It will be campaigning for a tripling of the budget for artists and small-to-medium sized arts organisations. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Biggest classical must gathering comes to the Hydro Majestic. The largest gathering of professional classical musicians ever in the Blue Mountains aims to add an extra layer of sumptuousness to a world-famous icon when The Metropolitan Orchestra performs at the Hydro Majestic Hotel this year. Guests will be able to immerse themselves in the strains of the 32-piece string ensemble playing Little Serenade for Strings by Rojas, String Serenade by Dvořák and Tchaikovsky’s String Serenade at the opening event entitled Cocktails & Serenades – the first of three concerts – taking place on Saturday March 12. “The sumptuous pairing of Dvořák and Tchaikovsky string masterpieces filled with purity, beauty and passion will lift the spirit,” say organisers. “Composed just five years apart and written at positive times in each of the composers’ lives, these joyful and evocative serenades will be complemented by Rojas’ fresh and vivacious work, rounding out a sublime musical evening.” The concert programme under the baton of Artistic Director and Chief Conductor Sarah-Grace Williams will be accompanied by a lavish cocktail and dining package. “The Hydro Majestic will be an ideal backdrop to the Majestic Concert Series, with its elegant historic venues, sweeping landscape and high-end food….

The ARIA Award-winning pianist and composer wants you to broaden your horizons a little every day. I don’t know who coined the term Portfolio Career. Did they want a more glamorous term than freelancing, contracting or muddling along? Whatever you choose to call it, it’s the way that most classical musicians now work. For me, it’s juggling a combination of recording contracts, occasional recitals, commissions to compose new works, some arranging, some choral conducting, a little chamber music, a small teaching studio, and lots and lots of accompanying. It’s a busy life, sometimes complicated, always stimulating and varied, but crucially, it’s a sound vocationally strategy based on having multiple skills at your disposal. If you’re considering becoming a professional classical musician, there are certain skills that will keep you employable and thus help to put you in situations where you feel appropriately challenged. Do your theory homework every day. Every single day as a working musician, I use skills I learnt in theory classes. Having the ability to read a score, hear it in my head and understand how it works without even approaching an instrument or a recording is the most valuable skill in my arsenal. Don’t let your…

The Australian author had in fact been awarded one of the world’s richest literary awards, worth AUD$207,000.

Tinalley String Quartet’s cellist delivers her top tips for a successful “portfolio” career  A few years ago I was asked to be involved in a Q&A style session with a group of young musicians in Melbourne who were about 10-years younger than myself. I was asked to open up about my life in music – specifically, how it was I came to have (and I quote) “my enviable portfolio career.” I found myself asking the obvious question – what exactly does portfolio mean? It seemed to imply that I had my life neatly packaged into a small suitcase, and as a cellist, I can assure you, that is never possible!  This model of professional multi-tasking has become a familiar career path for many classical musicians. For me, it’s a combination of orchestral work with the Melbourne Symphony, chamber music with Tinalley String Quartet, wonderful (but sometimes draining) peripatetic teaching and coaching, and any freelance performing that comes my way. Frankly, I think ‘musical mongrel’ would have been a more apt description of my career, as it’s hard to feel like a pedigree pooch with so many different things competing for attention.  Fortunately, I like it that way. As I described to…

The American novelist, best known for writing To Kill a Mockingbird, has passed away aged 89.

The disabled dance maker and PIAF Artist in Residence talks religious experiences and asking the hard questions. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

The award-winning recordist​ offers up some advice for emerging artists. Pace Yourself  “Exposure” and “Experience” will be two of the main driving forces while trying to establish your music career, but it is equally important (if not essential) to learn to pace yourself. While in university we have the luxury of a teacher’s guidance and hours locked in practice rooms to polish and perfect our recital repertoire, but once you are out in the real world with work commitments to juggle and neighbours that don’t appreciate your need to practice at 10pm, recital preparation can feel overwhelming. If organising your own events, allow yourself plenty of time to prepare each recital programme, which can be months depending on the repertoire you choose, and don’t feel like you need to cram each programme with the most technically demanding repertoire for your instrument, you will only exhaust yourself and your audience. Invest in your career This sounds like an obvious point to make but all too often artistic projects are abandoned once the realities of costs set in. There is no doubt that concerts, exhibitions and recordings can be expensive endeavours to undertake, but these projects are essential to developing your career, building…

The team at Citizen Theatre share why the next 12 months is about the female of the species. Are you an actor? A director? A writer? A theatre maker? A woman? A man? A person? Everyone can take something away from this delicious interview packed with advice, influence and insight from the ladies making Inferno: A Double Bill happen. From the acting team you’ll hear from the Crestfall cast: Marissa O’Reilly playing Alison Ellis, Marissa Bennett playing Tilly McQuarrie and Freya Pragt playing Olive Day, as well as Woman in Purgatorio. And after you’re done and longing for more – follow the links to find out what they think of the characters they’re playing. You’ll also find wonderful words of wisdom from directors Jayde Kirchert (Crestfall) and Celeste Cody (Purgatorio) plus two very special women from behind the scenes: Janel Gibson (stage manager) and Fiona Spitzkowsky (production manager Purgatorio). Q: What is one of your proudest moments working in theatre? Marissa O’Reilly:  I know for me, it was last year working with She Said Theatre. And it was pretty much an all-female production. So five women on stage discussing … similar topics to Crestfall. It was women being violent and vulgar and strong and lost in the world. It was…

Australia’s most popular tourist attraction and the surrounding areas have been evacuated by NSW Police.

In the first of a series of essays, film-maker Nicholas Searle explores contemporary Australian music. Discovering exciting new locally-made music was a task I neglected for years – and stretched as most of us are between family, work and life, I don’t think I’m the only one.   I make television for a living, and work on shows like Grand Designs Australia, New Inventors, Catalyst, Mythbusters and River Cottage Australia. Music is integral for these shows, but only to keep the story moving, to cover gaps. Music for television is like grease for a car – critical, but you don’t want the passengers to notice it. Until recently that didn’t worry me all that much. But in August I read a tweet about Julian Burnside. The barrister come human rights superhero had commissioned something called Wind Farm Music, dedicated to Tony Abbott. It had premiered just the day before at the State Library of Victoria, and social media was awash with retweets and videos. The music was a brilliantly clever mash-up of every great classical tune you’ve heard. Burnside’s cheeky title was a stroke of genius. Lyle Chans Wind Farm Music I searched out the composer – his name was Lyle Chan. On…

Creating environmental awareness through the medium of the symphony. The notion that the plight of our global environment could be told through the arts came from a lengthy conversation with my dear friend and prominent scientist, Dr Alan Finkel. We are both very optimistic, enthusiastic and creative beings and as a passionate musician, I knew that we could deliver environmental awareness through a cinematic composition for live orchestra. And so, the journey began. The Environmental Symphony was played in part during in the 2010 Prime Minister’s Banksia Environmental Awards. This in itself was a triumph with the symphony performed to synchronised visuals and narrated by Sir Richard Branson. Now the time has come to experience The Environmental Symphony in full. I look forward immensely to enjoying the performance at Hamer Hall, in my beloved home town of Melbourne. The symphony is descriptive and is expressed in five parts for both the orchestra and at the narrator. My friend, Bert Newton will host the night and introduce an 80-plus strong Melbourne Symphony Orchestra to perform the composition. Jack Thompson will provide narration to the dramatic, synchronised environmental visuals. The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra will be conducted by the brilliant Ben Northey. This will be…