We enjoyed a performance by Andrey Lebedev at our annual Tait Friends event at Stoke Lodge. Here is a film of him practicing the cadenza from Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez for Saturday’s concert with the Westminster Philharmonic conducted by Jonathan Butcher. 19:30 at St John’s Waterloo.
On May 13 I am performing Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez with the Westminster Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Jonathan Butcher at St John’s Waterloo. After recent ventures into more obscure concertos, returning to this work has felt like greeting a long forgotten friend.
More info: http://stjohnswaterloo.org/event/3063698
Ensemble Eroica plays to its Australian connections with a debut concert at London’s imposing Australia House on The Strand. Buried within the grand exterior, the elegant Downer Room will play host to a programme of Mozart, Grainger and Copland, featuring three exciting young Australian artists.
Programme:
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488
Grainger: Handel in the Strand
Mozart: Ch’io mi scordi di te?
Copland: Appalachian Spring
Conductor: Toby Thatcher Piano Soloist: Jayson Gillham Soprano: Alexandra Oomens
Attendance by RSVP only.
Date:18th Jan 2017 Time: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm Venue: Downer Room, Australia House Address: Downer Room, Australia House, Strand London WC2B 4LA, UK Price: Optional Donation
Save the Date for a free concert at St Martin in the Fields, Trafalgar Square, to hear Tait Awardee, Vivien Conacher singing with The Concordia Ensemble.
Monday 2 January, 1:00 pm Programme
Let me dance and let me sing from The Gipsy Princess – Kalman
Vilja’s Song from The Merry Widow by Lehar arr. Stickles
Dein ist mein ganzes Herz from Das Land des Lächelns by Lehar
Barcarolle from Les Contes d’Hoffmann by Offenbach
Gendarmes’ Duet from Geneviève de Brabant by Offenbach
Les oiseaux dans la charmille from Les Contes d’Hoffmann by Offenbach
Wien, du Stadt meine Traüme by Sieczyńksi
Ah, quel diner! from La Perichole by Offenbach
Love unspoken from The Merry Widow by Lehar
Adele’s Laughing Song from Die Fledermaus by J. Strauss
Brother mine from Die Fledermaus by J. Strauss
Performers
Sarah Labiner (soprano) recently sang Jano (Jenufa) and 15-Year-Old Girl (Lulu) with the English National Opera. Other roles and scenes include Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos), Sophie (Der Rosenkavalier), Adina (L’elisir d’amore), and Sophie (Werther). She trained at ENO Opera Works, the RCM, and UNCSA.
Vivien Conacher (mezzo-soprano) recent engagements include Opera Australia, Wexford Festival Opera, Iford Arts Festival, Grange Park Opera and BBC Proms. Vivien trained at the RCM, on ENO Opera Works and is an alumnus of the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme. She also runs a dementia-friendly recital series called Songhaven.
Edward Hughes (tenor) studied at the Benjamin Britten International Opera School with Tim Evans-Jones having previously completed a Masters in Aeronautical Engineering at Imperial College London. He has sung roles at Opera Holland Park and Longborough and understudied Das Lied von der Erde at the ROH. Roles performed include Tamino, Erik, Jenik, Rodolfo, Pinkerton, Cavaradossi, DonJosé, Des Grieux, Luigi, Macduff and Riccardo.
Matthew Palmer (baritone) studied at the Guildhall School under Robert Dean. He sings around the UK and abroad and has broadcast live on BBC Radio 3. Highlights include Guglielmo (Brigitta Festival, Estonia); Billy Budd (Opera North); Lorenzo, I Capuletti e i Montecchi (Pop-Up Opera); and Cover Abimelech & Alcindoro/Beniot (Grange Park Opera).
Samuel Oram (baritone) has been acclaimed for singing “with fire and gusto” (Birmingham Mail) and for his”…masterful breadth of line” (BBC Radio 3). He recently appeared as Thoas, Iphigénie en Tauride (Euphonia Opera), Nardo, Finta Giardinera (RCM), Marco, Gianni Schicchi (Westminster Opera), Marquis de la Force, Dialogues des Carmelites (BCO), Demetrius, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (BCO). Samuel is represented by Sarah Spooner at Cantabile Artists.
FREE Luchtime Concert: The Concordia Ensemble
Start: January 2, 2017 1:00 pm
End: January 2, 2017 1:45 pm
Venue: St Martin-in-the-Fields
Phone: 020 7766 1100
We are delighted to report that our Patron, Leanne Benjamin AM OBE, has been asked to join the jury of the prestigious Prix de Lausanne 2017. This is a great honour and acknowledges Leanne’s stature in the world of classical ballet.
