Shaun Brown and Alex Raineri collaborate once again to present a concert of vocal and pianistic delights. Ranging from the profound examination of death and the impermanence of life in Brahms Vier ernste Gesänge (Four Serious Songs), Op. 121 to the famous American song of the Great Depression, Brother can you spare a dime, composed by Gorney and Harburg. The duo will portray life in its many guises from love to complete loss.
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Shaun Brown
Shaun is an Australian baritone, holding various musical degrees and being the winner of numerous prominent competitions.
He has worked and studied in England, Germany, Italy and the United States of America where he completed is Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of North Texas in 2019.
His professional operatic repertoire includes the major baritone roles in Così fan tutte, La fanciulla del West, The Merry Widow, Billy Budd, Don Giovanni, Otello, Rigoletto, La bohème, L’elisir d’amore, Carmen, Le nozze di Figaro, Romeo et Juliette and Die Fledermaus.
Internationally, Shaun has sung in Opéra de Lyon’s production of The Linderbergh Flight at the New Zealand International Arts Festival and has performed in New York at the Center for Contemporary Opera. He has also appeared to acclaim as a soloist in concert repertoire including Britten’s War Requiem, Brahm’s Ein deutsches Requiem, The Messiah, Faure’s Requiem, and Elijah.
Shaun holds the position of Voice Performance Fellow at the University of Queensland, School of Music.
Alex Raineri
Described by Limelight Magazine as “a soloist of superb virtuosic skill and musicality”, Australian classical pianist Alex Raineri (b. 1993) is internationally active as recitalist, concerto soloist and chamber musician. International performances include tours throughout California, South-East Asia, United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Germany and Austria.
Alex has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, Radio NZ, California Capital Public Radio, ABC Classic FM and all of the Australian MBS Networks. As a concerto soloist he has featured with the Queensland, Tasmanian, Darwin and West Australian Symphony Orchestras, Southern Cross Soloists, Orchestra Victoria, Four Winds Festival Orchestra, Bangalow Festival Orchestra and the Queensland Pops Orchestra.
Alex has been the recipient of a number of major awards including the Kerikeri International Piano Competition and Australian National Piano Award. Alex is the pianist with the Southern Cross Soloists and other notable chamber partnerships include; Andreas Ottensamer, eighth blackbird, ELISION, Sara Macliver, Natalie Clein, Greta Bradman, Li Wei Qin, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Jack Liebeck, Kathryn Stott, Slava Grigoryan, Brett Dean and many others.
He is the artistic director of the annual Brisbane Music Festival and is a passionate exponent of contemporary music having given 129 world premieres and 89 Australian premiere performances to date. Discography includes; Transfiguration (2019), Inventions (2019), I’ll Walk Beside You – Teddy Tahu Rhodes & Southern Cross Soloists (2018 – ABC Classics) and braneworlds – Kupka’s Piano (2017).
About 2020 School of Music Virtual Concert Series
The School of Music is proud to present a series of world class live-streamed concerts and music based presentations from the Nickson Room on selected Fridays at 1-2pm AEST involving our performance and academic staff together with current and past UQ students and invited guest artists.
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We are excited to offer this - and all livestreamed concerts - to our entire community free of charge. However, we hope you will consider making a gift to the Friends of Music Scholarship Fund, which supports our student musicians.
Friends of Music Scholarship Fund