed more than 300 premieres of Liszt's piano works. He prepared many of these himself, by working systematically through Liszt's unpublished manuscripts.

Leslie Howard was born in Australia and achieved fame as a young man on Showcase, a 1960s talent program. He has lived in England since 1972, but has regularly come back to Australia to give concerts and masterclasses.

In 2011, Liszt's bicentenary, he will perform three concerts in Sydney, including

Discovering Liszt, a lecture-recital at Sydney Conservatorium on Friday, 6th May

a recital of Liszt and Rachmaninov pieces at the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre, Penrith on Saturday, 21st May

and a two piano recital with Simon Tedeschi at Angel Place on Thursday, 26th May.