2021

The Composer

is in the RoomElena Kats-Chernin

Andrew Ford Photo: Steven Godbee

Ann Carr-Boyd

Matthew Hindson

Moya Henderson

2pm Sunday 28 February Chevalier Performing Arts Centre Burradoo 7.30pm Saturday 6 March Wollongong Town Hall 2pm Sunday 7 March Nowra School of Arts 2021Upcoming Programs 2021The Program

JUNE Bright Shiners Andrew Ford (b.1957) ‘Celebration of Youth’ showcasing the outstanding talent of our local young composers, soloists and musicians. 2pm Sunday 20 June Chevalier Performing Arts Centre Burradoo Fandango Ann Carr-Boyd (b.1938) 7.30pm Saturday 26 June Wollongong Town Hall 2pm Sunday 27 June Nowra School of Arts. The Dreaming – IV AUGUST Utterly Sacred – In Honour of 60,000 years Moya Henderson (b.1941) ‘Earth Connections’ featuring William Barton performing his own compositions on didgeridoo and other Indigenous composers and performers in music about our land. 2pm Sunday 22 August Chevalier Performing Arts Centre Burradoo Blue Poles Andrew Ford (b.1957) 7.30pm Saturday 28 August Wollongong Town Hall 2pm Sunday 29 August Nowra School of Arts. Elegy in Memoriam Rupert Brooke Frederick Septimus Kelly NOVEMBER (1881–1916) ‘Seasons’ where Steel City Strings revels in its characteristic chamber orchestral sounds in this all-baroque program. 2pm Sunday 14 November Chevalier Performing Arts Centre Burradoo Nothing is Forever Matthew Hindson (b.1968) 7.30pm Saturday 20 November Wollongong Town Hall 2pm Sunday 21 November Nowra School of Arts. INTERVAL

Bookings: www.steelcitystrings.com.au or 0467 869 478 Cinque Forme d’Amore (“Five kinds of love”) Elena Kats-Chernin (b.1957) World Premiere. Commissioned by Sue Kirby in memory of Jack Goldring. I. Waltz II. Love III. Tango IV. Memory’s Heart V. Finale (Work)

www.steelcitystrings.com.au P: 0467 869 478 E: [email protected] 2 3 2021Artists

CONDUCTOR: Shilong Ye such as the Tuggeranong Valley Band, THE ORCHESTRA Rhythm Syndicate Choir, Forrest National A sought-after musical Chamber Orchestra and Musica da Camera Conductor Shilong Ye director, conductor, Chamber Orchestra. Other ensembles soloist and event Shilong has conducted in the past include First violins Kyle Little manager, Shilong Ye ANU School of Music Orchestra, Canberra regularly travelled (concertmaster) City Band, Sydney Conservatorium of Music between Canberra, Monique Ziegelaar Orchestra, Arco Music Academy Chamber Sydney, Wollongong and China to work Orchestra (co-founder), Kuringai Youth Kate Malone on multiple musical projects each year. A Orchestra, Ashfield Community Band, Steel Matthew Tsalidis top student in music from Narrabundah City Strings, Australian New Goldburg College, Shilong went on to study violin and Orchestra, Australian Chinese Musicians Second violins Jacob Antonio* viola with Tor Fromyhr as well as conducting Association Orchestra and Choir, and Siobhan Mewes with Max McBride and Dominic Harvey at Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra. ANU School of Music. He later completed Mitra Ahmadi his Master of Music Studies in Conducting Pirshahid with Professor Eduardo Diazmuñoz, Dr. Hannah Roberts Stephen Mould and Associate Professor ARTISTIC DIRECTOR AND Neil McEwan at Sydney Conservatorium CONCERTMASTER: Kyle Little Violas Adrian Davis* of Music and received “Alan Bellhouse Janine Jackson Award for a Young Conductor”. Since 2006, Kyle Little is founding Miffy Ryan Shilong has performed and conducted in Artistic Director and regional NSW, major performance venues Concert Master of Jonathan Karanikas in Canberra, the Sydney Opera House, and Steel City Strings. enjoyed concertising in Shanghai, Taiwan He completed his Celli: Karella Mitchell* and Czech Republic. Bachelor of Music in Louisa Lovasz violin performance from the University of Shilong began his musical journey on piano Rita Woolhouse Dalhousie, Canada in 2006. He graduated at the age of four and made his public from the University of Wollongong in 2010 Catherine Barnett conducting debut at the age of twelve. with a Graduate Diploma in Education and in After winning the Golden Award in the Double Bass Ethan Ireland* 2013 with a Masters in Education - Research. English Vocal category at the China National Arts Competition of Youth, Shilong moved Kyle is the full-time instrumental ensemble * denotes principal to Australia and joined Canberra Youth director and classroom music teacher at Orchestra (CYO) in 2004. Between 2004 and Campbelltown High School of Performing 2007, Shilong was the principal viola for CYO Arts. He was awarded the NSW ACEL Mary and later became the assistant conductor Armstrong Award for educational leadership and string tutor at Canberra Youth Music. in 2017. With over 10 years of association with Kyle teaches violin at Wollongong CYO and James McCusker Orchestra Conservatorium and taught the Music (Canberra), Shilong is known to the Methods course at Wollongong University in Canberra community for bringing up young 2019. He advocates for the importance of talents through his orchestral training, and quality music education in schools. his association with local musical groups,

