Me and my cello

This has to be one of the cleverest classical music videos. The music is beautiful and the video of a man and his cello is funny and holds your interest (I hope ...) right through.



We have some great cello teachers at Mitchell Conservatorium - not currently involving sky-diving lessons.

Please ring 6331 6622 during business hours to begin your cello experience.

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.

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.

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

Mitchell Con students head off to hospital

Performing at Bathurst Base Hospital is challenging and rewarding. You have to forget about having a stationary audience, and pretend you are making a radio program, realising that people are going to be making noises and walking across the stage area while you play.

Zoe Rodwell, Arts Coordinator, assures us that the music is greatly appreciated and can be heard all over the hospital.

With this in mind, Felicity and Cheryl McKellar played some beautiful music on flute and piccolo (Felicity) and classical guitar (Cheryl), which included a suite of pieces by Pujol describing Buenos Aires and the terrific Christmas song, Carol of the Bells.



Stephen Aveling-Rowe played Burgmuller's Gewitter and Tansman's Le Petit Oiseau on a digital keyboard and later played some cello pieces, accompanied by his mother Merilyn. Unfortunately the memory card on the digital camera filled up before he played a beautiful rendition of Saint-Saëns Le Cygne, but we did manage to capture some of Let Me Call You Sweetheart. We apologise for the sudden early ending and for all the hospital goings on during the performances we have put up here.

Do you have a video of your performance?

Mitchell Conservatorium now has its own Youtube channel. We would love to feature good quality recordings of excellent performances of Mitchell Conservatorium students on our channel.

And I would love to use your videos on this blog.

The video above features Stephen Aveling-Rowe playing Bach's Toccata in D Minor on the Opera House pipe organ. Stephen learns cello from David Pereira and piano from David McKay. We can't claim credit for his great organ playing, but we can chuckle that his organ teacher is also a David: David Clark from Cooranbong.

Distinguished cellist joins Mitchell Con staff

Judi Power-Thomson's portrait of David Pereira

Mitchell Conservatorium is excited to announce that David Pereira, one of Australia's most accomplished cellists, has joined our staff.

It is not every day that one of our staff can boast that he has been the subject of an Archibald prize entry!

Please check out David's website for information about his activities as a performer, teacher, composer, writer and mental health advocate.

Welcome David!

What Can I Play?

There are lots of instruments to choose from at Mitchell Conservatorium: it's up to you which one you choose. The Hayes  children had fun playing percussion instruments with teacher Aaron Hollier at a recent MitCon Open Day.

 Maybe you would love to play a big string instrument like a double bass or cello.
 Georg Mertens, cello and guitar teacher shows in this Youtube clip, recorded in the Cathedral cave at Jenolan, just how good a cello can sound in the hands of a great musician. Could this be you one day?

Come into the Con, in the Courthouse building [right-hand wing] in Russell St or ring 6331 6622 to get started!