THIS WEEK: MSC MASTER CLASSES You are invited to attend the Mietta Song Competition Master Classes on the 17th of July 2014! The MSC Semi-Finalists and special guests will take part in the following Master Classes to be held at the Council Chambers at ANAM, the South Melbourne Town Hall (210 Bank Street, South Melbourne). Entry for the public is by gold coin donation. 11am-1pm: The Artistic Partnership with Caroline Almonte 2pm-4pm: The Interpretation of Contemporary Song with Associate Professor Merlyn Quaife About Caroline: Caroline completed her postgraduate studies in piano performance at the Juillard School, under Oxana Yablonskaya, having previously studied with Stephen McIntyre at the VCA. She has won numerous awards, has recorded and produced for the ABC, is a presenter and mentor, and alongside her solo and chamber commitments, teaches piano at the University of Melbourne. In 2014, Caroline has concerto performances with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. She also performs recitals with Daniel Hope and with the Sutherland Trio. Last year, Caroline gave a recital tour with Pieter Wispelwey and performed with Bernadette Harvey and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. She also supported the Hush Music Foundation as soloist on their latest album. Chamber collaborations include members of the Australia Ensemble Australian String Quartet, Escher Quartet, Fine Arts Quartet, Flinders Quartet, Yvonne Kenny, Ralph Kirschbaum, Ian Munro, Li-Wei Qin, Merlyn Quaife and Miki Tsunoda. Caroline has performed in Europe, United States, China, Japan, Canada and South America. She has appeared at the Edinburgh International Festival, Teatro Colosseo series, the Perth International Festival, the Huntingdon Estate Music Festival and the Australian Festival of Chamber Music in Townsville. She has been involved in several projects with the Australian Youth Orchestra, the Melbourne Youth Orchestra and the Australian Music Examinations Board and is an artistic advisor for the ‘Lyrebird Music Society’ and as a laureate of previous competitions – ABC Young Performers’ awards and Concorso ‘Trio di Trieste’ - has been an invited member of the juries at the Singapore National Piano Competition, New Zealand Chamber Music Competition, Symphony Australia Young Performer’s Awards and at the Melbourne Recital Centre’s Bach competition. About Merlyn: A performer of great versatility, the distinguished soprano Merlyn Quaife has performed opera, oratorio, Lieder, chamber music and contemporary music throughout Australia, Europe and the USA. She has performed as soloist with the Singapore Symphony and the Voronesz Philharmonic (Russia). She has appeared with all the State Opera Companies in roles ranging from the bel canto Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor) to the minimalist Chiang Ch’ing (Nixon in China) and has performed with all the Symphony Australia orchestras, including with Vladimir Ashkenazy and the SSO. She has recorded a number of CDs including ‘Aria for John Edward Eyre’ by David Lumsdaine which won a Sounds Australia Award, she also appears on Naxos, Move, Tall Poppies and ABC Classics. In 1994, Merlyn made her American debut at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, singing the title role in Gordon Kerry’s opera Medea with Chamber Made Opera, which she also sang in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra seasons. In 1995 she sang the role in a new production by the Berliner Kammeroper. In 2004 she combined her two loves, horses and singing, performing the fiendishly difficult Queen of the Night on horseback. In 2013 Merlyn sang Ortlinde in Die Walküre in Opera Australia’s Ring Cycle. In the same year she was awarded an AM. From 1995-2007 she headed the Vocal Department at the Faculty of Music, the University of Melbourne and is now Associate Professor at Monash University.
Posted on: Sun, 13 Jul 2014 23:43:44 +0000