The 2023 Newcastle Music Festival program was announced this week, packed with great concerts, representing many musical styles, and performed by fine artists from Newcastle, Sydney and interstate.
Brilliant soloists include Mitchell Berick, a clarinetist with plays regularly with Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. Berick performs two concerts with the musicians of the Christ Church Camerata. One of the works he will play is Mozart's Clarinet Concerto, which was voted Australia's favourite classical music in the first ever ABC Classic 100 back in 2001.
Andrea Lam, one of the finest Australian pianists of her generation, makes a welcome return appearance. Lam offers a generous program of beautiful works by Robert and Clara Schumann, Brahms and others.
Newcastle pianist Erin Sweetman performs Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, supported by an ensemble made up of classical and jazz musicians drawn from the Christ Church Camerata and Dungeon Big Band.
Peter Guy, visiting from Europe, presents a lunchtime concert for solo organ, and as always, there will be delicious food on offer prior to the concert.
Four yet- to-be-chosen young soloists, applying by audition, will have the chance to perform in Rising Stars, a new initiative of the festival. Aspiring young vocalists or instrumentalists are encouraged to apply. Registrations close June 23.
Five superb duos perform in this year's festival, performing not only works from previous centuries, but also a significant contribution of contemporary Australian compositions.
Jane Ede has performed as a principal soprano for Opera Australia for over a decade, and she appears with Louise Scott, a world-class pianist with an impressive record of performance and teaching. Their concert is titled Supernatural. Expect a sorceress, a ghost and a witch, at the very least!
The Bowerbird Collective, founded by Newcastle-born Anthony Albrecht, with South Australian Simone Slattery, performs two bird-themed concerts on cello and violin, with a back drop of images and video gathered from some of Australia's finest wildlife photographers. The duo were also responsible for the Songs of Disappearance: Birds and Frogs albums, which hit the Australian music charts in December 2021 and December 2022.
Viola player Neil Thompson, a core member of the Omega Ensemble, with partner Catherine Thompson, are The Nano Symphony. They perform their own compositions on a range of instruments, with some special guests, in the Christ Church Cathedral.
Old and young rockers alike will love Music on a Plate at Foghorn Brewery, when guitarists Mark Johns and Guy Strazz, with dazzling performer credits (for example, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders, Adrian Edmondson and Rik Mayall, Ray Davies, Jimmy Barnes, Jenny Morris) give a lunchtime concert.. Tickets include the performance, meal and a drink on arrival.
A particular highlight of this year's festival is the concert featuring famed Australian artists Deborah Conway and Willy Zygier. Conway's powerful voice and Zygier's brilliance on a range of instruments, showcased in their own compositions with accompaniment by Newcastle's own Christ Church Camerata Quartet, set the scene for an outstanding concert.
A portrait of Conway featured among last year's Archibald Prize finalists, currently on display at the Museum of Art and Culture Lake Macquarie, yapang.
The Opera Cocktails concert is always a festival highlight, and this year will be no exception, especially as the concert will be held again in gracious Stanley Park homestead. Back-to-back sessions are scheduled to ensure no-one misses out on this popular event. Three superb young singers - Viktoria Bolonina, Phoebe Humphreys and Matthew Reardon - perform with Claire Howard Race on piano.
The Festival Choir forms again, with singers in the community invited to register. With Christ Church Cathedral Choir they will be joined by singer Jane Ede, with organist in residence David Drury.
And, of course, it wouldn't be a festival without the Dungeon Big Band, who will stage their annual jazz concert with the Hunter's own jazz diva, vocalist Heather Price.
Full details and tickets: newcastlemusicfestival.org.au.
THE CONCERTS
Rhapsody in Blue - The Best of Gershwin Christ Church Cathedral 7.30pm, Friday, August 11. Favourites by the great George Gershwin, performed by Erin Sweetman (piano), Christ Church Camerata Quartet, Dungeon Quartet, and Heather Price (vocals).
Supernatural - Jane Ede in Concert Adamstown Arts at Adamstown Uniting Church, 2.30pm, Saturday, August 12. Jane Ede (soprano) and Louise Scott (piano) perform works showcasing the ghostly spectres of the soprano repertoire.
Life on Land's Edge Adamstown Arts at Adamstown Uniting Church, 7.30pm, Saturday, August 12. The Bowerbird Collective - Simone Slattery (violin) Anthony Albrecht (cello). Journey to the ends of the Earth with migratory shorebirds in this live music and cinematic concert experience.
Births, Deaths, Marriages and More - Festival Choir in Concert Christ Church Cathedral, 2.30pm, Sunday, August 13. Works by Fauré, Mendelssohn, Drury and Bach, performed by the Festival Choir, Festival Chamber Choir and Christ Church Cathedral Choir, with soloist Jane Ede (soprano) and David Drury (organ). Conductors David Banney and Christopher Allan.
Opera Cocktails Stanley Park, 5pm and 8pm, Sunday, August 13. Enjoy wine, canapés and favourite opera excerpts inside beautiful Stanley Park homestead, with Phoebe Humphreys (soprano), Viktoria Bolonina (mezzo soprano), Elias Wilson (tenor), and Claire Howard Race (piano).
Where Song Began Adamstown Arts at Adamstown Uniting Church, 7.30pm, Monday, August 14. The Bowerbird Collective - Simone Slattery (violin) Anthony Albrecht (cello) Explore the evolution of songbirds in this live music and cinematic concert experience.
Showstoppers: Organ Classics Christ Church Cathedral, 1pm, Tuesday, August 15. Peter Guy returns to Newcastle in a program that explores all the colours of the organ.
The Nano Symphony Christ Church Cathedral, 7.30pm, Tuesday, August 15. Neil and Catherine Thompson, multi-instrumentalists, perform their current works.
Arc of Life - Andrea Lam in Recital Christ Church Cathedral, 7.30pm, Wednesday, August 16. Brilliant pianist Andrea Lam makes her return festival appearance, to perform a program of works by Robert and Clara Schumann, Brahms and others.
Music on a Plate: Two Guitars Foghorn Brewery, 12.30pm, Thursday, August 17. Mark Johns and Guy Strazz (guitars) - two legends of Australian guitar playing with international careers entertain you over lunch.
You and the Night and the Music Adamstown Arts at Adamstown Uniting Church, 7.30pm, Thursday, August 17. The ever-popular Dungeon Big Band, featuring vocalist Heather Price, perform your jazz favourites.
Brahms and More - Camerata Quartet and Friends Christ Church Cathedral, 7.30pm, Friday, August 18. Mitchell Berick (clarinet) joins the Camerata Quartet for an evening of music by Brahms and other greats of the 19th century.
Rising Stars Adamstown Arts at Adamstown Uniting Church, 2.30pm, Saturday, August 19. Emerging performers from the local area aged 15-25 with Erin Sweetman (piano).
Deborah Conway and Willy Zygier in Concert. Christ Church Cathedral, 7.30pm, Saturday, August 19. Deborah Conway performs with long-time musical collaborator and husband, Willy Zygier.
Festival Finale: Mozart's Clarinet Christ Church Cathedral, 2.30pm, Sunday, August 20. The 2023 Festival comes to a brilliant conclusion with Mozart's sublime Clarinet Concerto played by virtuoso clarinettist, Mitchell Berick, with Christ Church Camerata, conducted by David Banney.
