Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

Event Details

Composers have used music to explore and explain stories since the earliest points in music history. Music with themes and stories promote the audience to delve into different worlds, and in many cases different cultures. A Night of Stories Through Music is a concert that features no similar story over the span of several works. From the statements of rebellions throughout history, to the world of a child in 19th century Russia..., all these works explore culture and myth at its heart and true belief.

Program

Rebellion by Stephen Rush

Album for the Young by Tchaikovsky arr. David Lockeridge

Arabic Dances by Meiser

Djinn for marimba and chamber Orchestra by John Psathas (Australian premiere)
Featuring a chamber orchestra made up of some of Newcastle and Sydney's finest string players, this amazing work delves into the world of the Djinn/Genies and the stories of good and evil and wish giving. Up and coming conductor Michael Tierney will help guide David Lockeridge and this fabulous orchestra through three movements each having there own story and character. Each movement can be explained like this ; 1. Pandora: Each god helped create her by giving her seductive gifts. Pandora opened a jar releasing all the evils of mankind leaving only Hope inside. The immortals know no care, yet the lot they spin for man is full of sorrow; on the floor of Zeus’ palace there stand two urns, the one filled with evil gifts, and the other with good ones. He for whom Zeus the lord of thunder mixes the gifts he sends, will meet now with good and now with evil fortune; but he to whom Zeus sends none but evil gifts will be pointed at by the finger of scorn, the hand of famine will pursue him to the ends of the world, and he will go up and down the faceof the earth, respected neith 2. Labyrinth Labyrinths are symbols that speak to deep levels of consciousness. The trip into the center and out again mirrors our lives and our personal journeys. The first few steps might be hesitant. With each successive turn that takes us closer to, then farther from the center, we examine our choices until the last turn takes us into the still, motionless center. The center of a labyrinth is the center of the Mystery. For some, it can be the largest, deepest, most profound Mystery, others find only their own shadow, or emptiness. In a labyrinth, the way out is the way in. There’s no wrong turn, or wrong choice. It is surrendering to the journey itself. We emerge from the last turn blinking, astonished. 3. Out-Dreaming the Genie Echoes of the warm safe danger conjured forth by the music of childhood TV shows, in which we may have been in the land of the giants, lost in space, or on a magic carpet with an inscrutable genie, but we knew always that everything was ok Wasn’t it? Stories and images that convinced youthful us we would turn our crawling into walking, then into running, and finally that we would lift up from the earth and fly free. This amazing premiere will also feature live graphics flashing behind the ensemble to draw the audience into the world of Djinn. An amazing marimba work, it explores some of the most challenging rhythmical writing.

Performers: Percussion/Marimba: David Lockeridge; conductor: Michael Tierney; trombone: Colin Prichard; tuba: Rowan Taylor; piano:Sally Whitwell

Featured non-Australian music: Djinn by John Psathas, Rebellion by Stephen Rush, Arabic Dances by Meiser, Album of the Young arranged by David Lockeridge

Further information for this event is available online at the event's website or by email to david.lockeridge@uon.edu.au

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