These three chamber groups share the program in Concert 6 2016.
Ochre Trio
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Karman Melitsis flute
Karman Melitsis was born in Hong Kong, China. She completed her Bachelor of Music Performance with Distinction at the Melba Conservatorium in 2010. She then continued on to complete her Masters of Music Performance with Distinction at Monash University under Sylvie Leprohon in 2012. Karman has studied under prominent flautists: Sylvie Leprohon, Alexa Still, Peter Sheridan, Frederick Shade, Derek Jones, Alan Hardy and Anne Rose. Karman has performed with various ensembles and orchestras in Melbourne such as: Zelman Symphony Orchestra, Grainger Wind Symphony, Victorian Youth Symphony Orchestra, Savoy Opera Company and Victorian Concert Orchestra.
Sebastian Beswick clarinet
Sebastian Beswick graduated from the University of Tasmania in 2012 with First Class Honours in Computing. His thesis focused on artistic computing, specifically creating new timbres via biological sound synthesis. Sebastian has played with such ensembles as the Tasmanian Youth Orchestra and Hobart Wind Symphony. He currently plays clarinet with Grainger Wind Symphony and percussion with Northern Brass, and regularly plays with freak-folk singer-songwriter James Teague. He has spoken on computational sound synthesis at a number of artistic computing conferences, and recently gave a TED talk discussing the philosophy and practicality of using an artificial intelligence inside a computer to create music.
Ioanna Salmanidis pianoforte
Ioanna Salmanidis graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours)/Bachelor of Music (Honours) from Monash University in 2012. During her time there she studied with Robert Chamberlain and Michael Spivakovsky and has since gone on to study with Kristian Chong. Ioanna performed in a number of different concert series during her time at Monash, including the Music in the Round, and the annual Twilight concerts. She was also selected to perform on the radio station 3MBS Classic FM and chosen to take part of the Monash Ensemble Program. In 2008, she was invited to perform at Melba Hall as part of the Timeless concert series. Since graduating, Ioanna has staged a number of solo and collaborative recitals around Melbourne including a charity concert for the Paradise Kids 4 Africa organization.
The Ochre Trio will be performing: Portmanteau – Michael Clulow, which received its world premiere (by Ochre Trio) yesterday!
Quartet Epiphany
The love of anything and everything written for saxophones combined with the burning passion to play music together sparked the beginning of Quartet Epiphany. All four members are music performance graduates from Monash University. Since its inception earlier this year, the quartet have ravenously devoured a large portion of repertoire composed and arranged for saxophone quartet, such as Eugène Bozza’s ‘Andante et Scherzo’, Eric Whitacre’s ‘Lux Aurumque’ and Leonard Bernstein’s ‘West Side Story’. Expect a journey of warm and wonderful sounds that define the very essence of what it means to be a saxophone quartet!
The saxophone quartet is playing two works.
Le Petit Negre by Claude Debussy arr. Jacques Larocque
The title Le petit Nègre is French for: The Little Negro. Originally it was a short composition for piano by the French composer Claude Debussy composed in the year 1909. The purpose of the composition was to write a great work that could also be played by children. It has a jazzy syncopated that is inspired by the ragtime music popular at the time. In the middle there is a contrasting lyrical passage. This version is for saxophone quartet arranged by Jacques Laroque.
Quartett fur view Saxophone by Alaxander Glasunov In the autumn of his life the Russian composer Alexander Glazunov (1865 – 1936) lived and worked in Paris, where he had moved in 1928. He discovered the possibilities of the saxophone quartet in 1932, attending a concert of the saxophone quartet of the “Garde des Républicains”, which was conducted by the eminent Marcel Mule. This quartet , which was formed in 1928, chiefly played arrangements , as repertoire was lacking. Glazunov, who was deeply impressed, decided as one of the first composers of the twentieth century, to write a saxophone quartet. It was quite remarkable, that someone who was known as a traditionalist (his nickname was “The Russian Brahms”), ventured this experiment. In style and form, the work is a musical bridge to the nineteenth century. In general, it has a pastoral atmosphere; and is considered to be the “piece de résistance” of the saxophone quartet repertoire.
The members of the saxophone quartet are all music graduates music of Monash University. They are:
Naomi Holman – Soprano Saxophone
Bridget Black – Alto Saxophone
Allanah Coldwell – Tenor Saxophone
Joel Hands-Otte – Baritone Saxophone.
Mozart Trio
A divertimento is a musical genre with most examples from the 18th century. The mood of the divertimento is most often light-hearted. The name is derived from the Italian divertire which mean “to amuse”. Mozart’s Divertimento is one of a set of 5 and was composed sometime around 1793, originally for three basset horns. This work has been edited for oboe, clarinet and bassoon by David Glazer, and was made for performance by the New York Woodwind Quintet, of which the editor was a member. Today we shall be hearing the 1st movement which is in B flat.
The three members of this group are also playing in The Grainger Wind Symphony. They are:
Isabel Herrick – Oboe
Sebastian Beswick – Clarinet
Joshua Petherbridge – Bassoon.