Mitchell Con

How to make it difficult for your child to practise

2012-01-31T12:50:00.000+11:00

Bryn White, in 2011 scholarship concert

Here is some more practical advice from Cynthia Richards' book How to get your child to practise ... without resorting to violence.

The earlier article gave suggestions for making it easy for your child to practise.
Here are twelve stumbling blocks which can make things harder than they need to be:

1 Indifferent home environment
2 Faulty teacher-child relationship
3 Lack of maturity and commitment in the child
4 The wrong instrument
5 Unfavourable practice conditions
6 Bad memories
7 Peer pressure not to practise
8 Not proficient enough to be competitive
9 Too many conflicting interests
10 Sibling rivalry
11 Competitive feelings with a parent
12 Communications

Some of these things can be tinkered with, to give your child every opportunity to enjoy practising. Can you see something you could do that might help your budding musician?

What would you add to the list?

Helping your children to love reading.

2012-01-24T18:08:00.000+11:00

Two cousins ready to start school, one almost 6, one just turned 5

If you want your children to love reading and enjoy learning, you will find Trevor Cairney's Literacy, families and learning to be a great source for helping you to achieve this objective.

His article Starting school: is there a best age? is great advice for those who are thinking about whether their children should begin school in 2013 or 2014, but is probably too late for those whose children are beginning school in a few days' time.

But there is still plenty in this article to interest parents of brand new schoolchildren.

And all of this has relevance to budding musicians. You don't need to be able to read to enjoy and play music, especially when you are a toddler and participating in Early Childhood Music classes.

But good reading skills are very helpful for primary school children having individual instrumental or vocal lessons.

Encouraging your beginning musician

2012-01-20T16:36:00.000+11:00

Cynthia Richards' advice is great for parents of primary school children, but most of it would not apply to toddlers. Four of her suggestions would be equally applicable to beginners, though:

1. Start early
2. Enjoy your children's music
3. Praise them for their successes
4. Focus your efforts on getting your child hooked on music.

How To Get Your Child To Practise

2012-01-20T14:58:00.001+11:00

Cynthia Richards' How To Get Your Child To Practise ... without resorting to violence is an excellent book, well worth your time, but - it's out of print!

Aren't you lucky I can pass on Mrs Richards' handy tips? I read this book at my sister-in-law's place. She is also a music teacher.

Today I am passing on the positive points, but in my next post, I will tell you what she tells you not to do. The tips have all been tested by Cynthia, who is a parent and music teacher herself.

1 Start early
2 Practise with your child every day
3 Set up family rules for practising
4 Use incentives when needed
5 Handle conflicts by
a avoiding emotional involvement
b being friendly
c being matter of fact
d not giving in
6 Enjoy your children's music
7 Praise them for their successes
8 Look for stumbling blocks and do your best to remove them
9 Focus your efforts on getting your child hooked on music

If you chew over this advice, one point at a time, you will find it will help you in parenting generally, as well as in getting your child to practise.

I'd love to know what you think about these tips. Have you tried any of them yourself?

Who is the cool dude playing the flute? If you know, please tell me and I'll credit him properly. I know he was playing at Open Day, but i didn't get his name.

Free Kids Music

2012-01-20T08:12:00.000+11:00

Free Kids Music is a wonderful portal of traditional and contemporary music for children. There are quality audio and video links to songs you know and thousands of great ones you don't know yet.

Here are two gems:

Willy Won't Smile For The Camera by Debbie and Friends

and Trout Fishing In America's all too truthful song, Day Care Blues

Introducing Children To Music

2012-01-18T08:49:00.000+11:00

There are several excellent articles at Kid's Health on introducing children to music.

The linked article has loads of great advice on introducing toddlers to music. The most important advice given is to make music part of your everyday routine. Here are some of the reasons given for giving your child an early introduction to music:

Music does more than entertain. It can kickstart learning, serve as an important cue in a child's routine, and offer lifelong benefits.

Music contributes to what experts call a rich sensory environment. This simply means exposing kids to a wide variety of tastes, smells, textures, colors, and sounds — experiences that can forge more pathways between the cells in their brains.

These neural connections will help kids in almost every area of school, including reading and maths. Just listening to music can make these connections, but the biggest impact comes if kids actively participate in musical activities.

Of course there's another reason to introduce music into your toddler's world: It's enjoyable for both of you. That will come as no surprise to parents who sing songs with their child, sway and twirl together to favorite CDs, or listen to lullabies as they rock their child to sleep.

The article also points out the benefits of Early Music Classes, such as provided by Mitchell Conservatorium, but reminds you that

you are your child's first and most important teacher when it comes to music. To help your child really benefit from a music class, be sure to bring the music and games you learn there into your home.

What's going on in your young musician's brain?

2012-01-18T08:17:00.001+11:00

What instrument will you play in 2012?

2012-01-17T20:50:00.001+11:00

Violin is just one of the instruments taught by Mitchell Conservatorium staff. But did you know that you don't have to come to our studios in Bathurst, Lithgow or Forbes to learn from our terrific teachers?

Student can also learn from our staff in their own schools. Are lessons from MitCon staff available at your school? Please ring 6331 6622 during business hours to find out.

By the way, don't forget that your voice is an instrument, too. I think Playschool's Rhys Muldoon already knows this. Do you know his new song called I'm Not Singing?

The Joy of Piano Duets

2012-01-11T17:09:00.001+11:00

Playing the piano is a great experience. You can be a whole orchestra all on your own, and don't need anyone else to be able to create a complete piece of music.

But solitude can get pretty boring after a while. Someone said that solitude is OK, as long as you have someone to talk with about it later.

Many pianists don't experience the joy of playing with others. But there is something you gain from playing piano duets which you don't get all on your own.

Today my wife, Joan and I have been playing Ulrich and Wittmann's piano duet arrangement of Beethoven's Septet. It was written for clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, viola, cello and double bass. You may recognise the third movement, because Beethoven also used it in his Piano Sonata, Op 49 No 2 in G Major. This pleasant performance is by musicians from the Verbier Festival Orchestra.

There is a free copy of the piano duet arrangement at the wonderful Petrucci Music Library site.

If you are not in the habit of playing piano duets, you might prefer to start with something easier. Wilhelm Aletter's Four Easy Piano Duets might be a better place to begin.

If you go to the main page of the completely free This is a link to piano duets at the site. Some are labelled as "easy" but "easy is in the fingers of the player" [or is that "mind?"]

I love the scene in Robin Williams' Millennium Man where the robot plays the Berceuse from Faure's Dolly Suite with the little girl.

Katia and Marielle Labèque are sisters who usually play two pianos. Here they are performing Leonard Bernstein's America, from Westside Story.

But perhaps the most enjoyable piano duet is this one from a student concert of the second movement (Andante con cozyta) from P.D.Q. Bach's Sonata Innamorata.

Interview with Georg Mertens

2011-12-14T13:20:00.003+11:00

Georg Mertens (Photo: Sandy Smith)

Four years ago cellist and guitarist Georg Mertens' idea of Youtube was that it was a social media site for amateur videos made by naughty skatie boys. An offer from video professional Chris Callaghan to put some clips from Georg’s well known Jenolan Caves concerts series on the same site initially make him think twice, but he was persuaded with the thought that there was nothing to lose by being involved.

Now three years later, Georg has purchased his own high end video camera to manage his own his production. His concert series clips are currently receiving hits of up to a thousand a day.
”The popularity of our Youtube site is such a surprise really, as our videos don't include popular music, and there are no special effects. Our music is not amplified or modified, but is purely acoustic cello solos and duos for violin and guitar,” says George “and I do nothing for the video promotion. Perhaps, just good music has an appeal again!” he adds.

Georg and fellow Mitchell Conservatorium violin teacher Gustaw Szelski, who play regularly as the Paganini Duo, recently enjoyed a successful tour to Canowindra, Mudgee and Bathurst as part of the Mitchell Conservatorium Musicians Spring Series II concerts. ”I applaud Georg for his ability to get his music out there” says Fiona Thompson, Executive Director of the Mitchell Conservatorium. "We try to do that same on our own Youtube Channel but have yet to achieve the same notoriety as Georg.”

Top runners in the popularity stakes are the cello solos: Bach's Prelude from the G Major Cello Suite, Georg's Asturias (Albeniz) transcription for cello and his Arabian Improvisation. Other popular videos, recently uploaded include The Paganini Duo's performances of La Cumparsita, Czardas and Dark Eyes.

The clip below, one of 78 on Georg's site today, is of Villa-Lobos' Prelude no 4 for classical guitar.

Christine Sweeney

A million hits on Youtube

2011-12-14T10:33:00.000+11:00

Georg Mertens

Congratulations to our colleague, Georg Mertens, whose Georgcello Youtube site has now received a million visits.

As we said in a post last month, Georg Mertens is a cellist, guitarist, composer, arranger, teacher and author who combines great musical skills with an astute knowledge of successful internet marketing.

How did he achieve a million hits on Youtube? It was not by choosing to play current popular music, which was the way former Mitchell Conservatorium student, Ella Jamieson and her band, Aston, clocked up the magic million, with their classical version of Lady Gaga's Telephone.

And it was not a viral campaign, like the wildly successful Canadian Christmas flashmob version of Handel's Hallelujah Chorus.

Georg's success in attracting a million visitors to his Youtube site has been achieved through providing so many musically interesting, varied performances on guitar and cello, both solo and in combination with other musicians.

His most popular video, so far, has been an Arabian improvisation on cello.

Musical Time Machine

2011-12-08T07:55:00.000+11:00

Do you know your composers and which musical periods they belong to? Was Mozart born in the 20th century? Did Bach know Debussy? Who was the most famous composer in the Renaissance Period?

You might enjoy the DSO Kids Time Machine.

Would you like some hints to help you? The Naxos Brief History of Music could be just the ticket.

Britney Spears goes Baroque

2011-12-08T07:40:00.001+11:00

Remember the Lady Gaga fugue? The very clever Giovanni Dettori has done it again: this time with his Baroque version of Britney Spears's songs Hit Me Baby One More Time and Oops, I Did It Again in his new composition called Counterpoint.

Mr Dettori has kindly made the sheet music available, too.

