Simon Tedeschi performing this weekend in Lithgow, Bathurst and Forbes

Internationally renowned pianist Simon Tedeschi is quite often described by respected critics and musical peers as "one of the finest artists in the world" making the young pianist's mark on music both undeniable and admirable. Renowned especially for championing non standard repertoire, Tedeschi enjoys a full international performing career.

Playing with the Bathurst Chamber Orchestra at All Saints Cathedral on Saturday 17 March, Simon and the BCO will be conducted by The Reverend Michael Deasey “Michael was my music Master at St Andrews Cathedral School in Sydney where I studied and I jump at any opportunity that I have to be able to come to Bathurst and perform with him” says Simon.

Hosted by the Mitchell Conservatorium the concert series takes in Lithgow and Parkes on the Friday and the Sunday of the same weekend. Several young musicians from the Mitchell Conservatorium will also be joining the BCO ensemble onstage as their special guest as part of the Conservatorium’s Music in Schools program. All school age children are welcome to attend the concert FREE of charge. For more information go to our website or call 02 6331 6622.

Here is an extract from Ginastera's Piano Concerto No 1, which Simon performed with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, back in 1998.

Countdown

Simon Tedeschi

Our new Armchair Concert radio program begins on Monday, 5th March at 1.30 PM and will feature Simon Tedeschi, Bathurst Chamber Orchestra and Guitar Trek, performing music by Mozart, Gershwin, Australian composers and a few surprises.

You can listen on 92.3 or 94.7 FM, at 2MCE.org or with the smartphone tunein app.

We are playing music by Simon Tedeschi and our own local orchestra, because we want to let you know about the great concert at 7.30 PM in Lithgow on Friday 16th March and Bathurst on Saturday, 16th March, and at 2 PM in Forbes, on Sunday 18th March.

Tickets are only $20 for adults ($15 concession) and free for all school-aged children!

Later Armchair Concerts will feature the best of Mitchell Conservatorium concerts over the past few years, including piano duets from Max and Hayden Reeder, flute and piano music featuring Phil Braithwaite, Prem Love and Cindy Fox, and performances from our Rising Stars concerts.

Christine Sweeney and David McKay are looking forward to showcasing our talented musicians every fortnight from Monday, 5th March at 1.30 PM

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.

An old friend

Does this piece of music stir you? Maybe it reminds you of where you were when you first heard it? Or it might bring back an old TV advertisement!

It made a wonderful opening to Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001:a space odyssey

It is only the first few bars of a tone poem by Richard Strauss for an orchestra which included pipe organ, and a large number woodwind, brass and percussion players, as well as a string section with more players than usual.

If you would like to see an enthusiastic student group perform this work, you might enjoy the performance I've embedded below by the Macau Youth Symphony Orchestra.

The young man playing the tympani (the large drums you can see at the back of the orchestra) is really going to town!



If you kept watching and listening, you would have also enjoyed the orchestra's rendition of the theme from John Williams' Star Wars. Kubrick's 2001 film featured music that had been composed prior to his film being made. None of it was written for his iconic film.

But the music in Star Wars, and also about 300 other films, has been specially crafted by John Williams. He has been writing film music for about 50 years now and has made more money from film composing than any other composer. And, if you add up all of the money that all other film composers have made, he has also made more than all of that, too. I hope he knows some worthy charities to support!

If you enjoyed listening to this music, you might find attending concerts by the Macquarie Philharmonia and the Bathurst Chamber Orchestra even more enjoyable. You can't beat live orchestral music!

Please stay tuned for more great music links in 2011: both old friends and new ones.

Concert featuring some of the most beloved Christmas music

Winter Showcase

Christopher Dove, of Bathurst Brass Boys

If you would like to hear some great music to warm up a winter afternoon, head to Bathurst's Entertainment Centre this Sunday, 22nd August at 3 PM for a concert which begins with Mitchell Con's own Bathurst Brass Boys, and also features Fretworx, directed by Aaron Hopper, Lachlan division's Dr Music and the Con Kids, The Allegri Singers, conducted by William Moxey, the Bathurst Chamber Orchestra and The Bathurst City and RSL Concert Band, conducted by Mathias Rogala-Koczorowski.

Stringmansassy: duo featuring Mitchell Con's Aaron Hopper and vocalist, Kacey Patrick