4 5 2021Program Notes

Bright Shiners (2009) for solo arranged for many different ensembles and lyrical seamlessness of Gregorian chant in Blue Poles is dedicated to violin and string orchestra today’s arrangement was made in 2008 for my style, which means that I muster the on his 70th birthday. It is the fifth movement the Sydney Symphony Fellows. forces of my own cultural background to of Manhattan Epiphanies (1994 - 99) Andrew Ford (b.1957) pay deep reverential homage to ancient commissioned by the Australian Chamber When the Australian Chamber Orchestra first Recently, Fandango was broadcast twice Aboriginal cultures with their awe-inspiring Orchestra. asked me to compose this piece to celebrate in ABC Classic’s Listeners’ Choice. I am land-spiritualities. Aboriginal music is also a Richard Tognetti’s 20 years at the helm, I honoured and excited that the Steel City © Andrew Ford, 2021. strong influence in this work, but only at the immediately heard a kind of sparkling music: Strings has included me in their program, The subliminal level, there are no direct quotes. In high-pitched spiccato dots glittering in relief Composer is in the Room. Elegy in Memoriam Rupert recent years I have written my music within the against slowly drifting harmonics. © Ann Carr-Boyd, February 2021. framework of uncomplicated time signatures Brooke for Strings The title, ‘Bright Shiners’ comes from that in order to bring back into it that living, Frederick Septimus Kelly (1881–1916) mysterious counting song ‘Green Grow the The Dreaming – IV breathing, singing rubato that is intrinsically Frederick Septimus Kelly though born in Rushes O’ with its arcane imagery of the two Utterly Sacred – In Honour of suited to passionate melody. Australia was largely educated in England, ‘lily-white boys’, six ‘proud walkers’ and eight his talent for music being nurtured, first at 60,000 years © Moya Henderson (written, circa early 1990s and ‘April rainers’. There are plenty of theories Eton College and later at Oxford University Moya Henderson (b.1941) updated for today, 2021.) about the meaning of these references and where he also acquired skills as an oarsman, The Dreaming, a work in four movements, also the identity of the nine ‘bright shiners’, winning a gold medal in rowing for England for string orchestra, was commissioned but none that bears much scrutiny. I have no Blue Poles (1999) at the London Olympics in 1908. Further by and written in 1985. It was idea what the bright shiners are or were, but Andrew Ford (b.1957) studies in composition and piano in Frankfurt first performed by the Australian Chamber I’ve known the song since I was a small boy Jackson Pollock’s Blue Poles has always made prepared him for a musical career. He Orchestra in the Concert Hall of the Sydney on the back seat of the family car and, 40-odd me want to play it; or to be precise it made made his debut as a concert pianist first in Opera House, during the International years later, the phrase nicely summed up the me want to play from it, because in many Sydney (1911) and then in London (1912), Conference of Pharmacology, 1987. sparkling music I was imagining. ways it resembles a musical score. Because having already established a reputation as a The second movement, written for seven solo it is wide, like ‘cinemascope’, it invites us The first performances of Bright Shiners notable young composer, keen to promote strings, has never been performed. It deploys to read it from left to right. Most paintings were given by the ACO with Pekka Kuusisto. the music of his contemporaries. But Kelly’s the then newly invented ‘nooses’: one for do not. And because it is a large canvas, it The piece has since been taken up by the performing life was to be rudely interrupted violin; one for viola and one for cello. The also invites us to take it in by walking past Hong Kong Sinfonietta and the Norwegian with the outbreak of World War I that saw him nooses enable the entire movement to be it. In this, Pollock’s painting approaches the Chamber Orchestra. commissioned into the Royal Naval Volunteer performed using only natural harmonics. But, condition of music, revealing itself in stages. Reserve. © Andrew Ford, 2021. as mentioned, this movement was barred The famous poles themselves help this Amongst his fellow officers was the poet from the premiere and so has never been approach. On the most obvious level they Rupert Brooke with whom Kelly developed a Fandango performed. divide the painting into sections so that the close friendship, documented in his eloquent Ann Carr-Boyd (b.1938) The fourth movement of The Dreaming eye passes from one to the next, adding diaries. It is here, in the entry for April 23, 1915, Fandango was commissioned by Adrian is entitled Utterly Sacred - in honour of to that sense of movement. And because we read how on that day Brooke’s sudden Hooper and The Sydney Mandolins in 1982 65,000 Years. I keep adjusting the date to the poles are neither straight nor vertical, death from an infection greatly affected Kelly. and performed by them in concerts in Sydney acknowledge history’s ever-extending reach but jagged and evidently about to topple Since Kelly was to sail for Gallipoli the next and further afield. First recorded on an LP back through time. forwards, they contribute to the painting’s morning, he and five close friends buried and later transferred to numerous compact This music could quite safely be described internal momentum. For me, they have a Brooke by moonlight in a quiet olive grove discs, Fandango has led an adventurous as sacred music although, as the title further function. Those blue poles remind on the Greek island of Skyros. life ever since (much more so than the indicates, there is no overt reference to me of crooked bar lines, with complex and composer), travelling in the USA, Cuba and Western religion. That said, there is the brightly coloured melodic strands cavorting extensively in Europe. The piece has been undeniable and profound influence of the across them.