Counterpoint refers to the unique ability musicians have of saying two or more things at once and making sense! Lots of pieces of music have several tunes going at once, but this was developed to a high art in the Renaissance Period of Music (1450-1600 AD) and perfected by Johann Sebastian Bach in the Baroque Period (1600-1750).

The Naxos summary of periods in Music history is pretty well written and useful.

Giovanni Dettori teaches counterpoint via his Youtube website, which is well worth investigating.

I like the way you can listen to this piece and follow the scrolling score. Well done, Maestro Dettori!

Did I mention that Britney Spears is an anagram of Presbyterians?

What springs to mind?

2011-11-29T20:04:00.002+11:00

When you see this picture of Beethoven, what kind of music do you think of?
His symphonies
or his wonderful piano sonatas?

It might surprise you to know what he spent quite a lot of his time doing.
Although he wrote a lot of piano variations and chamber music, and more than a hundred songs, what he wrote most of was
(drum roll, please Jamie)

Arrangements of British folksongs!

He wrote more than two hundred of them. Why? Because he was paid very well for it. The more they commissioned, the more he churned out.

The portrait on the right is a picture of a teacher of Beethoven (and Mozart). Joseph Haydn is one of the most important composers of the 18th Century.When you think of Haydn, what springs to mind? Is it his very popular Surprise Symphony, or his oratorio, The Creation?

You probably don't think of the odd-looking instrument on the left. Do you know what it is? It is called a baryton. Haydn wrote 175 pieces for it, because his patron, Prince Nikolaus Esterházy enjoyed playing the instrument, and kept asking, and paying, for more pieces to play.
It sounds like a bass viol da gamba, and has 6 or 7 strings which are bowed, and 10 more which vibrate in sympathy with the other strings, or which can be plucked. It is very hard to play and fell out of favour.

Here is a movement from a Haydn baryton trio. Do you think these instruments will ever return to popularity?

Haydn Seek

2011-11-28T12:49:00.000+11:00

He was the most famous composer of his day, more popular than Handel had been and certainly more popular than Mozart or Bach were, in their own lifetimes. He has been called the father of the symphony and the father of the string quartet. New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians says

No other composer approaches his combination of productivity, quality and historical importance in these genres.

Mozart and Beethoven were both taught by him, and were greatly influenced by his music. But surprisingly, most people would not know much of his music.

I'm hoping to change this with The Haydn Pages. This is my effort to add a little about Joseph Haydn, because there is not a lot of information about him that is easily accessible.

As a student, I learnt his wonderful late Sonata in E Flat Major, Hob XVI:52, when I was studying for my licentiate diploma (L Mus A). This is the first movement, played by Bulgarian pianist, Ivaila Ivanova.

Mitchell Con Puts Students in Hospital

2011-11-23T13:01:00.000+11:00

Anthony Tran

Mitchell Conservatorium is still putting students in hospital. But we're not making them sick, or injuring them. We are giving them performance opportunities, through Christine McMillan, Arts Coordinator at Bathurst Base Hospital.

On Wednesday, 23rd November, 2011 Belinda Macri and Anthony Tran played some piano pieces at Bathurst Base Hospital. Their piano teacher, David McKay, also played a few tunes.

Belinda Macri, David McKay and Anthony Tran

Australian Music was a special feature of our short concert, which included pieces by Ross Edwards, Elissa Milne, Sonny Chua and the first Bathurst performance of two pieces from Justin McKay's Lewis Carroll Suite.

Ross Edwards: an Australian composer to be proud of

2011-11-18T08:00:00.000+11:00

What a great piece of music. Written in 1999 for performance in the new millennium - and as usual, played one year early. The combination of didjeridu with Western classical instruments is very effective.

I think every Australian should know and enjoy this marvellous piece of music.

Roger Woodward recommends ...

2011-11-14T14:38:00.001+11:00

When Roger Woodward came to Mitchell Conservatorium and conducted a piano masterclass, he recommended several books.

When Tara Chan, seen in this candid shot during the master class, asked me for information about them, I thought I should post it here for everyone:

Chopin, pianist and teacher - as seen by his pupils by Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger. The link takes you to Google Books, currently enabling you to read at least a substantial part of the book online. The cheapest place to purchase one at the moment seems to be The Book Depository

The Art of Piano Playing by Heinrich Neuhaus has been on our book shelf for about 30 years or more. My wife, Joan bought it and liked it - now, I'll have to read it, too.

He also recommended C P E Bach's Essay On The True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments.

Roger Woodward told us that the Chopin book gives inside information on how this master performer and teacher taught. Neuhaus' book refines this. The book by Bach's most productive and most famous son gives insight into how Bach should be played by the great master's biggest fan.

A tribute to a remarkable musician

2011-11-10T10:45:00.000+11:00

Mitchell Conservatorium cello and guitar teacher, Georg Mertens has been busy, as you will discover if you type his name into your favourite search engine.

As well as performing on and teaching cello and guitar, Georg also composes his own music, and arranges and transcribes the music of some of the great classical and even folk composers. He has written his own cello method, which he has generously provide free of charge on his interesting website.

Over the past 13 years he has hosted 150 performances of beautiful cello and guitar music, in solo and ensemble performances in the unique Jenolan Caves.

He has 76 performances available on Youtube, which include solo cello and guitar, as well as ensemble performances with his violinist friend Gustaw Szelski, who also teaches at Mitchell Conservatorium in Bathurst.

Gustaw Joe Szelski

You can purchase signed copies of his recordings from his own website, from iTunes or from www.amazon.com

I admire Georg's musicianship, but also the hard work he has done in promoting his recordings and his concerts in Jenolan Caves, through his creative use of the online resources we have available to us today.

Well done, Georg.

A master class with a master

2011-11-03T21:04:00.000+11:00

Roger Woodward with Fiona Thompson

Roger Woodward led an inspiring master class at Mitchell Conservatorium today. Seven piano students played pieces for his evaluation by Elissa Milne, Gurlitt, Chopin, Liszt, Prokofiev, Haydn, Grieg and Farrenc.

The students who participated were Tara Chan, Eliza Chudleigh, Anthony Tran, Raymond and Maggie Chan, and Namaste Ossig-Bonanno. They were amazed when Mr Woodward played Tara's difficult Prokofiev and Liszt pieces without knowing beforehand what pieces were being presented.

I was also interested that he took the opportunity to practise for his concert tour in the half hour before the program started. Others would have wanted to rest from their journey, have a cup of tea, or engage in small talk. It was most enlightening to be a fly on the wall and watch him at work.

When Ailie McGarity performed Chopin's Nocturne in E Minor, Mr Woodward told us that it was the second nocturne Chopin ever wrote. And he said that mastering the nocturnes of Chopin is an entry point to all of Chopin's other works.

He recommended Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger's Chopin: pianist and teacher [as seen by his pupils] for information on how Chopin taught. He also said that this book and C P E Bach's Essay On The True Art of Playing Keyboard Instruments give lots of essential information about playing the piano, including useful tips on fingering and hand position.

He also highly recommended Heinrich Neuhaus' Art of Piano Playing as a more recent record of teaching piano Chopin's way.

What an interesting afternoon! Roger Woodward graciously gave us an hour of his time and was generous in his praise of our students and our Bechstein grand piano.

It's a bit blurry, but I do love this photo of Roger Woodward and Tara Chan interacting, as he talked with her about the Prokofiev sonata and the Liszt piece which she performed.

Medals and Trophies

2011-11-02T11:16:00.000+11:00

Ah, eisteddfods. (I know, I know but eisteddfodau sounds so odd!)

Over the years, our children participated in lots of eisteddfods in the Blue Mountains and Penrith, while we lived in Katoomba and then Blaxland.

And sometimes they won prizes. Usually medals and trophies, but when they were older, they did also win some money. You know the drill: Mum pays the entry fee, but you collect the winnings.

Our son Justin had a creative idea for displaying all the dust-gathering awards.

And a very cooperative golden retriever called Zac.

I wonder what Bathurst Eisteddfod students do with their medals and trophies?

All Star Program - under the stars

2011-10-31T07:20:00.000+11:00

Today, 31st October, 2011, is the 50th anniversary of The CSIRO Parkes Observatory, iconified in the 2000 Rob Sitch film The Dish.

Public Open Days were held to celebrate this on the weekend of 8-9 October, 2011, culminating in a grand opera concert, which was the brainchild of soprano Helen Barnett.

Two thousand people attended Bellini to Broadway, a wonderful evening of great operatic music, including US Consul-General Niels Marquardt, who read out a congratulatory letter from NASA, and Australian Governor-General Quentin Bryce.

The orchestra featured was our own regional Macquarie Philharmonia, conducted by Mark Shiell.

2011-10-25T14:52:00.000+11:00


Antony Field and Daniel McKay

On Friday, 21st October, 2011 we had the privilege of witnessing Duo 19's first performance in the ACT, at a Canberra Classical Guitar Society concert, in the Wesley Music Centre.

Taking their name from their tram route, Duo 19 consists of Antony Field and Daniel McKay, both of whom are graduates of ANU's School of Music and currently teach at the Victorian College of the Arts.

The concert included performances of works by beloved Australian composers Phillip Houghton and Nigel Westlake. It was interesting to hear Westlake's Hinchinbrook Riffs, originally composed to be played by one guitarist with a digital delay machine, expertly executed by this duo.

We also loved hearing Songs from the Forest, also by Westlake, and originally written for Antony and Daniel's teacher, Tim Kain, to play with John Williams.

It was also intriguing to hear two of Castelnuovo-Tedesco's preludes and fugues from his Well-Tempered Guitars. His 24 pieces were written as a homage to J S Bach and for his favourite guitar duo, Pesti-Lagoya. You can hear one of these works performed by the Brasil Guitar Duo in the following clip.

What Is The Easiest Instrument To Learn?

2011-10-20T12:47:00.000+11:00

Reggie McKay

The ukulele may be the one of the easiest instruments to play, as this picture may reveal. You don't have to manage six strings as guitarists do, on the standard ukulele, and its size suits small hands.

But, as Michelle Griffin, Mitchell Conservatorium teacher, will tell you, it takes skill and practice to play any musical instrument well.

Jay Laga'aia's My Ukulele reminds us of the instrument's Hawaiian roots.

And Jake Shimabukuro's amazing rendition of George Harrison's While My Guitar Gently Weeps, shows what the humble ukulele can sound like, in the hands of a virtuoso.

