Classical music: what's in it for young people

Jul 16, 2017

The most sincere form of contact between a young person and classical music happens during a live performance. Last night the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra played at Hamer Hall and I had brought along two of my brightest students; eleven and fourteen years of age. We were going to hear Mozart’s Symphony No. 40, granted entry by our student tickets. A large majority of concerts encourage concession tickets for those under twenty-five so therefore, I assign the term ‘young people’ an upper age

Musikfest Nara 2017: Travelling in Japan

Jun 29, 2017

Over the past month, I had been travelling in Japan seeing more of traditional Japanese culture within their performing arts such as Kabuki, Bunraku, and Noh. They were all enjoyable but since audiences were not allowed to take videos or pictures of those performances, I have decided to share something that I could take videos of. The Musikfest 2017 was the highlight of my stay in Nara, apart from the deer. On a few occasions, I got the chance to listen to Japanese musicians play Jazz,

Carl Vine's Choral Symphony: Weird and Wonderful

May 15, 2017

Last Saturday was the Monash Academy Orchestra’s concert of Australian works and one of them was Carl Vine’s Choral Symphony - something that I would describe as slightly odd but very entrancing nonetheless. The performance was presented in conjunction with the Monash University Singers as well as students from the Victorian College of Arts Secondary School. Being on stage with this large an orchestra was a first for me but the way Warwick conducted the rehearsals made me feel at ease. Warwick