Leading students from the UQ wind and brass department will present eclectic works from Edwards, Mendelssohn, Bozza, Britten and Bohme.
Ecstatic Dances Ross Edwards
Ecstatic Dances by Ross Edwards is an Australian work, composed between 1978-1980. The work begins with an energetic hocket, a complex and unpredictable melodic interplay between the two flutes. Darting melodic fragments weave into an excited frenzy. The second movement is more graceful and dancelike.
Scherzo from A Midsummer Night’s Dream Mendelssohn
The Scherzo from Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream is infamous amongst flute players for its technical difficulty. The orchestral piece was arranged for flute duet by Joseph-Henri Altés. A fast, excited whirl, this piece displays many of the characters and themes of the fairies in Shakespeare’s drama.
Jour d’ete a la Montagne Bozza
Jour d’eté à la montagne (Summer Day in the Mountains) by Eugène Bozza shows four snapshots of nature in the French mountains. The first movement, Pastorale, has a slow-moving sicilienne melody. The expansive phrases and the rich harmonies evoke a sense of the peace before dawn. Bird calls light up the texture as the piece closes, suggesting a sunrise. The second movement Au bord du torrent (On the Banks of the Torrent), is a rushing wave of chromatic twists and turns, like a rapid-moving river. Le Chant des Fôrets (Song of the Forest), the third movement, is a lament. As the harmonies become more complex, church bells of different sizes can be heard in the distance. The final movement, the Ronde, is a lively dance and a celebration of folk culture.
Jemima Drews is excited about energetic flute performances and the power of large symphonies. Currently in her third year of study at the University of Queensland, she is a Southern Cross Soloist Next Gen Artist and the 2019 winner of the James Carson Memorial Prize. In 2018 she was invited to perform with Dots and Loops as a fellow for the Liminality Festival and as a local artist for the Bangalow Music Festival. Jemima is Principal Flute/Piccolo for the UQ Symphony Orchestra and Principal Piccolo for Queensland Youth Symphony. Jemima aims to perform music in a vibrant and engaging manner to encourage her audiences love music as much as she does.
Katya Willett’s enthusiasm for the flute is the main motivator in everything she does. Her drive has seen her become a Southern Cross Soloist Next Gen Artist and a finalist in the James Carson Memorial Prize while in her second year of study at UQ. She performs as Concertmaster with the Queensland Youth Orchestra Wind Symphony and is Principal Flute for the UQ Symphony Orchestra. Katya runs a busy teaching studio where she encourages her students to share her adoration of the flute.
Jessica Walther aspires to make her love of beautiful music into a professional career. As a second year flautist at UQ, she is Principal Piccolo for the University of Queensland Symphony Orchestra, the Queensland Youth Orchestra Wind Symphony, and is a performing augmenter with the Queensland Youth Symphony. She has performed at the Bangalow Music Festival, QSO’s A Day in the Orchestra, and has toured with the Queensland Youth Orchestras. Jessica aims to find beauty in everything she plays and enjoys playing solo as well as in chamber and orchestra groups.
Tayler Basham appreciates the joy and experience of music. Originally from Yeppoon, she has moved to Brisbane to explore the potential of flute performance. It is her plan to become a teacher, encouraging the next generation to have as much fun making music as she does. Currently in her second year of study at UQ, she performs in the Queensland Youth Orchestra Wind Symphony and the UQ Symphony Orchestra.
Fanfare for St. Edmundsbury Britten
The Fanfare for St Edmundsbury is a fanfare for three trumpets written by the British composer Benjamin Britten for a "Pageant of Magna Carta" in the grounds of St Edmundsbury Cathedral, Bury St Edmunds in 1959. Each trumpet plays one solo "verse" in turn. These are not only separated from each other in key but also in style: although they all include some long notes at phrase ends, overall one is a bouncy 6/8, one a martial-sounding, bold statement, and one a series of smooth arpeggios. So when they all come in together at the end and play their verses simultaneously the initial effect seems chaotic. As the last play-through progresses it gradually dawns on the listener that a unity is emerging from the chaos as the long notes start to settle and overlap: by the last few bars the three trumpets are playing triumphant block chords together.
Trumpet 1 - Jack Duffy
Trumpet 2 - Pieter Wilken
Trumpet 3 - Benjamin Ryan
Trompeten Sextett Bohme
Oskar Böhme's Trumpet Sextet or Brass Sextet op.30, probably written around 1906, undoubtedly ranks among the finest brass music produced by the romantic era. The title refers to the distinctive symmetry of the instrumentation: four instruments from the trumpet family and framed by two representative of the bugle family. The use of the trumpet was remarkable at the time because the characteristic brass ensembles of the period consisted exclusively of bugle-family instruments. It was for such a group of 2 cornets, alto, tenor and baritone horn, for example, that Viktor Ewald wrote his well known quintets.
Cornet - Jack Duffy Trumpet 1 - Pieter Wilken
Trumpet 2 - Benjamin Ryan French Horn - Preston Ellis
Trombone - John Rotar Tuba - Amelia Lane
About 2019 UQ Music @ St John's
UQ Music @ St John’s features performances by the UQ Chorale, Pulse Chamber Orchestra, UQ Chamber Singers, Andrew Goodwin, and Malcolm Stewart.
The Cathedral is kindly offering our audience members complimentary coffee and cake from 10:00AM prior to each UQ Music @ St John’s concert held at 11am, with the exception of the afternoon concert on 4 August 2019. Entry is free so come along and listen to the stars of tomorrow in the beautiful and serene setting of St John’s Cathedral in the Brisbane CBD.