6 7 2021Program Notes (Cont)

Almost a month later (May 21) Kelly, now Nothing is Forever WORLD PREMIERE: but also about the brilliance of the man who in Gallipoli, notes that “…the whole of Matthew Hindson (b.1968) Cinque Forme d’Amore is now gone. So, there is on the one hand a the afternoon bullets have been whistling I was invited by the HUSH Foundation to write memory of the love he had for his work, his continuously over my dug-out. I have ever (“Five kinds of love”) students and for his wife, and in turn it also a piece in response to the issue of adolescent Elena Kats-Chernin (b.1957) since the day of Rupert Brooke’s death been mental health. We visited some in-patient reflects back the love Sue has for Jack. I humbly feel privileged to be chosen by Sue composing an elegy for string orchestra…” areas dealing with this issue in hospital and Another dance movement is movement 3, Kirby and Yve Repin on behalf of Steel City Today I felt my way right through to the end met with the NSW Youth Advisory Council a Tango, which is all about the pure fun of Strings to write this piece. of it. Repatriation on medical leave to a hotel for a Sydney hospital. Out of these meetings dancing and builds further on Sue and Jack’s in Alexandria gave Kelly the opportunity to and interactions came some musical ideas – Writing a work dedicated to the memory of love of dancing. notate the score, which he completed on a truly remarkable man Jack Goldring has which then became Nothing Is Forever. Movement 4 is the darkest of the five. It is June 29, observing in his diary that the work been both fulfilling and meaningful yet also The piece starts off with (quite) a mournful almost like a funeral procession. I was drawn is “completely bound up with Rupert Brooke daunting. When his widow Sue and I first met, melody to represent the patients being to the sound of funereal strings with their and the circumstances of his burial… a true it was crucial for me to get a sense of the man closed off within themselves – quite an inward- rich low notes, in 7/4, later superimposed portrayal of my feelings on that night and he was. I am far more inspired by seemingly looking feel to it. As the piece progresses it by 4/4 in higher melody in violins. I was the passionless simplicity of the surroundings small details rather than the general view of a takes on a journey gradually becoming more imagining the fabulous Steel City Strings at with occasionally a revealing of my personal person. Apart from his high level of ethics in positive and by the end it is (quite) optimistic. work while writing this movement. I heard anguish.” his work and his care for the people around In any case, I wanted the piece to be their Shostakovich quartet interpretation A melancholic four-note theme, given initially him, I needed to know about his interest in optimistic at its heart, with the message that, once and from that vibrant performance I got to violins and soon imitated throughout the music, and any of his hobbies. hopefully, things might improve for patients the impression that the juxtaposition of two ensemble, firmly establishes the sombre Throughout the conversations it transpired in time, despite how it may seem at a given different rhythms really suited this orchestra mood. This motif and its variants generate that Sue and Jack first met as young people time. And how relevant it now seems, a few and their director. much of what follows. The rich modal textures at a dance session. They both loved dancing. years later - given everything we have all Movement 5 is an optimistic Finale in C major. of the string writing are reminiscent of the Thus, the first movement was born out of the been through! I thought about Jack’s very busy working life English pastoral style, as in Vaughan Williams image I had of them both dancing when the and how he gave so much of his time to Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis. Gently © Matthew Hindson, 2021. seed of love was planted, even though it took others, working non-stop and ensuring that fluttering triplet figures, evocative of a gentle some decades to grow. It is a wistful waltz, his students continue his work and carry his breeze, usher in a solo violin whose expansive with a melody a little bit like a story telling. legacy onwards. This movement is rather flights of lyricism may well represent the dead The main motive keeps coming back, as if frenetic, but it also has a recurrence of the poet, his soul freed from earthly restraints. reflecting on the different points in their life Waltz theme, this time in 4/4 metre. The final bars return to the opening figure, when they met and then stayed together. © Elena Kats-Chernin, 2021. now heard in separate string choirs, mourning There are two darker movements inside this in hushed tones. five-movement suite. Movement 2 is one We recognise in Kelly a composer in tune such piece. A part of the piece’s character with his time and in command of his craft, responds to Jack’s “reliability of character”, confident in his own voice. The tragedy is with insistent chords, based on the same that with Kelly’s death during the Somme note E, while in addition to this initial chord campaign in November 1916 he was never progression comes a melody that has a to develop that voice into old age. Sadly weaving bluesy quality. In a strange way I felt at a time of significant musical evolution, that it is like the shifting interpretations of the Australia and the world was deprived of a law, how there are many corners and curves, gifted composer. and different ways of looking at things. I © David Vance, 2021. remember thinking about books and words