Anyone for a piano duet?

2011-10-11T14:10:00.000+11:00

Painting by Ron Hedrick

This clip, of a PDQ Bach piece, shows why piano duets were invented. Schubert knew all about it, and wrote some cosy piano duets, too.

I'd love to know who the two young folk are and if they have made any other videos of their performances.

Music therapy: a satisfying career

2011-10-08T17:56:00.000+11:00

If you would like a career which engages your musical creativity and which makes a worthwhile contribution, you should check out the terrific article by Sue White on page 9 of The Good Weekend, October 8, 2011.

Verena Clemencic-Jones is a musician who works with children who are patients at Sydney Children's Hospital. She has trained as an early childhood teacher and has specialised in the specific field of music therapy.

She says that

the best thing about being a music therapist is being able to sing for a living while facilitating creativity, self-expression, relaxation and laughter in families of children with life threatening illnesses.

The Good Weekend article shows that this vocation allows musical people to use their skills creatively to engage people in experiencing the joy of musical creation. An experienced therapist can enable a client to discover their own musical ability, which, in the 21st century, might involve a teenager composing a song using an iPad and conveting it into an MP3 which can be shared with family and friends.

There is some sadness in the job, too, because working with clients with cancer can involve losing some to the disease. Ms Clemencic-Jones says that this made the first year of the job difficult, but that therapists develop ways of taking care of themselves when they experience these situations.

This Youtube clip shows a Brisbane music therapist working with Baby Flynn.

Jammin Jenn, a New Jersey music therapist, shows how she can assist children with autism through her music therapy skills in the short film here.

Mitchell Conservatorium's Graeme Hunt and Kerrie Davies are music therapists who have worked with clients in a variety of locations, including Lithgow Correctional Centre, at St Vincent's Hospital, Bathurst as well as in the conservatorium itself.

If you would like to know some more about music therapy, whether as a career or for a music therapy client, please contact the conservatorium on 02 6331 6622 for more information.

Songwriting: sometimes it's easy

2011-10-06T08:26:00.000+11:00

About 40 years ago, someone asked Paul McCartney how the world's most successful songwriting team approached writing a song. He gave this cheeky answer:

There are two things John and I always do when we're going to sit down and write a song. First of all we sit down. Then we think about writing a song.

And some of The Beatles' most well-known songs came very easily, as this website reveals.

John David's account of the composition of his beautiful song You Are The New Day shows how easy it can sometimes be.

The inspiration for New Day was quite simple; I had just had a major blow in my personal life, and was sitting alone late at night on the settee feeling very low, and watching an ominous story on the news about the very real possibility of nuclear war.

I started singing to the (hopefully) soon-to arrive New Day like it was an entity, that would rescue me from the depths. If the sun came up and the birds started singing as usual then I could believe that it really was the new day in which life would go on, and in which hope would survive.

The tune and the words popped into my head at the same time, and it was all written in about 10 minutes, which is why (to me at least) it's not perfect. But I didn't feel I had the right to change anything.

The best performance of this song is undoubtedly by the group who made it famous - The King's Singers. But the video below has 2 minutes and 10 seconds of chat before the fun begins.

This very good performance by Marchmont St Giles' Church choir begins immediately.

Drumming up a beat

2011-09-21T09:27:00.000+10:00

James Vanderhel, 2011 Scholarship concert

One of the most popular choices at Mitchell Conservatorium is percussion. Did you know that percussionists have over 600 instruments to hit, scrape or shake?

There's a lot more to being a percussionist than playing a drum kit, though that might be what we first think of when we use the word.

In this clip on ABC Central West's website, Mitchell Conservatorium teacher, Jamie Briton shows his wizardry on the tympani, which are drums played in a symphony orchestra.

Time for a windfall?

2011-09-19T11:39:00.001+10:00

windfall, noun

1 an apple or other fruit blown down from a tree or bush by the wind.
2 a large amount of money that is won or received unexpectedly
3 dynamic ensemble of wind instruments, sometimes also including a piano

Mitchell Conservatorium has not gone into greengrocery and has not become a bank, with free samples for everyone, but next month, we do have a windfall for you.

The group members are
Jocelyn Edey-Fazzone (flute)
Teléna Routh (oboe)
Carol Coomber (clarinet)
John Cran (bassoon)
Graham Nichols (french horn)
and
Julia Brimo (piano)

You can expect to hear music from the Baroque and Classical eras, but also music that was written this century. These soundfiles demonstrate the kind of music that the group performs. I wonder if they will play any of those particular pieces for us?

Windfall is coming to Bathurst to perform at Mitchell Conservatorium at 7.30 PM, on Friday, 28th October. And at 10 AM on the following Saturday, they are providing a masterclass for wind players. This is an opportunity to get expert advice, whether you come to perform or listen to others get taken through their paces.

Please contact Mitchell Conservatorium on 6331 6622 or come into our office in the West Wing of the Court House, in Russell St to book tickets for the masterclass and concert.

Gil Sullivan

2011-09-10T20:57:00.000+10:00

Gil Sullivan: Mozart K498a First Movement from David Banbury on Vimeo.

On Saturday 22 October 2011, distinguished Australian pianist, Gil Sullivan will play some delightful piano music at Mitchell Conservatorium in Russell St, Bathurst at 7.30 PM

The program will include works by Liszt, whose bicentenary we are celebrating this year, Mozart and Tristram Cary.

Mr Sullivan's previous concert in Bathurst a few years ago was warmly received. i particularly enjoyed the Polly Fillers by Tristram Cary.

You can order your tickets, during office hours, Monday to Friday, by ringing 6331 6622

Putting your toe in the water

2011-09-01T20:45:00.000+10:00

Do you rush straight into the surf? Or do you walk in gingerly and only put a bit of you in at a time, until you have adjusted to the temperature of the water?

How would you like to be able to do it gradually with your Piano exams? The new AMEB P Plate Piano exams allow you to do just that.

There are three terrific full colour books of interesting pieces to choose from, but you only have to play three pieces in your exam. This can include a duet with your teacher, parent or friend, too.

You can take Mum along with you if you'd like.

There are no other requirements. No scales, no sight-reading, no general knowledge or aural requirements.

And every student receives a written report and an attractive colour certificate.

Will Schoenmaker

We think Will Schoenmaker is Mitchell Conservatorium's first P Plate Piano graduate, but please give us a shout if you got there before him!

2011-08-17T11:31:00.000+10:00

Tara Chan is a talented pianist and violinist. She has already been awarded an Australian Music Examinations Board A Mus A diploma, and is currently working towards her licentiate L Mus A diploma, and is not yet 16 years of age.

Tara enjoys playing violin with fellow violinist Chloe McCormick, violist and pianist, Ailie McGarity and cellist,Nicola Ball in the delightful Bella Forte string quartet.

On Sunday, 28th August, 2011, Tara will perform her L Mus A program in a 12.30 PM concert in The Orchard Room at Mitchell Conservatorium. The concert is free of charge and includes J S Bach's Prelude and Fugue in G Minor, from his Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Mozart's Sonata in A Minor, K.310, Chopin Prelude in C# Minor, op 10 no 4 and Prokofiev's one movement A Minor Sonata.

A splended time is guaranteed for all.

The one thing better than one guitar ...

2011-08-10T10:01:00.000+10:00

Peter and Marion Constant

... is Two Guitars, according to Frederic Chopin.

And on Sunday, 14th August, 2011, at 3 PM you can prove this for yourself at a concert at Mitchell Conservatorium, in the west wing of Bathurst Court House, in Russell St.

Peter Constant learnt guitar through Mitchell Conservatorium in the 80s, as a student at St Stanislaus College (Stannies). He later joined Guitar Trek, Canberra's terrific ensemble, modelled on the string quartet.

In this clip, Peter plays a bass classical guitar, while Marion plays an octave guitar, crafted by Australian luthier, Graham Caldersmith.

Bach's well-known Bourrée in E Minor inspired Paul McCartney's song Blackbird, featured on The Beatles white double album.

Watching videos on Youtube is enjoyable, but is a pale reflection of a live music concert. And Mitchell Conservatorium's Orchard Room is a great intimate venue for live musical performances.

See you there!

Do all children have the ability to be musical?

2011-08-03T13:46:00.002+10:00

When I was an HSC Music Examiner, I once went round Newcastle high schools with Anne Clipsham, who was teaching at Kambala, a Sydney K to 12 girls' school.

She made an interesting comment about our ability to be musical. She didn't believe people who said they were tone deaf, and pointed out that in her many years teaching at the school there had been only one girl who hadn't learnt to sing tunefully. "And she," said Anne, "began in Year Seven." She was confident that if this one student had begun earlier, she too would have sung beautifully.

In her interesting article Unlocking Kids' Musical Gifts, Fiona Baker says that everyone can enjoy music, but that lessons need to be geared towards what people want to learn.

When she was a girl, she had her heart set on singing and playing The House of The Rising Sun like Joan Baez, but instead her guitar teacher insisted on her learning Spanish and classical style guitar, which she deeply resented and which turned her off.

You won't find that attitude at Mitchell Conservatorium. We certainly have many students learning to play classical piano and taking music exams, but many others are playing and singing a wide range of musical styles. They are encouraged to develop their musicianship in areas of interest to them (and also gently prodded to increase their enjoyment of Music by exploring styles they are not yet familiar with).

The article also shares insights from Amanda Niland, who coordinates Macquarie University's Institute of Early Childhood Music . Ms Niland believes that

... a love of Music is inherent.
We can start to love music before we're born. Humans are hard-wired to be able to process music. A musical instinct is in all of us.

Everyone has the ability to be musical and love music. It's highly likely that those people who say they're not talented musically just weren't exposed to music early enough.

She says that the best music to expose children to is their parents' own singing voices.

Singing to children gives them an ear for music from an early age. Hearing their mum sing relaxes them, entertains them and makes them happy.

Singing traditional lullabies and nursery rhymes to babies and infants has been described as "an essential precursor to later educational success and emotional wellbeing."

Learning to love Music can begin before birth (someone once said that the best age to begin is 9 months before the birth of the mother!) and can be developed by enrolling your child in our Early Childhood Music classes.

You can find out more by phoning 6331 6622 between 10 AM and 5 PM, Monday to Friday, or by coming along to the conservatorium in the west wing of the Bathurst Court House in Russell St.