This year the Tait Memorial Trust, Leanne Benjamin Awards proudly supports three young Australian dancers:
Lauren Songberg, ballet – English National Ballet School
Chloe Keneally, ballet – English National Ballet School
Rebecca Blenkinsop, ballet – Royal Ballet School
The article below was published by gramilano.comon the 30th November.
Jury members announced for the Prix de Lausanne 45th edition
The jury of Prix de Lausanne 2017 is composed of nine major personalities from the dance world, presided over by the Royal Ballet’s Director, Kevin O’Hare.
O’Hare said,
The Prix de Lausanne is a wonderful opportunity for me to see the talented dancers of tomorrow. I see it as more than a competition; it is a place where our young dancers are encouraged, cared for and given the feedback that provides the foundation for their future careers.
Each of the jurors has a link with one of the competition’s partner schools and companies, or is a former prize winner. Other aspects taken into consideration in forming the panel are having a wide geographical representation, a mix of experiences, and a representation of different styles of dance.
The jury of this edition is made up of the following members:
Kevin O’Hare: Director, Royal Ballet London – President of the jury (England)
Leanne Benjamin: Prix de Lausanne Laureate 1981 (England)
Paola Cantalupo: Artistic and Educational Director, Ecole Supérieure de Danse Cannes-Mougins Rosella Hightower and Prix de Lausanne Laureate 1977 (France)
Gigi Hyatt: Director of Education and Deputy Director, Hamburg Ballet (Germany)
Sue Jin Kang: Artistic Director, Korean National Ballet (Korea)
Goyo Montero: Ballet Director and Choreographer, Staatstheater Nürnberg and Prix de Lausanne Laureate 1994 (Germany)
Aki Saito: Prix de Lausanne Laureate 1991 (Japan)
Christian Spuck: Artistic Director, Zurich Ballet (Switzerland)
Shelly Power, who is the Artistic Director and Chief Executive Officer for the 2017 Prix de Lausanne, said,
I am honored to present the 2017 jury who collectively bring years of experience ranging from teaching, performing, directing and choreographing worldwide. Kevin O’Hare as President and his team of jury members will open doors and make dreams come true for the talented few who are about to embark on the next and perhaps most important step of their careers.
Booking
Tickets for all Prix de Lausanne 2017 events go on sale 15 December 2016 on prixdelausanne.org
Lovely to hear from 2007 Tait Awardee, Helen Sherman. Helen had great success in the 2011 Cardiff Singer of the World as Australia’s representative in this career making competition. She won the third prize in the Wigmore Hall/Kohn Foundation International Song Competition in 2013.
As you can see from her year in review below, Helen is now singing in the very best houses and is an international singer of repute. This recording of Vivaldi’s, Bajazet by Pinchgut Opera has just been released. We look forward to hearing more about this exciting artist.
Available now from Fish Fine Music http://www.fishfinemusic.com.au/products/PG007/Pinchgut-Opera/Vivaldi-Bajazet/CD and also at http://www.pinchgutopera.com.au/cds/bajazet
Update from Helen
2016 has been a challenging and exciting year for me. Highlights included singing Dorabella in Opera North’s revival of Tim Albery’s production of ‘Cosi fan Tutte’ and Donna Elvira for Classical Opera’s Don Giovanni at Cadogan Hall. The jewel of the year for me however, was making my Strauss debut as Octavian in David McVicar’s iconic production of ‘Der Rosenkavalier’ with Opera North. There was something quite ‘out-of-body’ about having Sarah Connolly’s name stitched into my trousers! The music in ‘Der Rosenkavalier’ is really out of this world and this production is beautiful in every way. I really learned so much from this role. We sang a show the night the divisive US election result was announced; it reminded me how truly blessed we are as musicians to be able to transcend this world and all it’s troubles through our work. It also re-emphasised to me how relevant and important music is; it proves that together we can do incredible things.
Our Winter Prom is only two days away. Here is a snippet of a piano run for violist, Lisa Bucknell; violinist, Alex Isted & accompanist, Chad Vindin, who are rehearsing Mozart’s Concertante for Violin and Viola K 364. Lisa and Alex are both Masters graduates of the Royal College of Music and have already gained impressive solo and orchestral CV’s.
