Australian Music Centre | Breaking sound barriers

Event Details

Sirius Chamber Ensemble’s first project for the year will be a concert of music for wind quintet, featuring classics from the repertoire alongside recent music by Australian composers. Performances will be held in Sydney, Picton and Newcastle.

Carl Nielsen’s Quintet Op.43 is perhaps the best-known and loved work for wind quintet. Dedicated to the members of the Copenhagen Wind Quintet, Nielsen captures the distinctive sound of each instrument and the players’ personalities in his modern, yet very accessible language.

Christine Draeger’s Variations on a Patriotic Love Song was written for Sirius and premiered in 2014. Researching her family tree, Draeger discovered a fellow musician amongst her ancestors, and adapted one of his songs for wind quintet. Draeger has crafted a pleasing set of lyrical, playful and sonorous variations featuring each of the members of the quintet.

Elena Kats-Chernin needs no introduction to Australian audiences, and her Sand Waltz for wind quintet has become one of the most performed pieces for this combintaion for good reason.

Andrew Schultz’s Six Minatures for flute, oboe and clarinet exploits the diverse range of timbres available to these three instruments. Alternating short movements of free, flowing melodies and fast, virtuosic passages, these miniatures by one of Australia’s foremost composers deserve to be appreciated by a wider audience.

Belle Epoque in Sud-America by Brazilian composer Julio Medaglia is a fun-filled dance suite featuring a lively tango, dream-like waltz and a chaotic and exuberant finale featuring the Eb (piccolo) clarinet.

Perfomers

• Melissa Coleman (flute)
• Alex Fontaine (oboe)
• Ian Sykes (clarinet)
• Alison Evans (bassoon)
• Julia Zeltzer (french horn)

Featured non-Australian music: Carl Nielsen - Wind Quintet Op. 43, Julio Medaglia - Belle Epoque in Sud-America

Further information for this event is available online at the event's website or by phone on 0417 260 818 or by email to sirius.ensemble@gmail.com

Featured Australian Works

	Sand waltz : for wind quintet (2001) by Elena Kats-Chernin — performed by Sirius Chamber Ensemble
	Six miniatures : for flute, oboe and clarinet in B flat (1996) by Andrew Schultz — performed by Sirius Chamber Ensemble
	Variations on a Patriotic Love Song : wind quintet by Christine Draeger — performed by Sirius Chamber Ensemble

Featured artists

• Performer Sirius Chamber Ensemble