This blog is one year old today. Happy birthday MitCon blog.

Which film composer?

2011-07-19T13:37:00.001+10:00

Here is a question for you.
Which composer has written the most film scores?

Answer: I don't know.

But I do know that John Williams has received more Oscar nominations than any other individual and has written the scores for over 100 still well-known films, several of which have received top awards.

He has not only made more money from composing than any other film composer: he has also made more than all of the others put together.

Here are a few films which have featured his music:
The Harry Potter movies
The Star Wars movies
The Superman movies
The Indiana Jones movies
E.T.
The Jaws movies
Schindler's List
Angela's Ashes

The music sounds terrific in the films, but even more enjoyable when you listen to it without the dialogue, sound effects and film distracting you from discovering its beauty.

When we lived in the Blue Mountains I was privileged to occasionally play piano in the Penrith Symphony Orchestra. One year, we performed a Star Wars medley and as we played, I began to notice things I hadn't heard in watching the films or listening to the soundtracks.

Williams had written special themes for many of the characters in the story. In one of the excerpts which was played while Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia were together in a scene, you could hear Luke's theme (which is also the main Star Wars theme) interweaving with the themes for the other characters. Maestro Williams had cleverly created his themes so that they could be played together!

Do you remember the quirky jazzy theme which is played when there is a scene in an odd sort of cafe, with lots of odd-looking aliens whooping it up? Here is a great piano duet version to enjoy.

And this 7 minute medley presents soem of Williams' most memorable themes, with a few lesser-known, but enjoyable ones.

An Enjoyable Way to See the World and Explore Classical Music

2011-07-05T20:34:00.000+10:00

We have just finished watching the first series of Classical Destinations. We enjoyed the thirteen episodes and were chuffed that the composer of the theme music, Paul Terracini, was working beside us last year at Mitchell Conservatorium in Bathurst.

There is some gorgeous scenery and beautiful music in the series. We enjoyed the episodes about Bach and Mozart. I loved the Prague episode, with Simon Callow showing us around some locations in Prague where Amadeus was filmed.

The thirteenth and last episode is particularly moving, featuring the music of Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich. We are told of the tense relationship which Shostakovich had with the communist authorities, and of the bravery of Russian people during the 1942 siege of Leningrad.Hundreds of thousands of people died during the siege, but students continued to do exams, composers kept composing and people tried to keep living as normal lives as possible.

When Shostakovich's Leningrad Symphony was performed, half of the orchestra had died of hunger. The performance went ahead, with the instrument of each deceased member placed respectfully on their usual seat.

A poignant story to conclude the first series.

My wife, Joan and I now look forward to watching the second series, featuring Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

The Reluctant Consort

2011-07-04T11:03:00.000+10:00

The Reluctant Consort is the clever title of a a group of serious amateur musicians playing Mediaeval to Contemporary Music on a range of instruments, including recorders, lute and cello. The group has been performing in Sydney and environs since 1975 and has presented almost 300 concerts in that time.

The group currently includes performers on numerous recorders, from the sopranino to the bass. One of these performers is former Mitchell Conservatorium scholarship holder, Jacqui Smith. Other players perform on cello, viola da gamba, lute, guitar and spinet [small harpsichord-type keyboard].

The players were thrilled to be finalists in the recent ABC Classic FM Classic Recorder Romp Competition. The video clip below features them playing Steve Marshall's Major Pipework Tango.

Helen Sherman: we're proud of you!

2011-07-04T10:44:00.000+10:00

Helen Sherman, former Mitchell Conservatorium student, represented Australia in this year's BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition.

She sang beautifully, as you can hear in this performance in Concert Three from the competition. I particularly like the second song in the video, Una voce poco fa which begins at 6:12

On Sunday, 3rd July Helen was a featured artist in the Cheltenham Festival. On Friday, 8th July she will perform in the City of London Festival.

Minus Two?

2011-06-24T12:49:00.000+10:00

Conagh McMahon-Hogan with Michelle Griffin

Conagh McMahon-Hogan is a talented Mitchell Conservatorium scholarship holder, who studies Voice with Marisa Mariani-Starr and Piano with David McKay. He is pictured here singing Non Siate Ristrosi, from Mozart's Cosi fan tutte.

Conagh is St Stanislaus' College's Senior Songman of the Year and also Head Boy. He has enjoyed performing in local musical productions, including taking the roles of Major-General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance, Mr Bumble in Oliver and Leo Bloom in The Producers.

He also enjoys working with his friends Ryan Sanders and Senio Toleafoa in Minus One. Their latest recording is their version of the Mumford and Sons song White Blank Pages.

Multi-instrumentalist, Elné le Roux

2011-06-22T11:09:00.001+10:00

Elné le Roux, Scholarship concert, 2011

On Saturday, 2nd April this year, Mitchell Conservatorium scholarship holders presented two concerts to showcase their talents. One of these performers was Elné le Roux, pictured here playing Australian composer, Andy Firth's Big Belly Blues with accompanist Michelle Griffin.

Born in South Africa, Elné began playing the euphonium when her family moved to Queensland. She later took up the flute and saxophone and enjoys playing these in a variety of ensembles in Bathurst, including the Mitchell Conservatorium Senior Flute Choir and Bathurst RSL Band.

Take Five is one of the most iconic alto saxophone solos. Here performed by Dave Brubeck's band, and featuring Paul Desmond, the composer of the piece, on alto saxophone.

We Love Jane Rutter

2011-06-15T10:58:00.001+10:00

Happy flutists: Felicity McKellar with Jane Rutter

Mitchell Conservatorium recently hosted a visit of Australia's famous flutist, Jane Rutter to Bathurst, Lithgow and surrounding towns. Jane is a great model for students to follow. She makes her performances so enjoyable with her amazing technical ability and sensitivity and in the way she always engages with her audience.

Students loved the way she led the flute workshops and also enjoyed being acknowledged in her concerts.

An audience member at Lithgow was greatly moved and uplifted when she attended the concert in the church, which had been the venue for her sister's funeral the day before.

Awesome String Orchestra Day

2011-06-06T10:49:00.001+10:00

And here is one of Mozart's great pieces of music for orchestra:

Free sheet music

2011-06-01T10:28:00.000+10:00

Stephen Watson, conducting his prize-winning entry in the composition competition

Does it surprise you to learn that our most popular post so far was the one about free sheet music? In that post, we told readers about the terrific Petrucci Music Library, which now contains 94,000 scores of music for orchestra, violin, piano, chamber ensemble, guitar and almost any instrument you could imagine.

If you are interested in playing music that is over 70 years old, this is a great site for you.

We also gave a link to a site where arranger, Richard Harris, has generously hosted oodles of pages of free copies of his arrangements of film music, popular classics, Christmas music and more.

If there is so much sheet music available free of charge (not forgetting the many illegal download sites), why would anyone visit a music store, whether physical or online, and pay for the stuff?

One good reason is that music stores sell books. Remember them? One great thing about a music book is that it probably contains music you weren't looking for, but which may be a great complement to the music you wanted.

For example, if your music teacher tells you to get a copy of Scarlatti's Sonata in C Major, L 252, you could download one from here. You'd get a readable copy and you'd have it almost instantly.

But if you decided to buy this book which contains that sonata, you'd get a modern edition, with fingering, information about the meaning of the signs on the music, advice on how to play the trills and ornaments, an introduction about Scarlatti, an article on how to paly ihs style of music and 13 other sonatas to have a play through.

You can't beat the price of a free download, but a book gives you a lot extra for only a few dollars.

Music for your Chamber

2011-05-30T11:19:00.000+10:00

Fancy a spot of chamber music?

This is music written for small groups of players, where there is only one instrument per part. (A chamber orchestra, such as The Bathurst Chamber Orchestra is a much smaller orchestra than the Sydney Symphony, and may have only two instruments playing each line of music.)

A good place to start is with Schubert, one of the most amazing composers in music history. He composed an enormous amount of music in his short life of 31 years, including symphonies, operas, over six hundred songs, and quite a bit of chamber music.

Let's begin with his terrific song, The Trout, here sung by Ian Bostridge.

Schubert wrote an interesting set of variations on this tune in the fourth movement of his very popular Trout Quintet.

This piece of music was written for an unusual combination of
Piano
Violin
Viola
Cello
and
Double Bass.

(It is unusual because double basses do not usually feature in small string ensembles (though they are used in chamber orchestras).

The string quartet usually consists of two violins, a viola, and a cello as seen in this article and photo of Bella Forte, a group of four Mitchell Conservatorium students who play for weddings, parties, anything.

We'll finish this introduction to chamber music with the beautiful Nocturne movement from Borodin's Second String Quartet, performed by the distinguished Jerusalem Quartet.

Beautiful solo flute performance

2011-05-24T12:49:00.000+10:00

Here is a great solo flute performance by Jane Rutter, to be heard in Bathurst on Friday, 3rd June at All Saints Cathedral

Jane Rutter Hits The Central West

2011-05-24T12:20:00.000+10:00

This winter, the Central West will play host to Australia’s Flute Queen, #1 Adventurous Classical Artist and Concert Soloist Jane Rutter. Throughout June, Jane will tour Lithgow, Bathurst, Forbes and Young performing her most romantic, classical and popular pieces from her repertoire. Her concert program includes virtuosic favourites Donizetti, Ravel, Debussy, da Falla and Gershwin played on her many gold, silver and wooden flutes. The flute is the instrument of the heart and spirit, the oldest musical instrument known to man...these concerts are a love affair with the flute. Bring that someone special and fall in love all over again.

Thursday 2 June, 7.30pm Hoskins Church, Lithgow
Friday 3 June, 7.30pm All Saint’s Cathedral, Bathurst
Saturday 4 June, 7.30pm Forbes Town Hall, Forbes
Sunday 5 June, 5.00pmSouthern Cross Hall, Young

Tickets at the door
For further information www.mitchellconservatorium.edu.au or call (02) 6331 6622

Try Before You Buy

2011-05-19T11:23:00.000+10:00

This coming weekend, two great local performers will be touring Lithgow, Mudgee and Bathurst with some interesting and engaging music for you to enjoy.