8 9 Sue Kirby’s memories of Jack Goldring Jack died in 2009. He was the Foundation Dean of Law at Wollongong University and a passionate fighter for social justice. In setting up the Law Faculty, his aim was for the student population to reflect the local community – advocating for law students of Aboriginal and non-English speaking backgrounds. He ended his career as a judge of the District Court of NSW giving him the opportunity to experience the fruits of his labour as a law teacher as his former students appeared before him as lawyers. His time as a judge cemented his deep belief that social disadvantage has an enormous impact on shaping lives. He was a great lover of music and was an early supporter of Steel City Strings. He and I always enjoyed and admired Elena Kats-Chernin’s work, particularly Russian Rag (also known to listeners of Phillip Adams as the Dance of the Drunken Wombats). What better way to celebrate his life than by commissioning Elena to compose a piece in his memory? It’s been a joy watching Elena develop the five movements of Cinque Forme d’Amore. Miraculously, she has captured Jack’s seriousness and scholarship as well as his light-heartedness and huge sense of fun. I hope that Cinque Forme will give as much pleasure to music lovers as it has to me. Sue Kirby, 2021.

10 11 2019 STEEL CITY STRINGS in conjunction with Music Shoalhaven PRESENTS 2019 TICKESTTS EEL CITY STRINGS Adult $45 in conjunction with Music Shoalhaven Student $20 Symphonic $40 PRESENTS Concession sounds Under 18yr $10 violin soloist Family $100 TICKETS Anna da Silva Chen Adult $45 featuring Student $20 Symphonic $40 Concession sounds Under 18yr $10 15 Chevalier Performing Arts Centre violin soloist Family $100 SEP Sunday 2pm featuring Anna da Silva Chen St. Francis Xavier Cathedral 21 Saturday 7.30pm 15 Chevalier Performing Arts Centre SEP SEP Sunday 2pm 22 Nowra School of Arts 21 St. Francis Xavier Cathedral SEP Sunday 2pm SEP Saturday 7.30pm 22 Nowra School of Arts BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto SEP Sunday 2pm MOZART’S JUPITER SYMPHONY BEETHOVEN Violin Concerto CONDUCTOR Luke Spicer MOZART’S JUPITER SYMPHONY ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Kyle Little PATRON Andrew Ford, OAM CONDUCTOR Luke Spicer ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Kyle Little PATRON Andrew Ford, OAM

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