Tickets are still on sale for our concert at St John’s Smith Square celebrating our very talented awardees who have travelled to the UK to complete their advanced musical studies. The Tait Chamber Orchestra will be conducted by Jessica Cottis.
British/Australian baritone Duncan Rock was a Tait Awardee in 2008 and a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the National Opera Studio, London. He has appeared in major roles at the Glyndebourne Festival, English National Opera, the Royal Opera House (Covent Garden), Théâtre du Châtelet, Deutsche Oper (Berlin), Teatro Real (Madrid), the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Opera North, the Boston Lyric Opera and Welsh National Opera.
We are thrilled to see the great success this very talented Western Australian singer has accomplished in a relatively short time. Below is a post from the ENO website about the Harewood Young Artists programme which gave him so many excellent opportunities. This type of advanced training/on the job experience is crucial to develop a great artist.
The Dowager Countess of Harewood was a professional violinist in Sydney and has been a dear friend of the Trust’s from the very beginning. We are honoured to say she is our Patron. To celebrate her 90th Birthday we are dedicating the performance of Mozart’s, Violin & Viola Concertante with Orchestra K364 to her in our 2016 Tait Winter Prom at St John’s Smith Square. Please come if you can. Book here
ENO Harewood Artists’ Match Campaign 2016
Support opera’s rising stars and see your donation double. More here
Donate now
From Monday, 21 November, to Thursday, 1 December, 2016, donations made to the ENO Harewood Artists’ programme will matched, making them twice as valuable to ENO.
We have £70,000 ready to be matched but we need your help to reach our target and unlock these vital funds. At ENO we are committed to nurturing talent. The ENO Harewood Artists’ programme makes a crucial contribution to developing the next generation of operatic stars. The programme costs over £200,000 a year to deliver and is funded entirely through donations.
The Harewood Artists’ programme provides exceptional training and mentoring to nine of the best British or British-trained singers at the beginning of their professional careers and gives opera’s rising stars the opportunity to develop and learn whilst being cast in roles on the London Coliseum stage. Each singer undertakes a programme of vocal and language training, is coached by experts in their repertoire and receives ongoing support from members of ENO’s artistic and music staff.
Previous Harewood Artists include Sophie Bevan, Katherine Broderick, Allan Clayton, Elizabeth Llewellyn, Iain Paterson, Duncan Rock and Sarah Tynan.
This season, our Harewood Artists performances include: Mary Bevan Don Giovanni; Andri Björn Róbertsson Tosca & Rigoletto; Nicky Spence Lulu; Matthew Durkan Rigoletto & Partenope; Katie Coventry, Soraya Mafi & David Webb The Pirates of Penzance; and Samantha Price The Winter’s Tale.
Matched support is generously donated by The Shears Foundation, The Queen Anne’s Gate Foundation and Talal & Lina Kanafani. For more information or to donate over the phone please contact patrons@eno.org or call 020 7845 9331.
The conductor of this year’s Tait Memorial Trust concert on gender, education and musical styles.
It’s that time of year again in London when the beautiful concert hall at St. John’s Smith Square is taken over by the Australian, Tait Memorial Trust.
The venue will be filled with talented Australian musicians and singers, many having benefitted from a Tait music scholarship. November 30th will be an opportunity for audiences to hear a wonderful programme of music and spot the Australian stars of the future.
If you are living in London or have friends over there, you should rush to get tickets. Conducting and curating this concert will be the internationally acclaimed Australian-born conductor, Jessica Cottis. On a wet and stormy London morning we manage to Skype and I ask first about her involvement with the Tait Memorial Trust.
“I sit on their advisory board and together we make the artistic decisions for programming concerts,”
she says.
“I benefitted from a Tait scholarship myself so feel really excited to be working with students and professionals who have come up through the same route.”
The Tait Memorial Trust is pleased to be assisting these fine young Australian artists in 2016.
The Tait Adopt a Performer scheme
The adopt a performer scheme allows a donor to directly support a young Australian performing artist annually for a three-year commitment. Please click here to learn how to actively involve yourself in the career development of a young performer.
The greatest return, however, would be to see your awardee fulfill their true potential and, as they graduate to a professional career, the pleasure of knowing that you played an important part in making this possible.
Royal College of Music
Tait Scholar – The Julian Baring family
The Royal College of Music Sally Law, Violin
To learn more about Sally please click here
Sally Law, Tait Scholar
Royal Northern College of Music
Higgins Scholar – The Higgins family Waynne Kwon, Cello
To learn more about Waynne please click here
Waynne Kwon, Higgins Scholar
The Leanne Benjamin Awards
selected by Leanne Benjamin AM OBE.