Aaron and Rob are two of the popular guitar teachers at Bathurst campus of Mitchell Conservatorium. The samples below are from recordings they have made with their own groups, Stringmansassy and The Straight Back Fellows.

In Stringmansassy, Aaron Hopper combines his special stylings with vocalist Kasey Patrick.

Rob's group, The Straight Back Fellows, combines clarinets, saxes and flutes with a wide range of percussion instruments and of course Rob's guitar. You can hear short excerpts of Rob's music with the band here, but if you sign up with Myspace, you will be able to hear the full versions.

Friday 20 May 7.30pm Secret Creek Sanctuary Café & Restaurant, 35 Crane Rd, Lithgow

Saturday 21 May 7.30pm Baptist Church & Community Centre, 70 Bruce Road, Mudgee

Sunday 22 May 3pm Mitchell Conservatorium, Russell Street, Bathurst

Tickets: Adults $30, Concession $20, U3A/CPSA $10 Enquiries 6331 6622

Explaining the strange notation

2011-05-19T10:42:00.000+10:00

This piece of music, which looks like one note on a strange musical stave, is actually 4 notes, spelling the name BACH.

There's no H in the musical alphabet in English, but there is in German. Germans call our B flat B and our B H.

Reading the music anticlockwise, also known as widdershins, you have the well-known treble clef, then a tenor clef (used by cellos, bassoons and a few other instruments), an alto clef (mainly used by violas) and another treble clef.

The notes are then
B flat = B
A
C
and
B =H

But the source of this ingenious musical curiosity is unknown. Musicologists would love to find that it comes from Bach himself, but so far its origin is undetermined.

A musical curiosity

2011-05-16T11:47:00.000+10:00

This image is a piece of music with four notes and spells the name of a well-known composer?

Do you know what it spells and can you explain how it spells this composer's name?

Cafe of the Gate of Salvation

2011-05-09T11:08:00.000+10:00

The Cafe of the Gate of Salvation has been called Australia's premier a cappella gospel choir. If you haven't yet heard them, you have the opportunity to hear them in Bathurst on Saturday evening at 7.30 PM in All Saints Cathedral, a great venue in which to hear their voices resounding.

And if you love singing, concert ticket holders can join in their workshop at 3 PM.

For more details, please phone Mitchell Conservatorium on 6331 6622 during office hours.

A Lady Gaga Fugue?

2011-05-04T12:52:00.001+10:00

As far as I know, Lady Gaga hasn't written any fugues. She may not even know what a fugue is... Do you?

Giovanni Dettori's Lady Gaga Fugue shows you what a fugue is and, if you read music, you can follow along as you listen. It is based on a part of the song Bad Romance

Do you notice how the tune from Bad Romance keeps coming back in different ways? It takes a lot of skill to write a fugue. Giovanni Dettori teaches people about counterpoint, which is the discipline of writing a piece of music that has several tunes going at the one time. Sometimes, as in a fugue, the tune is being harmonised with itself.

Composer, Giovanni Dettori has kindly published the sheet music for you to download and play as a free pdf file.

Two flutes and a piano

2011-04-26T14:30:00.001+10:00

What more could you want for an afternoon or evening of beautiful music?

Perhaps you'd like some top-quality players to play them ...

We have that organised for you.

Does this whet your appetite?

Mitchell Conservatorium's version is the reverse of the video, because our performers are two men and one woman: Prem Love, Phil Braithwaite and Cindy Fox, all teachers at our Bathurst campus.

The concert also includes some beautiful Bach, Doppler's Hungarian Fantasy and a piece that is becoming very popular around Bathurst: Eliza's Aria, from Elena Kats-Chernin's Wild Swans ballet.

You can enjoy this beautiful music at

Hoskins Memorial Church, 43 Bridge St, Lithgow on Friday, 29th April, 2011 at 7.30 PM
or at
Baptist Church Community Centre, 70 Bruce Rd Mudgee on Saturday, 30th April, 2011 at 7.30 PM
or on
Sunday, 1st May, 2011 at 3 PM at Mitchell Conservatorium in Russell St, Bathurst.

The concert is free for Conservatorium students and costs

$20 for Adults
$15 Concession
$10 for U3A and CPSA cardholders

Nelson Ferguson: One First World War Story

2011-04-25T11:27:00.001+10:00

Some treasures from Nelson Ferguson's service in Villers-Bretonneux

On Sunday, 24th April, 2011 ABC Classic FM broadcasted The Glass Soldier, a concert from last year's Port Fairy Spring Music Festival.

The Glass Soldier is Nelson Ferguson, a young Ballarat artist who became a stretcher-bearer in the First World War. On 24th April, 1918 the church he was in was bombed with mustard gas, as part of the battle for Villers-Bretonneux.

This resulted in him being blinded and coming home from the war. Later, he regained partial use of his eyes and lectured at RMIT. He was called The Glass Soldier because of the factory he founded which made beautiful stained glass windows, some of which are now heritage-listed.

The music in the program is composed or arranged by Nigel Westlake, one of Australia's most popular film composers. The performance, by Melbourne Symphony orchestra brass players featured Geoffrey Payne playing the original cornet that Ferguson had played during his time in France, which you can hear in this extract of The Last Rose of Summer.

There was good news at the end of the story. After many years of sight-impairment, a British eye surgeon was able to restore Ferguson's sight, so that he could spend his last days enjoying the full use of his eyes again.

The Fifth Wiggle

2011-04-11T20:35:00.000+10:00

Phillip Wilcher

In the 1990s your blogservant was a high school music teacher and heard a Year Twelve girl at Fairfield High School play Chiaroscuro, a beautiful 3 part piano piece by Phillip Wilcher.

Phillip was one of the original members of The Wiggles. In fact their first recording session was held in his home.

He was mentored by Miriam Hyde, one of Australia's most beloved composers. His website gives a fascinating account of his experience of learning from her. She wrote him at least 160 letters, from his early days of composing, until close to her death in 2005.

Sally Whitwell plays his Ballade sensitively. If you click through to her Youtube channel, you can read Phillip's comments about her playing.

Music You Can't Get Out Of Your Head

2011-04-07T11:38:00.000+10:00

Have you heard this beautiful piece of music? It is one of the most popular pieces of contemporary Australian music. It is called Eliza's Aria and was composed by Elena Kats-Chernin for her ballet Wild Swans, which is based on a Hans Christian Andersen story about Eliza, a princess, whose eleven brothers have been transformed into wild swans by a wicked witch. Eliza must knit magic shirts from stinging nettles to break the spell.

The tune is the third most performed in UK television advertising.

We heard it recently in a staff concert performed by Prem Love and Elena Day-Hakker, in a student performance opportunity, played by Chloe Walker and Elena Day-Hakker and then by David Pereira (cello) and Alice Giles (harp) at All Saints Cathedral.

Not sick of it, yet. There are several interesting versions of it available on Youtube, including Sarah Cracknell's The Journey Continues.

My Baby Girl

2011-04-01T14:25:00.000+11:00

What a nice song. And a cleverly crafted performance, with good intonation and excellent use of musical expression.

More, please!

Performed by Mitchell Conservatorium student Conagh McMahon-Hogan's band Minus One

We'll tell you more when we get some more details. I believe the composer is the middle bloke, Ryan.

Cello and Harp Concert

2011-03-30T10:28:00.002+11:00

Two of Australia's best-loved musicians are performing at all Saints Cathedral, Bathurst on Friday 1st April at 7.30 PM
Alice Giles is a superb musician whose skills on the harp are world-class. She has performed recitals in Europe, Israel, America and even Antarctica.

In this concert, Alice will be joined by David Pereira, whose name is inseparably associated with the cello in the minds of many.

You can find several of his beautiful performances at his homepage, including this wonderful recording of The Swan by Camille Saint-Saëns.

Tickets will be on sale at the concert
$30 per person
$20 concessions
$10 U3A/CPSA cardholders
For further information please call 6331 6622

Highlights of Open Day, 2011

2011-03-22T14:23:00.001+11:00

On Sunday, 20th March, 2011 students and staff performed for one another, for their families and interested community members in a variety of ensembles, including groups of recorders, guitars and flutes.

The afternoon concert featured piano solos from Heming Luo, Courtney, Luke and Timothy Powell, flute solos from Bethany Windsor and Elne Le Roux, a Scarlatti guitar sonata played by Tim Burrey and Larissa Beer singing Hopelessly Devoted to You.

The Conservatorium executive director, Fiona Thompson accompanied performers.

At the end of the day, we enjoyed a relaxed staff soirée which featured some great guitar playing from Aaron Hopper and Mark McLaughlin, a Bach flute solo from Prem Love, Oliver Harris' entertaining tuba variations on Incy Wincy Spider and this performance of a Schubert Impromptu by piano teacher, Elena Day-Hakker.

2011-03-14T12:01:00.000+11:00

What an artist, what a man!

2011-03-12T15:29:00.001+11:00


Percy Grainger

Percy Grainger, one of Australia's best-known composers, though also claimed by the United States (where he lived for most of his life). The title of this post is a quote from Edvard Grieg. Grieg and Grainger were admirers of one another. After Grieg died, Grainger enjoyed playing his friend's famous Piano Concerto in A minor and even made a piano roll of it, which has been used to create a performance performed by Sydney Symphony and ... Percy Grainger (via a grand piano, specially modified to play piano rolls).

Grainger died 50 years ago, on 20th February, 1961. There are some great commemorative recordings which have been released to coincide with this.

Percy would not be happy with the Youtube clip below, because he was disappointed to be best-known for his arrangement of the English folksong, Country Gardens. I wonder what he would have made of the performance by Rowlf and Fozzie Bear?

Thanks to Mitchell Conservatorium Singing and Piano teacher, Michelle Griffin, for sharing this fun video with us.

Bathurst's Singing Star

2011-03-08T11:58:00.001+11:00

Helen Sherman, courtesy of Hanya Chlala

Twenty opera singers from across the globe have been selected to compete in this year’s prestigious BBC Cardiff Singer of the World and one of the select finalists is local Bathurst talent Helen Sherman. Helen will be performing in Cardiff when the competition gets underway in June and she will have the added distinction of performing in front of Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, internationally renowned singer, who takes up her role as Patron of BBC Cardiff Singer of the World for the first time.

