BRILLIANT NEWS FROM THE NORTH! Australian Festival of Chamber Music unveils a program of concerts, workshops and a free LIVE community event –because the music must go on!
After a highly successful pivot to a three-day digital festival in August with Festival Prelude, the Australian Festival of Chamber Music (AFCM) under its AFCM PRESENTS banner has unveiled a compact program of online concerts and masterclasses as part of the line-up in the month-long North Australian Festival of Arts (NAFA). In joyous news, the famed and free Queens Garden Concert will take place in real life, albeit under COVID-Safe conditions, on Saturday October 24!
While the concerts have limited seating to be COVID-Safe, no one has to miss out! In a first for Townsville, the evening recitals will be streamed worldwide through the renowned Melbourne Digital Concert Hall; whilst the Queens Gardens Concert will be free to view on social media. Patrons can put down a rug and have a picnic and a glass of wine in their back yard or lounge room and enjoy exclusive performances from the world’s finest musicians in their own homes.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unimaginable toll on arts organisations, artists and events around the world, including the postponement of AFCM to July 2021, so we are thrilled to work with NAFA and Townsville City Council to present some chamber music concerts, music workshops and our much-loved free community concert in the park during October 2020,” said AFCM Artistic Director Kathryn Stott.
Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill said it was exciting for Townsville to welcome AFCM back to the city as part of NAFA COVID Safe. “The AFCM is something that the Townsville community really looks forward to, so I am very happy that we are able to host AFCM as part of NAFA COVID Safe by using technology to our advantage,” Cr Hill said. “I’m sure that there will be a great turnout for all of the AFCM’s events at our beautiful Queens Gardens and the Townsville Civic Theatre. It’s been a tough year for everyone, but this is a surefire way to lift spirits and enjoy some of the best in Australian music.”
Friday 16 October, Townsville Civic Theatre, C2. 7:00pm for 7:30pm performance AFCM Presents: An Evening with Daniel de Borah
Presented by the Australian Festival of Chamber Music in association with NAFA
This performance is proudly supported by James Cook University
One-hour piano recital live streamed on Melbourne Digital Concert Hall
Adults $55, AFCM Friends $49.50, Digital ticket $24
An evening of fine music with pianist Daniel de Borah featuring Bach and Schumann. Daniel de Borah is recognised as one of Australia’s foremost musicians, consistently praised for the grace, finesse and imaginative intelligence of his performances. His wide-ranging performance schedule finds him equally at home as concerto soloist, recitalist and chamber musician. Since his prize-winning appearances at the 2004 Sydney International Piano Competition, Daniel has given recitals on four continents and toured extensively throughout the United Kingdom and Australia. As a concerto soloist he has appeared with the English Chamber Orchestra, London Mozart Players, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra and the Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Auckland Symphony Orchestras. He now lives in Brisbane where he serves as Head of Chamber Music at the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University.
Repertoire includes:
JS Bach, arr. Siloti – Organ Prelude in G minor
JS Bach, arr. Siloti – Organ Prelude in E minor
JS Bach, arr. Siloti – Prelude in B minor
Schumann, arr. Liszt – Widmung
Schumann, arr. Liszt – Frühlingsnacht
Schumann – Kreisleriana, Op.16
Saturday 17 October, Townsville Civic Theatre, C2. 10:30am – 12.00pm
AFCM Presents: Public Masterclass with Daniel de Borah – FREE EVENT
Presented by the Australian Festival of Chamber Music in association with NAFA
Ever wondered how music students learn, and how music teachers teach? Watch a lesson unfold as Daniel de Borah takes four leading piano students through a 90-minute masterclass. An internationally renowned soloist and Head of Chamber Music at the Queensland Conservatorium, Daniel will lead a group of lucky student through a work.
*FREE event however registration is required due to the limited audience seating available to ensure a COVID-Safe environment.
Saturday 17 October, Townsville Civic Theatre, C2. 7:00pm for 7:30pm performance
AFCM Presents: An Evening with the Orava Quartet
Presented by the Australian Festival of Chamber Music in association with NAFA
This concert is proudly supported by James Cook University
One-hour recital live streamed on Melbourne Digital Concert Hall
Adults $55, AFCM Friends $49.50, Digital ticket $24
A wonderful evening of music with the exceptionally talented Orava Quartet, hailed by Limelight as “the most exciting young quartet on the block” and predicted by The Australian to become “one of Australia’s proudest cultural exports.” Known for their genuinely thrilling performances, the Quartet – brothers Daniel and Karol Kowalik (first violin and cello), violinist David Dalseno and violist Thomas Chawner – bring their unique sound and breathtaking intensity to the classics of the string quartet canon, and more. Selected by Deutsche Grammophon for its historic, first Australian recording release in 2018, received with widespread critical acclaim, Orava Quartet has performed throughout North America, the UAE, and Asia, as well as playing for Queen Sofia of Spain and Pope Benedict XVI.
Program includes: Haydn String quartet in B-flat major, Op.76 no.4 Hob.III:78 ‘Sunrise’ AND Schulhoff String Quartet no.1 (1924)
Saturday 24 October, 5pm, Queens Gardens – Proudly supported by wilson/ryan/grose
AFCM Presents: Virtual Queens Gardens Concert (free event)
Co-presented by AFCM and Townsville City Council
Free event – registration required due to COVID-19
The annual Queens Gardens Concert, co-presented by the Australian Festival of Chamber Music and Townsville City Council, will look a little different this year. There will still be plenty of music performed by local groups the 1RAR Band and Amadeus Choir, along with AFCM artists performing from their home cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Prague, but the performances will be beamed out on the Council’s Super Screen in Queens Gardens. Hosts Glenn ‘Minty’ Mintern and Judy Higgins-Olsen will be onsite to present this magnificent line up of music. Pack a picnic and bring the whole family down to the park for a wonderfully entertaining afternoon.
*FREE event however registration is required due to the limited audience seating available to ensure a COVID-Safe environment.
FOR ALL INFORMATION, BOOKING DETAILS and REGISTRATIONS: https://www.afcm.com.au/festival/nafa-2020/
The AFCM was scheduled to be held from 31 July to 9 August in Townsville, North Queensland. It was to be the 30th anniversary of the annual musical extravaganza that attracts musicians and fans from all over the world, and the final under the artistic direction of acclaimed British pianist Kathryn Stott. It was postponed earlier this year due to COVID19, with most of the program and artists successfully rescheduled to the 2021 dates of 23 July to 01 August.
AFCM principal partners include Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland and Arts Queensland, and Townsville City Council. The Australian Festival of Chamber Music is supported by the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland and features on the It’s Live! in Queensland events calendar.