Financial assistance and support for young Australian dancers studying at major UK ballet schools
John Frost – Leanne Benjamin Award
The Royal Ballet School Rebecca Blenkinsop
Rebecca Blenkinsop
Leanne Benjamin Award
The English National Ballet School Chloe Keneally
Chloe Keneally
Leanne Benjamin Award
The English National Ballet School Lauren Songberg
Lauren Songberg
Partner Award Funding
Royal Over-Seas League Tait Prize Award funded by Chevalier Richard Gunter
Australian musician showing the most promise Ann Beilby, Viola
Ann Beilby
John Frost, Frank and Viola Tait Award
Australian International Opera Awards Nathan Lay, Baritone
Nathan Lay
Bel Canto Awards Joan Sutherland & Richard Bonynge Foundation
A Concert platform for a young Australian/New Zealand singer Emma Moore, Soprano
Emma Moore
Tait & Sir Charles Mackerras Chair
A Chair in the Southbank Sinfonia for the duration of the annual programme. This award is made possible due to a generous gift from the Estate of Lady Mackerras to fund a portion of the Chair for at least the next 10 years. This year the Tait contribution to this award has been made by Stephanie McGregor & Albert Kwok.
Sujin Park
John Amis Award
Dartington International Summer School
For a 1 week course of intensive study for an Australian musician Matthew Thomson, Tenor
Matthew Thomson
Extraordinary Awards
Margaret Rodgers Award
Selected by Margaret Rodgers personally Cameron Campbell, Viola
Cameron Campbell
Margaret Rodgers Award
Selected by Margaret Rodgers personally Nick Mooney, French Horn
Nicholas Mooney
Whalley and Tait Gift
Special funding to assist with the purchase of a 1930 Natale Carletti (Bologna), Viola
from the Whalley family and the TMT Lisa Bucknell, Viola
Lisa Bucknell
Tait General Awards
Award funded by The Thornton Foundation
To assist with continued private study Andrey Lebedev, Guitar
Andrey Lebedev
Award funded by the VEC Acorn Trust
To assist with continued private study Jo Dee-Yeoh, Cello
Jo Dee Yeoh
Award funded by The Thornton Foundation
To assist with continued private study Vivien Conacher, Mezzo-Soprano
Vivien Conacher
Award funded by The Hunter family
To assist with continued private study Krystal Tunnicliffe, Piano Accompanist
Krystal Tunnicliffe
Award funded by Louise Worthington
To assist with continued private study Ashlyn Tymms, Mezzo Soprano
Former Tait Awardee Claudia Dean graduated from The Royal Ballet School in August 2011, having moved to London aged 16 to train at the Upper School in Covent Garden. She was the recipient of the Tait Memorial Trust, Dance Arches Award in 2011, and went on to be offered a contract by The Royal Ballet. In 2014 Claudia made the difficult decision to return home to Australia, we are delighted to see that this very talented young dancer is passing the baton to the next generation of aspiring dancers in her homeland. We wish her all the very best and look forward to hearing more about her work in Australia.
The article below was published by Ballet News, May 2015.
Claudia Dean | Ballet Dancer to Business Owner
Sprezzatura is the Italian word for nonchalance; the effortless art of making something difficult look easy. The sustained hard work needed to conceal the effort has been a hallmark of Claudia Dean’s training and professional ballet career.
Claudia Dean graduated from The Royal Ballet School in August 2011, having moved to London aged 16 to train at the Upper School in Covent Garden. In her native Australia she had been dancing since the age of four, and had won a number of prestigious competitions including the Gold Medal plus the Audience Choice Award at the Genée International Ballet Competition in 2009.
I interviewed Dean for my Student to Star series at the time of her graduation, a few weeks before she started work in the Company, and I asked her what she anticipated the differences might be between school and company life. She told me, “I think it’s going to be a bit of a change for me. I will be my own person having to be responsible for myself. At school, you have teachers guiding you, although we work for ourselves, there is still a lot of extra support. Also, no uniform! I will have to decide what to wear each day which will be very different !”
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Tickets are still on sale for our concert at St John’s Smith Square celebrating our very talented awardees who have travelled to the UK to complete their advanced musical studies. The Tait Chamber Orchestra will be conducted by Jessica Cottis.