Securing a top 20 place against the original six hundred opera and concert singers who auditioned for a place in the competition is no mean feat, however Helen is no stranger to the hard work and discipline.
Helen was always determined - she was like that as a little girl says her proud father, Brian Sherman.

Helen, a mezzo-soprano, debuted at Bathurst Eisteddfod, singing, dancing and playing the piano at the age of three! She began singing lessons at the Mitchell Conservatorium, learning from Olga Reeder and then graduated from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in 2003.

Since then her professional singing development and career has gone from strength to strength, most recently giving debut concerts at Wigmore Hall, the Purcell Room, Bridgewater Hall and Royal Albert Hall and appeared with Roger Vignoles and Mikhail Zemtsov in the Cambridge Summer Recital series.

At the RNCM she sang the roles of Hélène (Offenbach‘s La Belle Hélène), Sesto (Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito) and Cyrus (Handel's Belshazzar), the latter in a co-production with Manchester Camerata.

She has also recorded with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra as part of an International Opera Productions prize and has broadcast a recital for Australia's ABC Classic FM.

Young Concert Artists Trust has a page about Helen, which gives links to recordings of her singing the ever-popular Une voce poco fa from Rossini's Barber of Seville and Va, liasse couler mes larmes from Massenet's Werther.

(Clicking on the hyperlinked text should take you directly to the recordings. If it takes too long, you can right click and save the files to your computer and then listen to them.)

Mitchell Conservatorium staff and students wish Helen all the very best for her performance to take out the Cardiff Singer of the World 2011 competition.

A remarkable Australian

2011-02-26T23:10:00.000+11:00

I thought I had put all of this week's papers in the recycle bin, but discovered that a page had fallen out of Tuesday's edition of the Sydney Morning Herald and was sitting on the kitchen table.

I'm so pleased that I hadn't thrown it out, because it contained a great story about one of the world's most remarkable musicians.

Leslie Howard has a place in the Guinness Book of Records for completing the largest recording project by a solo artist. This project is his 99 cd set of the complete piano works of Franz Liszt. He has also recorded another 60 or so cds, giving him the largest discography of any solo instrumentalist. And he has the largest repertoire of any pianist who has ever lived.

Mr Howard has recorded and performed more than 300 premieres of Liszt's piano works. He prepared many of these himself, by working systematically through Liszt's unpublished manuscripts.

Leslie Howard was born in Australia and achieved fame as a young man on Showcase, a 1960s talent program. He has lived in England since 1972, but has regularly come back to Australia to give concerts and masterclasses.

In 2011, Liszt's bicentenary, he will perform three concerts in Sydney, including

Discovering Liszt, a lecture-recital at Sydney Conservatorium on Friday, 6th May

a recital of Liszt and Rachmaninov pieces at the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre, Penrith on Saturday, 21st May

and a two piano recital with Simon Tedeschi at Angel Place on Thursday, 26th May.

A bit of fun

2011-02-23T12:11:00.000+11:00

Many years ago when I was in crowd control (which some people call high school music teaching) one of my students made a comment about the operatic aria I was playing his class.

Peter pointed out that while adults grizzle about not being able to understand the words sung in rock songs, he couldn't understand a word of the song, though it was being sung in English.

I'm pleased this amusing Facebook song has the text included. Peter had a point! (I've been told that German is the only language which you can understand when it is sung by an opera singer ... provided that you understand German.)

Congratulations to Brisbane's Gordon Hamilton and The Australian Voices for a beautifully produced video of their entertaining song.

Blitzing your way through your music-making

2011-02-18T14:30:00.000+11:00

Have you seen this picture somewhere before? Do you know what it is?

Some people call it a thirty-second note and others call it a demisemiquaver. But where have you seen it?

If you recognise it, you have probably been using one of the terrific resources which Samantha Coates and her friends have been providing for the past ten years. Her Blitz Books have lots of these cute pictures combined with the general knowledge tips, music theory information and practical help with sight-reading that can help you to blitz your way through learning to play and doing music exams.

At the Blitz Books downloads page, you will find heaps of completely free worksheets and samples to supplement the books.

There is also a most interesting blog with lots of articles about aspects of music-making, which includes practical advice for teachers and students.

These resources have been a tremendous help to hundreds of teachers and students throughout Australia, and through the internet, also for people in other parts of the world.

Australian Music Legends

2011-02-16T09:02:00.000+11:00

James Morrison has posted this historic footage of himself on his Youtube channel. Proof that he once had lots of hair.

He is playing with Australian Jazz legend, Don Burrows. Don is now 82 and is still occasionally performing and when he does, it's a treat as this video from Australia Day, 2010 shows.

When the video of James Morrison was recorded, he was a young promising star. I wonder what young promising stars are lurking at Mitchell Conservatorium this year?

The secret of James' success? Talent of course, but also taking every opportunity he could to perform and meeting and listening to the great jazz players.

Success? Easy!

2011-02-11T07:35:00.000+11:00

To achieve great things, two things are needed:
a plan,
and not quite enough time.
Leonard Bernstein, great 20th century conductor, composer and music teacher

2011-02-09T19:45:00.000+11:00

Barbara Bruce, OAM

We are delighted to announce that former Mitchell Conservatorium piano and music theory teacher, Barbara Bruce, has been awarded an Order of Australia medal, in recognition of her services to Music, as a pianist, teacher and mentor.

Mrs Bruce was a teacher and also for a time, director, of Lachlan campus of Mitchell Conservatorium. She can now put OAM after her name. Congratulations, Barbara!

The little man in the Paris underground?

2011-02-05T15:31:00.000+11:00

Some people think a metro gnome is a short busker in Gay Paree. But a metronome is a whole nuther story, according to these two cats. Thanks to Michelle Griffin, Piano and Singing teacher at Mitchell Con, for sharing this video with us. (No, they're not her cats.)

3 year old Jonathan conducting Beethoven's Fifth Symphony

2011-02-02T09:58:00.000+11:00

Director of Mitchell Conservatorium, Fiona Thompson pointed us to this terrific clip of a young man who, despite his young age, shows he really knows the work he is "conducting." Notice how he changes tempo and metre appropriately, just before the recording.

And doesn't he enjoy himself!

We're Back!

2011-01-31T12:10:00.001+11:00

Mitchell Conservatorium is open for music lessons again. We are looking forward to lots of wonderful music-making this year by our students, staff and guest artists.

Georg Mertens, featured in the Youtube clip above, is one of our guitar and cello teachers. His performances which you will find on his Youtube channel are always of a high quality, and always feature interesting notes about the music and even the instruments used to play them.

If you are interested in playing classical guitar, you will love the new Australian Guitarist website, which features information about Australian guitarists and luthiers [pronounced LOO tea uhs, and meaning guitar-makers. But why say guitar-maker when you can say LOO tea uh!]

I'm fairly sure that you will find information about guitarists you already know about, but also plenty of new information to strum your strings, too!

Oh look! They even feature Danny McKay from Melbourne.

But if you want to continue or begin your own musical journey on guitar, or almost any instrument, please come in to Mitchell Conservatorium, in the West Wing of Bathurst Court House in Russell Street, Monday to Friday, from 10 AM to 5 PM. Or you can ring our friendly staff on 02 6331 6622.

Who Am I?

2011-01-27T20:22:00.006+11:00

Guten Tag. Today is my birthday. Do you know who I am? I was born on 27th January, 1756 in Salzburg, Austria. I died in December, 1791, just a few weeks before my 36th birthday.

In my short life I wrote over 600 pieces of music. My father put some of the first pieces I wrote into a book for my sister, which is called Nannerl's Music Book. You can find a copy of these first pieces here, which is a special internet site from Germany, which contains copies of all of my music. You might like to download the pages and try them out. Some of them are easy, but some are harder than they look!

Here is a short extract from a film about me called Amadeus, which is my middle name. Do you like the laugh they gave me?

Win a Fan Pack

2011-01-19T14:11:00.002+11:00

At Mitchell Con, we are always looking to improve. We want you to let us know what we are doing well, and to please help us to modify those things we could do better.

We need your help! Please download this survey and hand it in to the Bathurst Office from Wednesday 19 January, 2011 or post to PO Box 1387 Bathurst 2795 to go into the draw for a Fan Pack, which includes concert tickets, a book voucher and CDs.

She's looking good!

2011-01-19T13:59:00.000+11:00

This young lady is all set to explore the wonderful world of Music in 2011. How about you? You can learn almost any instrument at Mitchell Conservatorium, as you can see if you head over to our revamped website.

What is your fancy?
Voice

Harp

Trumpet

Drums

Cello

Piano

Flute

Mitchell Conservatorium has qualified teachers for all of these instruments and about twenty others. Which one will you explore?

Please call in at Bathurst Court House, West Wing in Russell St, or ring 6331 6622 during office hours to begin or continue your musical journey.

How Musical Are You?

2011-01-14T13:40:00.000+11:00

Are you game to have a crack at this BBC test? It's fun, though I found the very first question the hardest in the whole test. So don't let it put you off: it gets easier.

I think that you will find that you are more musical than you think. In reading my results, I scored better on the self-assessment questions ...

What Good is Music?

2011-01-13T18:35:00.000+11:00

The University of Sydney's Robyn Ewing thinks that the arts should be embedded in all school subjects, to stimulate creativity and imagination. A paper published in January, 2011 by The Australian Council For Educational Research

highlights international research that shows students who are exposed to the arts:
1. achieve better academic results
2. are more engaged at school
3. are less likely to leave school early
4. have better self-esteem than students who do not have access to the arts.

The proposed national curriculum for the arts, to be published in 2012, mandates at least two hours a week of arts subjects such as dance, drama, media arts, music and visual arts from Kindergarten through to Year Eight.

But is two hours per week of one of the arts enough?

Everyone benefits from exposure to the arts. Music lessons, performing in and attending concerts and learning to create your own music are just some of the opportunities which Mitchell Conservatorium provides to stimulate imagination and creativity in all of our students, from the tiny tots to our growing number of adult students.

If you would like the chance to engage with music for the first time, or to re-engage, please come into our office in the West Wing of Bathurst Court House in Russell St, or ring our friendly staff on 02 6331 6622.

An old friend

2011-01-04T21:51:00.000+11:00

Does this piece of music stir you? Maybe it reminds you of where you were when you first heard it? Or it might bring back an old TV advertisement!

