Guitar Extravaganza 2023 Program

Wednesday 11 October 2023

GUITAR EXTRAVAGANZA

FEATURING

Riverside Guitar Ensemble with special guests

Open Con Guitar Ensemble, Con Singers, The Bronos Kentet, and internationally renown composer and guitarist Richard Charlton

Programme

Open Con Guitar Ensemble

Conducted by Joel Woods

Joel Woods

Gary Rutledge

Ocean Blue

Lament

Open Con Guitar Ensemble

Conducted by Joel Woods

Riverside Guitar Ensemble

Richard Charlton

Meridian

Riverside Guitar Ensemble

Joe Hisaishi (arr. Thomas Green)

Shelby Devenish

Tara Lynam

Radithya Budi Theomarga

My Neighbour Totoro

Dreaming in Dances

Eclipse Laikuta

Interval

The Bronos Kentet

Frederic Hand

Richard Charlton

The Con Singers

Chorale Stoneworks, IV: Stones of power… granite gods, marble thrones!

(directed by Anthony Young)

Riverside Guitar Ensemble Rebecca Lloyd-Jones, percussion

Conductor: Richard Charlton

Richard Charlton Tales of Wind and Sail

(*Australian Premiere Performance)

I. Tall Ships

II. Sea Fever

Riverside Guitar Ensemble

Sergio Assad (arr. Joe Fallon)

Django Reinhardt (arr. Joe Fallon)

Jobiniana Douce Ambiance

Special Guest Artist Richard Charlton

As well as being an award-winning composer, Richard works as a teacher, conductor, performer and arranger. Born in the UK, he has been resident in Australia since 1963. Largely self-taught, he initially started writing music to expand his own repertoire, but now his works are performed and recorded by many leading Australian and international players, featuring on more than 30 commercial CDs with labels such as ABC Classics, Naxos, Tall Poppies, Artworks, Ethnoclassics and Move Records.

Many of Richard’s works appear in the current Australian Music Examination Board’s syllabus. Principally known for his guitar music, a 2005 review in the UK magazine ‘Classical Guitar’ described him as, “producing some of the most inspired and accessible guitar works of the present era.” Richard was awarded Instrumental Work of the Year at the 2004 APRA/AMC Classical Music Awards and in 2022 he won the Matt Withers Australian Composition Prize. For many years he was Director of Music Performance at Ascham School in Sydney where he composed and arranged music for all ages. He is currently Coordinator of Guitar Studies and Composer in Residence at Ascham. Highly sought after as an arranger, he has also worked for the Brisbane City Council, arranging music for their outdoor Christmas pageants (on three occasions), and has composed and arranged music for the NSW State

Education Department and for many private schools. Richard has arranged music on four Katie Noonan and Karin Schaupp CDs, one of which won an Aria Award. Some of his latest work includes commissions for Guitar Trek, Haileybury School in Melbourne, the 2024 festival of the Federation of Australian Mandolin Ensembles and a volume of Children’s Song arrangements soon to be published by GIA in Chicago, USA. Mr Charlton is represented worldwide by the Australian Music Centre: australianmusiccentre.com.au richardcharlton.com.au

Artists

Open Con Guitar Ensemble

Directed by Joel Woods

Formed in 2018, the Open Conservatorium Guitar Ensemble is a growing community ensemble, guided by the expertise of conductor Joel Woods. They are a regular presence at the Conservatorium, captivating audiences with their performances. The annual Guitar Extravaganza, a guitar calendar highlight, showcases their dedication to excellence as they join forces with the Riverside Ensemble and special guests. Beyond the music, this ensemble serves as a vibrant community for like-minded individuals, providing a platform for members to connect, share their love for classical guitar, and create enchanting music that resonates with enthusiasts and music lovers alike.

