Concert 1

The Orpheus Trio

Saturday 19th February 7.45pm

Due to Covid this is a members only concert

The Orpheus Trio formed in early 2012. Comprising pianist Helena Kernaghan, violinist Kaori Sparks & cellist Sam Goble, the trio enjoy the challenge of being an interstate, rural dwelling ensemble with members calling Albury & Castlemaine home.  

All members of the Orpheus Piano Trio are established performers in their own rights, and have gained experience performing and studying internationally throughout Europe, Asia and Australia (see Bios link at the bottom of the page for details). Sam and Helena have been collaborating in duo and trio combinations since meeting at the Victorian College of the Arts in 1997. Kaori and Helena first collaborated in 2011 for the Help Japan fundraiser concert series in their current hometown of Albury.

Orpheus have established themselves as one of Australia’s leading regional chamber ensembles, which was assisted by their role as ensemble-in-residence for the 2016-2019 Albury Chamber Music Festival’s. Throughout this time they collaborated with a diverse range of musicians including soprano Merlyn Quaife, clarinettist David Griffiths, and mezzo soprano Sally-Anne Russell.

Since their inception, they have performed regularly in their hometowns, as well as Bendigo, Wagga Wagga, Wangaratta, Melbourne, Deniliquin, Tumbarumba and Romsey, where they have acquired a dedicated following of music lovers who appreciate the trio’s focus on regional settings and performing in towns often overlooked on the national touring circuit.

The trio have two recordings, one live performance recorded in Wangaratta in 2013 (featuring works by Beethoven, Brahms and Debussy), the other a studio recording from 2018 (Dvorak and Shostakovich). For further information and purchases, please click on the ‘Products’ tab above.

Orpheus Trio’s concert calendar has been severely impacted by the rglobal estrictions to live performances due to Covid-19, however please check the ‘Upcoming Performances’ tab for updates as restrictions lessen.

 

Concert 2

Andrea Lam

Saturday 30th April 7.45pm

Pronounced a “real talent” by the Wall Street Journal, New York-based Australian pianist Andrea Lam performs with orchestras and leading conductors in Australasia, Japan, China and the United States, including the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic and all major Australian symphony orchestras. From New York’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center to the Sydney Opera House, she has played for Sydney Festival, Musica Viva’s Huntington Festival (Australia), Orford Festival (Canada), Chelsea Music Festival (USA) with works from Bach, Schumann and Chopin to Aaron Jay Kernis, Lilya Ugay and Nigel Westlake.

Recent engagements include New York’s Chelsea Music Festival, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Melbourne Recital Centre, Monash University and as soloist with the Melbourne and Canberra Symphony Orchestras, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, and Australian Youth Orchestra. 2020/21 performances included Sydney Festival, Sydney Opera House’s International Piano Day livestream, Chelsea Music Festival (including the world premiere of Glyndebourne composer-in-residence, Ninfea Cruttwell-Reade), with Australian String Quartet at Dunkeld Festival (VIC) and soloist with Canberra Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jessica Cottis; for Musica Viva Australia and Melbourne Digital Concert Hall.

A keen chamber musician, Andrea also performs and records extensively as pianist of New York’s acclaimed Claremont Trio. Andrea Lam was a Semi-finalistin the 2009 Van Cliburn Competition, Silver Medalist in the 2009 San Antonio Piano Competition, and winner of the ABC’s ‘Young Performer of the Year’ Award in the Keyboard section, and the Yale Woolsey Hall Competition. She holds degrees from both the Yale and the Manhattan Schools of Music. Recordings include Mozart concerti with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, for Huntington Festival’s commemorative album (ABC Classics) and with renowned cellist Matt Haimovitz (Pentatone

 

Concert 3

The Spooky Men’s Chorale 

Sunday 26th June 2pm

 

The Spooky Men’s Chorale is a vast, rumbling, steam-powered and black-clad behemoth, capable of rendering audiences moist eyed with mute appreciation or haplessly gurgling with merriment. Based on the twin pillars of grand foolishness and the quest for the perfect boofchord, the Spooky Men seek to commentate on the absurdity and grandeur of the modern male armed only with their voices, a sly collection of hats, and a twinkle in the eye. 

Formed in the Blue Mountains of NSW in 2001 by Christchurch-born Spookmeister Stephen Taberner, the Spooky Men have since performed over 750 gigs in diverse festivals and venues across Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and in Germany and Denmark, including Woodford, WOMAD (Adelaide and NZ), Edinburgh Fringe, and Tonder (Denmark). 

Through an evening of drop deadpan beautiful mansinging, the Spooky Men’s Chorale ponder the conundrums of modern life and manhood, invite the audience to joyously experience a wall of mansound, laugh stupidly, and venture into areas of great tenderness. It is not so much comedic as hilarious, not so much shimmeringly perfect as pleasingly and deeply human.

Concert 4

Chris Pidcock & Gerard Willems

Sunday 14th August 2pm

Buy Tickets Here

 

Canberra/Ngunnawal cellist Christopher Pidcock, enjoys a diverse career as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician, improviser, composer and artistic director.

As a social innovator, Christopher created the Opus Now concert series in Sydney, which has been running since 2017, pairing cycles of all of the Beethoven, Bartok and Haydn String Quartets with world indigenous music and contemporary classical music.

Christopher regularly champions new music, with recent works written for him by Alan Holley, Hollis Taylor, Alex Pozniak, Kim Cunio, Mary Finsterer, Georgia Scott and William Barton.

Christopher has performed as part of the Euro Arts Festival in Wuppertal, the International Music Institute in Darmstadt, and recitals in New York, Leipzig, Chicago, Tel Aviv and Moscow. Christopher’s awards include 2007 Gisborne International Music Competition (New Zealand) 1st prize, a Churchill Fellowship in 2008, the 2009 Nelson Meers Foundation Scholarship at the Sydney Eisteddfod, and Semi-finalist in the 2010 ABC YPA.

Christopher received his BM in Tasmania under Christian Wojtowicz, his MM under Prof. Uzi Wiesel in Sydney, as well as further studies with Hans Jørgen Jensen (Chicago), Gavriel Lipkind (Frankfurt) and Peter Bruns (Berlin). Christopher was a member of the Chicago Civic Orchestra before joining the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in 2013.

Christopher is currently completing his Doctorate at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, focussing on 19th century German romantic performance techniques and applying these to Beethoven’s Sonatas for Pianoforte and Cello. In 2020, Christopher released his solo album “Immersed in Bach”, which is available for purchase at cpproductions.com.au.

 

Christopher plays a cello made by Giovanni Guidantus (Bologna, circa 1710), thanks to a generous loan.

 

Gerard Willems – Piano

Sydney concert pianist. Gerard has taught at the Sydney Conservatorium for many years and was the first Australian to record all 32 Beethoven Piano Sonatas. He still regularly tours the world performing as a concert soloist and giving master classes. 

 

Concert 5

David Pereira Trio

Saturday 1st October 7.45pm

The recital features two outstanding cellists at different ends of their careers – Lianah Jaensch only 16 years old and David Pereira only 69 years old!

Until recently teacher and student, they now enjoy a shared professionalism that has them performing together with equality of all important kinds. Their program for Yass will bring an engaging mix of styles that we naturally associate with beautiful and virtuosic cello playing, including some original pieces composed by themselves. Also on stage will be an amazing pianist and a small group of additional cellists from the ANU School of Music.