It made a wonderful opening to Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001:a space odyssey

It is only the first few bars of a tone poem by Richard Strauss for an orchestra which included pipe organ, and a large number woodwind, brass and percussion players, as well as a string section with more players than usual.

If you would like to see an enthusiastic student group perform this work, you might enjoy the performance I've embedded below by the Macau Youth Symphony Orchestra.

The young man playing the tympani (the large drums you can see at the back of the orchestra) is really going to town!

If you kept watching and listening, you would have also enjoyed the orchestra's rendition of the theme from John Williams' Star Wars. Kubrick's 2001 film featured music that had been composed prior to his film being made. None of it was written for his iconic film.

But the music in Star Wars, and also about 300 other films, has been specially crafted by John Williams. He has been writing film music for about 50 years now and has made more money from film composing than any other composer. And, if you add up all of the money that all other film composers have made, he has also made more than all of that, too. I hope he knows some worthy charities to support!

If you enjoyed listening to this music, you might find attending concerts by the Macquarie Philharmonia and the Bathurst Chamber Orchestra even more enjoyable. You can't beat live orchestral music!

Please stay tuned for more great music links in 2011: both old friends and new ones.

Through Evans' Eyes

2010-12-17T21:14:00.000+11:00


Marcus Milton, Beatrice and Adelaide Kenworthy with Will Schoenmaker

Nine year old Mitchell Conservatorium student, Will Schoenmaker was the joint winner of the Arts Alive 2795 Children's Writing Prize for 2010. He wrote a great story called Through Evans' Eyes in which Governor Macquarie's surveyor looks at Bathurst in 2010.

In Will's story, the Conservatorium even gets a mention, as you will see when you read this extract from his story:

Hello everyone. My name is George William Evans. My statue was erected in King's Parade in 1913 and now I can see all around the area and watch how Bathurst has changed since I was alive.

I can hear laughter from the children coming out of Annie's Ice Cream Parlour, their faces covered in ice cream and fudge dripping down their arms.

Last year I watched as the builders completed the new bell tower at All Saints' Cathedral. It was exciting to hear the bells ring for the first time for the new Catholic Bishop of Bathurst, bishop Michael McKenna, the eleventh Bishop of Bathurst.

Every afternoon I see the children going into the Mitchell Conservatorium for their music lessons. Each Tuesday I see one boy called Will Schoenmaker as he goes to his piano lessons. He is getting better. I can hear him play Alouette and The Quarrel.

I can also see the Western Advocate building where each night journalists write the stories and the editors produce the newspaper. Early in the morning the newspapers are delivered to the people of Bathurst and the businesses I can see up and down George St ...

At Christmas time I hear the sounds of Christmas carols coming from Machattie Park. The children are excited waiting for Santa to arrive. Maybe this year Santa will leave a present for me at the base of my statue.

But I already have a great gift - I have the perfect place to watch life in Bathurst go by.

What a great story! You can read the whole thing in the Western Times 16th December, 2010 issue. And you can hear Will playing in a recent student concert here.

Mitchell Con students head off to hospital

2010-12-16T15:40:00.000+11:00

Performing at Bathurst Base Hospital is challenging and rewarding. You have to forget about having a stationary audience, and pretend you are making a radio program, realising that people are going to be making noises and walking across the stage area while you play.

Zoe Rodwell, Arts Coordinator, assures us that the music is greatly appreciated and can be heard all over the hospital.

With this in mind, Felicity and Cheryl McKellar played some beautiful music on flute and piccolo (Felicity) and classical guitar (Cheryl), which included a suite of pieces by Pujol describing Buenos Aires and the terrific Christmas song, Carol of the Bells.

Stephen Aveling-Rowe played Burgmuller's Gewitter and Tansman's Le Petit Oiseau on a digital keyboard and later played some cello pieces, accompanied by his mother Merilyn. Unfortunately the memory card on the digital camera filled up before he played a beautiful rendition of Saint-Saëns Le Cygne, but we did manage to capture some of Let Me Call You Sweetheart. We apologise for the sudden early ending and for all the hospital goings on during the performances we have put up here.

The man who plays the instrument made the instrument

2010-12-10T19:07:00.002+11:00

What a lot of fun! How many of the songs do you recognise?
(Spoiler alert: Snubby J reveals the pieces played if you click on the description box.)

He says he made the instrument with Dad's help during the long summer break.

Onya Snubby!

Our talented students

2010-12-10T11:58:00.000+11:00

At last we have some of our own music to share! Come on over to TheMitchellCon Youtube site and enjoy some great piano, trumpet, classical guitar and flute choir music from an end of year student concert and our annual Scholarship concert.

More to come!

You will also find links to sites that Youtube sites hosted by our staff and students.

Magic!

2010-12-06T12:13:00.001+11:00

Eusebius requests your indulgence, please. Normal service will be resumed soon, but today he is reminscing. Today is our first baby's birthday. Daniel is 36 today and is busy rehearsing for a new duo guitar recording with Anthony Field, to be distributed by MOVE Records. It will include music by Phillip Houghton and Nigel Westlake, two great Australian composers for classical guitar.

But I'm remembering him as a little boy doing the percussion for our $1.99 Music For Pleasure Greatest Hits of The Tijuana Brass record.

He used to love the first track, The Magic Trumpet, which begins with a rhythmic motif for 2 trumpets, and is answered by the bass drum's BOOM, BOOM.

Today I discovered that the song was composed by Bert Kaempfert, who was born on my birthday and died on my Nanna's birthday. I used to love to listen to Bert Kaempfert's A Swingin' Safari when I visited my Uncle, Aunt and cousins. We thought Uncle Ben was a cool dude, with a great-sounding stereo and such a wonderful brassy, bassy record to play us.

If you'd like to make some great sounds on a trumpet, guitar or almost any other instrument (no vuvuzela lessons currently, though), you can enrol now to start your journey in music-making next year at Mitchell Conservatorium, which is located in the West Wing of Bathurst's Courthouse in Russell St. Phone 6331 6622 for more information.

Mitchell Con Youtube site is live

2010-12-05T18:54:00.000+11:00

Belinda Macri performed this piano piece on Sunday, 5th December, 2010 at a Mitchell Con end of year student concert.

Do you like the Mixolydian flavour at the beginning?

The piece is called Larrikin and it is by Elissa Milne, one of Australia's best-known and best-loved composers of pieces for students. We hope you enjoy our very first video, and look forward to sharing lots more with you in 2011.
I'm sorry that the video is only taking up a small part of the screen. But I don't think it is distorting our performer by making her look stretched out or elongated.

Our second video features, Will Schoenmaker, playing at the same student concert.

Do you have a video of your performance?

2010-12-01T23:44:00.000+11:00

Mitchell Conservatorium now has its own Youtube channel. We would love to feature good quality recordings of excellent performances of Mitchell Conservatorium students on our channel.

And I would love to use your videos on this blog.

The video above features Stephen Aveling-Rowe playing Bach's Toccata in D Minor on the Opera House pipe organ. Stephen learns cello from David Pereira and piano from David McKay. We can't claim credit for his great organ playing, but we can chuckle that his organ teacher is also a David: David Clark from Cooranbong.

Watch a master teacher at work

2010-11-28T14:09:00.001+11:00

Mitchell Young Voices at our Open Day, 2008

In this short video, Bobby McFerrin makes teaching an audience to sing a five note scale look so easy. But I think that it looks easy because he does it so effectively, not because anyone can do it.

What do you think?

Singing teachers around the world use this Pentatonic scale to teach beginners to sing because leaving out two notes from the more frequently used major scale make it much easier to sing and to improvise on. And the scale is used in a lot of well-known music. You might find yourself using it on New Year's Eve, if you get in a huddle to belt out Auld Lang Syne.

Thanks to Michelle Griffin for pointing out this great little video. Michelle conducts Mitchell Young Voices, and teaches piano and singing at Mitchell Conservatorium in Bathurst.

How to get an audience

2010-11-25T09:29:00.000+11:00

The Aston method

Choose a song that is currently very popular, and create your own great version of it.
Make a great live video of your performance
Result? Over 957,000 views on Youtube.

The Alphabet Photography method
Choose a piece of music that has been popular from the time it was written over 250 years ago.
Hire a terrific set of singers, including soprano Stephanie Tritchew and Chorus Niagara, a professional 80 voice choir.
Find a suitable venue.
Liaise with the management of venue
Set up seven hidden cameras
Perform your song unannounced, as a flashmob at midday when the centre is buzzing
Result: 936,000 views on Youtube in one week!

Christmas flashmob

2010-11-23T22:58:00.000+11:00

Do you know what a flashmob is? Wikipedia defines it as

a large group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and pointless act for a brief time, then disperse.

It is usually organised via mobile phones or internet sites such as Facebook.

The Christmas flashmob above took place on 13th November, 2010 at a shopping centre food court.

Hope you enjoy this wonderful performance of Handel's Hallelujah Chorus. Eat your heart out, Leonard Cohen. Please forgive Eusebius, but that song is one of his pet hates. (Cohen's, not Handel's.)

Merry Christmas!

U3A?

2010-11-22T22:49:00.002+11:00

Cheryl McKellar and David McKay, with Joan and Bill Bergen in the corner

U3A, or University of the Third Age, is an organisation for people over fifty, no longer working full time. The Bathurst branch is very popular and always has lots of different programs to appeal to a wide range of interests.

The Music Appreciation program has been going for over ten years. It is currently run at the beginning of the fourth school term. Each week we listen to some live music, hear some fascinating information about an aspect of Music, and also listen to some recordings to complement the talk and live music.

Over the past eight years we have explored

J S Bach
Mozart
Chopin, Schumann and Mendelssohn (all born within a year of one another)
the beginnings of Russian classical Music
British Music of the Twentieth Century
G F Handel
Australian Classical Music
French Music

Proposed future topics include:

Haydn
Beethoven
Bach's sons

Music Is For Life

2010-11-21T17:27:00.000+11:00

For the past six weeks, Mitchell Conservatorium has been hosting a Music Appreciation program for Bathurst's University of the Third Age. Each year in Term 4, David McKay presents a one hour program which includes interesting top-quality performances and recordings of music on a selected theme. This year we have been focussing on French Music from the past two hundred years.

