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QUEENSL AND MUSIC FESTIVAL , BUSH HERITAGE AUSTRALIA , QUEENSL AND PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE AND WINTON SHIRE COUNCIL PRESENT
Queensland Music Festival is an initiative of the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.
Welcome Messages Recently I read an interview with Bob Brown where he said, “Bush Heritage Australia is a landscape of happiness”. What a glorious sentiment that is! In a kindred way, I like to think of Queensland Music Festival as a landscape of musical happiness. When our Board Deputy Chair Danielle Duell suggested we connect with Bush Heritage Australia, we soon realised that their ideals were very similar to ours, albeit in a different domain. We soon landed upon the mutual inspiration of the infamous Night Parrot and its mythical journey of the last century in Queensland. Bird song has been inspiring composers for millennia and in our 20th festival, we are honoured to present a world premiere song cycle by internationally renowned Australian composer Jessica Wells. We couldn’t resist the wonder of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending, but aside from that, all the music you hear tonight is 100% Australian. Tonight, I invite you to delight in the gorgeously sonorous sound of Mackay born soprano Morgan England-Jones alongside the wonderful Acacia Quartet as they deliver our beautiful bird-inspired programme. A huge heartfelt thanks to our incredible Night Parrot team led by Sally and Aaron, our beautiful artists Morgan, Lisa, Myee, Stefan, Anna and Craig. I would also like to acknowledge the wonderful compositions of Jessica Wells, Sally Whitwell, Colin Brumby, John Spence, Alfred Hill, Alan Tregaskis, Ralph Vaughan Williams, as well librettist Jeff Wells and arrangements by Steve Newcomb.
Music, arts and conservation have converged tonight because we recognise that the Night Parrot’s story matters. Many of us will never sit on the hill at Pullen Pullen Reserve at sunset, gazing over the spinifex and hearing the critically endangered bird’s distinctive call; so to be able to bring the Night Parrot to life through music, and in Queensland, was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It is not the only species we care about and (with more than 1800 plants and animals on the threatened species list in Australia there is a lot of work still to be done) but to know that these birds are still here, protected because we were able to purchase that land with the support of everyday Australians, demonstrates the extraordinary support of the community we have behind us. Because to care about the natural world, is to be part of it. It’s to walk in it, hear it with your ears but hear it in your heart as well. I hope you enjoy the performance this evening.
The story of the Night Parrot is a fascinating one. Prior to its rediscovery in 2013, this “Holy Grail” for bird enthusiasts only existed in historical evidence from over 130 years ago when 30 or so birds were hunted, stuffed and sent off to museums or Victorian drawing rooms as trophies. Bringing this story to life in poetry, my father Jeff spent a lot of time researching the history of the Night Parrot and concocting a fantastic ballad-style poem that takes the audience on a journey into a landscape that is quintessentially outback Queensland and expresses the human endeavour that had almost destroyed and has now saved this little bird. The music evokes the vast and sparse outback environment that this bird inhabits. It examines the predators and dangers that threaten its existence. It journeys to Victorian England and the posh drawing rooms where stuffed birds were sent. It re-enacts the first time a bird was held in human hands for over 130 years. And finally, it reflects on the importance of the effort to preserve the species now and into the future.
Yours in song,
KATIE NOONAN ARTISTIC DIRECTOR QUEENSLAND MUSIC FESTIVAL
HEATHER CAMPBELL CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER BUSH HERITAGE AUSTRALIA
JESSICA WELLS COMPOSER
Program John Spence Albatross arr. S. Newcomb arranged for Voice and String Quartet Colin Brumby The Lark Now Leaves His Wat’ry Nest arr. S. Newcomb arranged for Voice and String Quartet Alfred Hill I Thought I Heard a Magpie Call arr. S. Newcomb arranged for Voice and String Quartet Alfred Hill Mopoke! arr. S. Newcomb arranged for Voice and String Quartet Alan Tregaskis Speak With the Sun arr. S. Newcomb arranged for Voice and String Quartet Sally Whitwell The Birds three piece song cycle arranged for Voice and String Quartet 1. Skylark 2. Nightingale 3. Linnet Ralph Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending arr. M. Gerigk arranged for String Quartet Jessica Wells
The Night Parrot for Voice and String Quartet
ARTISTS: Morgan England-Jones
Soprano
Acacia Quartet Lisa Stewart Myee Clohessy Stefan Duwe Anna Martin-Scrase
Violin Violin Viola Cello
Biographies MORGAN ENGLAND-JONES
ACACIA QUARTET
Morgan England-Jones is a Brisbanebased soprano who hails from Mackay, Queensland. In 2018, Morgan was a finalist of both the Sydney Eisteddfod Opera Scholarship and the New Zealand Aria Competition. In 2017, she was the recipient of the Great Barrier Reef Partnership and first prize in the Open Vocal division of the Australian Concerto and Vocal Competition.