Open Con Players

Zander Battaglene

Edwin Butler

Nero Denson-Barry

Riley Ducie

Anna Fox

Mackenzie Galvin

Mark Gillis

David Harley

Rhys Hilton

Jaime Illanes Treswalt

Se McDonald

Lee Noack

Charlotte Reid-Whewell

Rod Taylor

Gabrielle Tonkin

Wilson Veerman

Lachlan Wallis

Helen Worthington

Daniel Yang

Andrea Young

Riverside Guitar Ensemble

Directed by Karin Schaupp

The Riverside Guitar Ensemble is resident at the Queensland Conservatorium and brings together Queensland’s finest young professional guitarists with current guitar students from the Conservatorium guitar department. The ensemble is directed by Karin Schaupp and has performed extensively at festivals and concerts throughout southeast Queensland and Northern NSW, and most recently they were invited to perform at the Adelaide Guitar Festival. It is rare and challenging for a guitar ensemble of this size to perform unconducted, making it function much like a chamber orchestra and resulting in a very strong sense of communication amongst all members. Riverside continues to challenge the boundaries of repertoire for this unique ensemble combination.

The ensemble’s premiere recording of “Ginastera’s Dream” by Brazilian composer Chrystian Dozza has been internationally released on Dozza’s new CD. The ensemble continues to premiere and commission new works, including works by young Brisbane composers. facebook.com/riversideguitarensemble

Riverside Guitar Ensemble Players (L to R):

Joe Fallon (leader)

Rose Bisaro

Sidney Brien

Ben Ellerby

Joel Woods (octave & standard guitars)

Chris Phengrasmy

Tara Lynam

Kameron Scott-McKenzie

Jeremy Stafford

Will Towne

Angus Smith

Gabriel Cooke (guitar & cajon)

Clancy Anderson

Sarah Fields

Poppy Haines

Charlie Crook

Ian Ahles (bass & standard guitar)

Artists

The Bronos Kentet

Jeremy Stafford, Sidney Brien, Chris Phengrasmy and Clancy Anderson

Bringing together four of Brisbane’s most dynamic and skilled guitarists, the Bronos Kentet is an emerging force on the Australian classical music scene. With its members having performed all over Australia and competed in internationally renowned competitions, the Kentet pushes the boundaries of the guitar quartet genre through their musically considered performances of complex contemporary repertoire.

The Con Singers

Directed by Anthony Young

The Conservatorium Singers are comprised of QCGU students, faculty and members of the community all brought together by a love of singing. The choir was originally formed by John Nickson and is now under the leadership of esteemed conductor and vocal expert, Dr Anthony Young. The Con Singers enjoy a strong reputation as one of Brisbane’s leading choral groups performing regularly around Brisbane, presenting major works from the choral repertoire alongside new works and hidden gems.

Special thanks

Special thanks to Queensland Conservatorium supporters and donors. Philanthropy plays a vital role at Queensland Conservatorium. Only through your support can our students experience valuable learning opportunities through productions such as this one.

To invest in the future of music and performance in Queensland, contact us on (07) 5552 7218 or email giving@griffith.edu.au

Queensland Conservatorium thanks our generous donors and supporters. We would like to acknowledge our instrument bank donors supporting the students in tonight’s performance.

Make a donation

Conservatorium staff

Director

Professor Bernard Lanskey

Deputy Director

(Engagement)

Professor Peter Morris

Deputy Director (Learning and Teaching)

Associate Professor

Donna Weston

Deputy Director (Research)

Dr Alexis Kallio

Head of Strings

Michele Walsh

Head of Woodwinds

Associate Prof Paul Dean

Head of Brass

Associate Prof Peter Luff

Head of Percussion

Rebecca Lloyd-Jones

Conservatorium

Manager Stuart Jones

Technical Team Leader

Cameron Hipwell

Front of House

Operations Manager

Michael Hibbard Executive Officer (Engagement)

Dr Natalie Lewandowski-Cox

Ensembles

Program Coordinator

Daniel Fossi

Operations Administrator

Clare Wharton

Technical Officers

Keith Clark, Amy Hauser,

Len McPherson

Venue Officers

Grace Royle, Joshua White

Administration Officer

Liz Tyson-Doneley