Performers have included Julia Romano, who sang French chansons by Debussy and Fauré, Glen Wholohan, who played movements from an enjoyable, jazzy saxophone suite by Jean Françaix, Chloe Walker, who played an arrangement of Debussy's first Arabesque for flute and piano, and Joan and David McKay, who played Fauré's beloved Dolly suite for piano duet.

For the final week's program, Cheryl McKellar played Tango en Skai by Roland Dyens, which you can hear played by the composer himself in the video at the head of this post.

Mitchell Conservatorium's first director, Laurie Orchard, inaugurated the Bathurst Music Appreciation program in the 1990s. David McKay is humbled and honoured to be following in his distinguished footsteps. (Laurie, an octogenarian, is still hosting a U3A Music Appreciation program in Lismore, where he now lives.)

Concert featuring some of the most beloved Christmas music

2010-11-16T12:33:00.000+11:00

2010-11-11T14:04:00.005+11:00

Tory Roth with some of Bathurst's future stars

You're never too young (nor too old) to start exploring music at Mitchell Conservatorium. We have classes for toddlers and a well-developed Early Childhood program which gives pre-schoolers and children in Infants School the resources to build on for a lifetime of creating music.

Our newest Early Childhood teacher is Catriona McKay. She has her A Mus A in Voice, and lots of experience performing in ensembles, operas, and choirs, such as The Sydney Philharmonia. She enjoys composing, arranging and recording music for children. She has developed her own Early Childhood music programs known as Little Sings and Song Club. Catriona is now using materials developed in these groups at Mitchell Conservatorium on Fridays.

If you'd like to enrol your children in one of our Early Music programs, please phone our office on 02 6331 6622 between 10 AM and 5 PM, Mondays to Fridays, or come along and meet our friendly staff, in the west wing of Bathurst Court House, in Russell St.

Masterclasses

2010-11-02T14:42:00.002+11:00

Mitchell Conservatorium is hosting three masterclasses on Sunday, 7th November at 11 AM in which three distinguished musicians will share their love of Music and expertise with selected performers and also interested observers.
David Miller, AM will conduct a masterclass in piano and accompanying. David is widely recognised as one of Australia's leading pianists and accompanists. He has been appointed a member of the Order of Australia for his services to Music.

Philippa Paige, member of Sydney Symphony, teaches violin at Sydney Conservatorium, as well as teaching string teachers their craft. She will also be conducting a masterclass, where she will be sharing insights into violin playing and teaching at 11 AM on Sunday, 7th November.

Peter Jenkin teaches clarinet at Sydney Conservatorium and is one of Australia's most versatile performers on the clarinet. He plays in a diverse range of styles and is eager to share his specialist knowledge with teachers and students in Bathurst on Sunday, 7th November at 11 AM.

He will be joined by David Miller, AM in a concert at 3 PM, which features works by Scriabin, Verdi and Brahms. The concert will conclude with Elena Kats-Chernin's wonderful Russian Rag.

David Miller will also be conducting a masterclass in piano and piano accompanying, earlier in the day.

Music Is For Life

2010-11-01T09:26:00.002+11:00

A charming trailer for a heart-warming new documentary. I hope we get to see it in Bathurst!

When are you too old enough to play and sing? Alice is 106 and is still playing, every morning and afternoon.

During the time she was imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp, she performed over 100 concerts for fellow inmates and played all of Chopin's Etudes from memory. (This camp was intended as a showpiece to the world, to deceive people into thinking that Jewish inmates of all concentration camps were being well-treated.)

Beat That!

2010-10-30T15:20:00.002+11:00

When we think of a child-genius, it is natural to think of Mozart. He was performing and composing at the age of five. But other composers also began very early. And some even surpassed his considerable feats.

Did you know that Chopin wrote pieces from the age of seven that were much more demanding to write and play than many of the pieces that Wolfie wrote, even in his maturity?

But the one who is impressing me at the moment is Camille Saint-Saëns. Consider this: at the age of two he could already read and write and was picking out melodies on the piano. He began composing shortly after his third birthday, and by the age of five had given his first piano recital.

At seven he was reading Latin, studying botany and investigating butterflies [the last of which he continued to do for the next eighty years].

When he was ten he made his formal debut as a concert pianist, performing a Mozart piano concerto in B flat and Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto in C Minor. For an encore, he offered to play any of the thirty-two Beethoven piano sonatas from memory!

A bit of fun

2010-10-28T20:54:00.000+11:00

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly performed by The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, from their DVD Anarchy in the UKulele.

I wish to advise that I was not thinking of any staff or students when I made this post. Honest.

Sunday, 31st October Bicentenary Tribute

2010-10-26T12:26:00.001+11:00

Elena Day-Hakker, at a previous Mitchell Conservatorium recital

This year is the two hundredth anniversary of the birth of Chopin and Schumann, two of the most-performed composers for the piano. On Sunday, 31st October, Elena Day-Hakker will perform some of their most beloved compositions, as well as works by Moskowski and Shamo.

Starting at 2.30 PM, the concert is free for Mitchell Conservatorium students and costs just $20 for adults and $15 concession. There is also a two-for-one deal for U3A members.

Please join us for some delightful music at our first Spring Season concert, at West Wing, Court House in Russell St.

How to ensure your kids don't practise

2010-10-23T18:31:00.002+11:00

Mum, I can't find my music book...

One way to ensure your kids don't practise is to make it impossible for them to find their instrument! You could follow the method above, but it can also be done by being too tidy. Eusebius will never fall into the latter category; just ask Mrs E.

But it has been done. One parent used to carefully pack away the keyboard in its original wrapping and put it on top of the cupboard after use. And another family kept the sheet music on a high shelf where their child couldn't see it.

Can you think of any other creative ways to stop your kids practising?

Alternatively, you might reverse this and think of ways to encourage them!

Keep Music Live

2010-10-21T12:18:00.000+11:00

Clever videos accompanying prerecorded music can be fun, but you can't beat a great live performance. Local musician, Alyce Kissell shared this video with me, and I thought I'd share it with you.

A great song and great performance are captured well in this live recording. Watch out for the smile of satisfaction at the end.

The song was originally written to be accompanied by this video (which I'm not allowed to embed here), but I love the simplicity of the live version above. Which one do you prefer?

How many keys?

2010-10-21T09:19:00.000+11:00

Piano by Stuart and Sons

Do you notice anything unusual about this piano? Can you work out what the lowest and highest notes are?

Unlike the standard piano that you would see at Mitchell Conservatorium, it has 8 octaves, from F to F. For more than a hundred years, pianos have been manufactured with 7 and a quarter octaves, with a total of 88 keys.

The Thursday, 21st October, 2010 Sydney Morning Herald announces that Wayne Stuart, the manufacturer of the piano pictured above, has extended this range even further by creating a piano with 102 keys, from a very low C to the high F on the piano pictured.

Some composers are writing for the extended range, but the existence of the strings on the piano can enhance its sound, even if the actual keys are not included in the piece of music being played.

If you would like to hear how these pianos sound, Stuart and Sons are offering a free demo cd at their website, where you can also read more about their interesting, Australian-made pianos.

But for a wonderful live performance on a beautiful Bechstein grand piano [with 88 keys], you won't want to miss Elena Day-Hakker's concert at 2.30 PM on Sunday, 31st October at Mitchell Conservatorium, in the west wing of Bathurst Court House in Russell St.

2010-10-12T11:33:00.000+11:00

Musique Pour Médecins (in English, 'Music for Doctors') is a fundraiser concert hosted by Mitchell Conservatorium on behalf of Médecins Sans Frontières, Australia.

This concert will feature seasoned local musicians who have donated their time and talents to the event. Performers include Michelle Griffin, David McKay, Cindy Fox, Jon Lewis, Glen Wholohan, Catherine Brown, Olivia Fisher, and local wind quintet Quintwood. The evening will begin with wine and hors d'œuvres, after which the audience will be treated to the music of French composers such as Bizet, Debussy, Faure, Schönberg, Ravel, and Tiersen.

The concert will be held on Friday, 22nd October in The Orchard Room of Mitchell Conservatorium. Guests are asked to arrive at 6.30 for a 7pm start. Tickets cost $25 each and will be available at the door.

All money raised by this event will be donated to Médecins Sans Frontières, the world's leading independent organisation for emergency medical humanitarian aid.

Every year MSF sends around 3,000 international field workers to work alongside 22,000 national staff, to bring emergency medical assistance to the people who need it most and may otherwise have no access to even the most basic life-saving health services. Our concert is in support of the hundred Australian doctors who join in this work each year. For further information, please visit MSF Australia

2010-10-01T11:03:00.000+10:00

James Muller, Emma Pask, Ian Cooper, Doug Richards, Phil Stack, James Morrison, Mitch Richards, John Morrison

After James Morrison's great concert in Forbes, I'm sure many locals would be declaring that their favourite performers are

vocalist, Emma Pask
fiddle player, Ian Cooper,
brass whizz, James Morrison
and percussionist, John Morrison.

You can't beat a great live concert, and John and his band always leave you with a smile on your face.

But what are your favourite classical works? Did you know that ABC Classic FM (at 97.5 on your FM dial and online at the linked address) has asked listeners to nominate their ten favourite classical works to find out what music Australians love to listen to?

I don't want to influence your vote, and by the time you read this, it may be too late to do so as the cutoff date is Friday, 1st October, 2010, which is the date I'm writing this. But I thought I'd share what I voted for:

1. Sumer is icumen in
2. TALLIS Spem in alium
3. HANDEL: Messiah
4. BACH, J S: Jesu, meine Freude
5. HAYDN: Creation
6. BEETHOVEN: Ninth symphony
7. MOZART: Sinfonia Concertante for violin and viola
8. DVORAK: Eighth Symphony
9. WILLIAMSON, MALCOLM: The Musicians of Bremen
10. MCKAY, Justin: The Walrus and the Carpenter

I tried to choose music from different periods and instrumentation, realising that I would have to omit dozens of pieces that I would have liked to include. So I chose one anonymous piece, one composition by my son, one concerto, two symphonies, two oratorios, two works for small vocal ensemble, one piece from the Medieval Period, one from the Renaissance, as well as music from the Baroque, Classical and Romantic Periods, a work from last century and one from this century, and two works by expatriate Australians.

I didn't really choose my ten favourites, because I wanted to reflect the variety in the music I like.

What would you choose?