Petite Messe Solennelle

The Petite Messe solennelle stands as one of Gioachino Rossini’s most captivating late works. The title translates to a “little” solemn mass though this does not capture the monumental spirit of this work. Written in 1863, decades after his operatic triumphs had finished, the piece fuses Rossini’s unmistakable theatrical flair with profound sacred expression. Radiant choruses, meltingly lyrical solos and moments of intimate devotion unfold alongside flashes of wit and rhythmic brilliance, revealing a composer at once playful and deeply sincere. This performance features Rossini’s original 1863 scoring for two pianos and harmonium giving us a strikingly transparent and intimate sound world that places rhythmic vitality and vocal colour front and centre. The keyboard writing sparkles and surges with operatic energy, from the buoyant Gloria to the exhilarating double fugue of the Cum Sancto Spiritu, while the harmonium lends warmth and a devotional glow to contemplative movements such as the luminous O salutaris hostia and the transcendent Agnus Dei. UQ School of Music pianists Liam Viney and Anna Grinberg join harmonium player Graeme Morton AM to realise this vibrant chamber score alongside the voices of the UQ Singers and UQ Chorale. Conducted by Richard Mills AO, and presented in collaboration with Opera Queensland in the QPAC Concert Hall, this performance brings together some of Queensland’s finest artists for an evening of choral splendour that is intimate, exuberant and profoundly moving.

Dr Graeme Morton

Dr Graeme Morton AM is one of Australia’s most eclectic choral musicians, with a wealth of experience as a conductor, teacher, composer and broadcaster of choral music. Graeme has received numerous awards including an award of the Order of Australia (AM) for service to the arts, the 2011 Lord Mayor's Australia Day Cultural Award, the Prime Minister's Medal (2003) for his contribution to music, and a Churchill Fellowship, allowing him to observe choral leadership in the United States and Canada.

As Co-Founder and first Director of The Australian Voices, Graeme helped further establish a new awareness of Australian choral music. He has conducted several Australian premiers, including Morten Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna, Benjamin Britten's The Company of Heaven and The World of the Spirit, Andrew Carter's Benedicite and Missa Sancti Pauli, Javia Busto’s Requiem and Dominic Argento's A Toccata of Galuppi's. He has commissioned many pieces that have become Australian choral classics, such as Past Life Melodies (Hopkins) and Ngana (Leek).

Anna Grinberg

Dr Anna Grinberg is Piano Performance Fellow and Lecturer at the School of Music, University of Queensland. She has an international profile as a pianist, teacher, and academic, and collaborates widely with orchestras, composers and other performers.

Anna’s engagements have included solo and chamber music performances at prestigious venues in the United States, including Royce Hall in Los Angeles and New York's Weil Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, and in Europe, Israel and China. She has performed as soloist with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, the Hartford Symphony Orchestra and the Paul Mellon Chamber Orchestra.

She performs as a member of the Viney-Grinberg Duo, ensemble-in-residence at the University of Queensland, exploring both existing and new repertoire. Through the duo she has commissioned and premiered dozens of new works for piano duo from composers in Australia and the United States, with funding from sources such as the Australia Council for the Arts, and the Fromm Foundation, Harvard. This work has been featured on three compact disc releases by ABC Classics and Tall Poppies, and has been nominated for an Australian Music Centre/APRA Award for Excellence.

After completing postgraduate studies at Yale University (with Boris Berman) and SUNY Stony Brook (with Gil Kalish), Anna served on the piano faculties of Chapman University and California Institute of the Arts prior to her current position at the University of Queensland.

Liam Viney

Professor Liam Viney is a performer and scholar with interests in piano performance, especially duo pianism, and new music. As a performer Liam has collaborated with dozens of composers, ensembles, and symphony orchestras. He is a member of two ensembles in residence at The University of Queensland – UQ Chamber Players, and Viney-Grinberg Duo. Each group explores existing bodies of literature while also commissioning numerous new works. He is a leading authority on Australian duo piano music, with a focus on the collaborative creation of new musical practice and thought. As a solo performer Liam has performed with a number of symphony orchestras, in concertos ranging from those of Mozart and Beethoven to Prokofiev and Ligeti. His approach involves producing new artistic works while also translating artistic practice and musical thinking into scholarly contexts. Liam  has commissioned and premiered dozens of new works for piano, two pianos, and chamber ensembles from composers in Australia and the United States with funding from sources such as the Australia Council for the Arts, and the Fromm Foundation, Harvard. In recent years his work has been nominated for Australian Music Centre/APRA Awards for Excellence. Liam has been featured on eight commercial CDs on labels such as ABC Classics, Tall Poppies, and Naxos. Liam has served on the keyboard faculty of California Institute of the Arts. He is currently Professor and Head of School at the School of Music, University of Queensland.

UQ Chorale

The University of Queensland Chorale are a choral ensemble that draws young vocal artists from across the University to perform diverse repertoire. Under the direction of Dr Graeme Morton - Choral Fellow at the School of Music and Director of Music at St John’s Anglican Cathedral, Brisbane - the ensemble focuses on traditional and contemporary choral repertoire including that of Australian composers. The UQ Chorale also regularly collaborate with other musicians and contribute to research projects within the University.

The ensemble has performed in the Red Box (South Bank) as part of the Queensland Festival of Music, and at the University of Queensland’s Art Museum, Nickson Room, Customs House and performs regularly at St John’s Cathedral. Regional tours (such as to Cairns, Innisfail, and Toowoomba) support the University’s engagement with local communities, and the group’s research involvement extends from the canonic material from the early Renaissance, to commissions and recent compositions.

UQ Singers

The UQ Singers encompass all the emerging artists who focus on classical singing at The University of Queensland School of Music. They are involved in a variety of solo and chorus projects, from full operas to opera scenes and large choral works in conjunction with The University of Queensland Symphony Orchestra. Major tours to Far North Queensland and the Granite Belt have included working as mentors to young musicians as well as performances for regional audiences. In South-East Queensland, the UQ Singers have worked extensively with local orchestras and performed in many venues from the Botanic Gardens, St John’s Cathedral and in the Upper House of Queensland Parliament.

The Bachelor of Music (Honours) program develops skilled performers in all areas of vocal technique and offers opportunities to perform varied vocal literature. Under the tutelage of Dr Shaun Brown, Sarah Crane, and Gregory Massingham, students develop the full array of tools required by a professional singer for public performances through studio lessons, workshops, recitals, opera excerpts and our ever-broadening concert program. Students achieve a high degree of professional competence and learn appropriate stylistic approaches to the literature of various historical periods. In addition, students participate in workshops and workplace learning opportunities with a diverse field of industry professionals, such as Dane Lam, Narelle French, Johannes Fritzsch, Rosario La Spina, Milijana Nikolic, Bryan Probets, Bradley Daley, Rachelle Durkin, John Antoniou, Joseph Ward OBE, Peter Robinson, and Andrew Collis.