In nine years Acacia Quartet have won great respect for their versatile and inventive programs.
Morgan graduated from Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University with a Bachelor of Music (Performance) in Classical Voice, where she trained with Lisa Gasteen AO. Morgan has sung Micaela in Carmen, Josephine in HMS Pinafore, & Yum Yum in The Mikado, as well as featuring as a soloist for Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, Faure’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio & DeCormier’s They Called Her Moses. In 2018, she performed the role of soprano soloist in Faure’s Requiem & Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. In 2019, she returns to the Lisa Gasteen National Opera School to sing the role of Frau Fluth in Nicolai’s Die lustige Weiber von Windsor.
Acacia have recorded nine albums, with ‘Blue Silence’ earning a nomination for an APRA-AMCOS Art Music ‘Award for Excellence’. Acacia are passionate about supporting Australian composers, working with young musicians, and sharing their love of music with audiences of all ages. Their performances feature regularly on radio stations around the world. Acacia’s engagements in Australia include the Sydney Opera House, City Recital Hall Sydney, Melbourne Recital Hall, as well as extensive touring through regional New South Wales and Victoria. Acacia had their international debut in Vancouver, Canada at the Roundhouse in June 2016. The following year, Acacia Quartet were invited by the Christine Raphael Foundation to give their European debut, where they performed concerts in Berlin and recorded a CD with three string quartets by Günter Raphael, to be released in 2019. Two CDs have just been released at the end of 2018, ‘Muse’ in collaboration with recorder player Alicia Crossley and ‘Imaginations’ with guitarist Matt Withers.
Acknowledgments Queensland Music Festival would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which Queensland Music Festival events are taking place, and pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging. PATRON His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC Governor of Queensland BOARD OF DIRECTORS Dominic McGann – Chair Danielle Duell – Deputy Chair Darren Busine – Treasurer BOARD MEMBERS Diat Alferink Prof. Margaret Barrett Alison Mobbs Jim Reeves Jane Williams John Willsteed QUEENSLAND MUSIC FESTIVAL EXECUTIVE TEAM Katie Noonan – Artistic Director Joel Edmondson – Executive Director Katrina Torenbeek – Program & Technical Director Simon Buchanan – Business Development Director Linda Gordon – Marketing & Communications Director Wendy Mansell – Regional Engagement Director PROJECT TEAM Aaron Dora – Project Coordinator Bart Mangan - Technical Manager Sally McRae – Managing Producer Katrina Torenbeek – Program & Technical Director FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION Tobias Hill – Secretariat to the Board Jodi Kelly – Finance Manager Beata Kennedy – Finance & Administration Peta Winters – Administration Manager PROGRAMMING & TECHNICAL Jason Allen – Ground Transport Pip Boyce – Managing Producer
Jake Cook – Production Coordinator Joc Curran – Creative Producer Kate Driscoll-Wilson – Managing Producer Aaron Dora – Project Coordinator Gabby Gregory – Associate Producer Erica Hart – Executive Program Producer Isabel Hart – Associate Producer Elverina Johnson – Managing Producer David Logan – Ground Transport Bart Mangan – Technical Manager Sally McRae – Managing Producer Kylie Mitchell – Senior Technical Manager Ruby Newport – Associate Producer Bernd Neumann – Technical Manager Lia Pa’apa’a – Co Producer Oliver Samson – Project Coordinator Deirdree Wallace – Ticketing Officer Jeff Warnick – Technical Manager MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS Lauren Flint – Marketing Executive Natania Hinwood – Senior Digital Marketing Executive Alex Komarowski – Marketing Coordinator Yuverina Shewpersad – Marketing Executive SGC Media – Media Relations The M Agency – Festival Identity & Design Nude Agency – Creative Agency BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Danielle Bentley – Development Manager Jacqui Grinzi – Partnership Manager Wendy Mansell – Philanthropy & Grants Consultant YOUTH TOURING Laura Bonner – Youth Touring Manager Katy Holmes-Brown – Touring Administrator Lizzie Moore – Touring Administrator STATE CO-ORDINATION OFFICE Jess Cuddihy – Communications & Events Coordinator Madonna Davies – Regional Arts Officer Amber Lenoy – Digital Marketing Coordinator
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CONTACT DETAILS Level 1, 381 Brunswick St Fortitude Valley, QLD 4006 PO Box 1060, Fortitude Valley, QLD 4006 Phone 07 3010 6600 Fax 07 3010 6666 Email info@qmf.org.au QMF.ORG.AU
Queensland Music Festival is an initiative of the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland.
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The Night Parrot composition is commissioned by Queensland Music Festival and Bush Heritage Australia. The Winton performance is supported by Tim Fairfax Family Foundation.