What's On

Cocktail Hour Recitals

Piano Series

The 2006 Piano Series explores music written for the piano over the past two hundred and fifty years, beginning with the highly refined compositions of such composers as Haydn and Mozart and ending with the explosive force that compelled Skryabin to transcribe his Poem of Ecstasy for two pianos. Anyone who truly loves the experience of listening to fine music played in a superb hall by some of the Australia's leading pianists should find much pleasure in the scope and variety offered here. From the extreme concision of Schoenberg's Op.11 to the magisterial authority of Beethoven's Waldstein sonata as played by Gerard Willems through to the delicate impressionism of Debussy and Ravel, there will be much to enjoy.

Program 08 Monday 13 November // Scenes from Schumann

Masterpiece Series

It would be difficult to match the extraordinarily diverse range of music that will be played in this series. Devotees of chamber music will be delighted to find such well-known masterpieces as Schubert's great Cello Quintet along side less familiar works such as Mendelssohn's Sextet for piano, string quartet and double bass. The Sydney Wind Quintet will perform works by Hindemith, Australian composer Ross Edwards and Thuille's Sextet for piano and winds. Percussionists Alison Eddington and Daryl Pratt will present an all percussion program featuring world premieres of two new works by Daryl Pratt and the first Australian performance of Andrew Ford's "The Crantock Gulls". For something completely different a team of some Australia's leading jazz pianists will present an innovative chamber jazz program that also features Craig Scott on bass and Andrew Dickerson on drums. For those listeners who revel in the rich mellow timbre of the viola, clarinet and horn will be pleased with the inclusion of trios by Mozart and Brahms. Lovers of brass will be delighted to find a brass quintet program playing a mostly twentieth century program.

Program 09 Tuesday 07 November // French Colours

Vocal Series

One of the qualities that continually fascinates lovers of music must surely be the mysterious intimacy between composer and interpreter, none more so than the combination of composer, poet and vocalist. Throughout the centuries audiences have been enthralled by their collaboration and in return composers have been inspired to produce some of their best music. The present series offers a splendid opportunity to experience something of this rich and varied repertoire performed by some Australia's leading vocal artists and instrumental interpreters.

Program 08 Wednesday 8 November Howl, Howl the Hell Hounds! (Songs of the two Robert Johnsons)

Soloists from the Australian Chamber Orchestra

A special presentation by the Sydney Conservatorium of Music in association with artists from the Australian Chamber Orchestra, will give audiences a rare opportunity to hear the remarkable virtuosity of Musicians from this internationally acclaimed ensemble.

6.00pm Thursday 7 December
Joint Recital | Music Workshop

Melissa Barnard| cello
Josephine Allan| piano
Martin | cello sonata No. 2
Granados | madrigal for cello and piano

Satu Vanska | violin
[[b|| Brendan Jones | piaon
Schubert | duo in A major Op. 162 D 574

Aiko Goto| Violin
Nicole Divall| Viola
Mozart | duo for violin and viola No. 2 in B flat major K 424

Aiko Goto| Violin
Nicole Divall| Viola
Peter Rejto | cello
Beethoven | string trio in G major Op. 9 No. 1

2006 Spring series Conductors program

Performed by Sydney Conservatorium Large Ensembles, these Conductors Series Concerts feature at 6.00pm week nights and 4.00pm on Saturdays

Program 10 Friday 27, Saturday 28 October
Symphony Orchestra, Verbrugghen Hall

Sensational Sunday Series

Sydney Conservatorium and Friends

From its very beginning early last century the Conservatorium has maintained a long tradition of offering Sydneysiders the opportunity to hear chamber music here at the "Con" on Sunday afternoons. Located on the edge of the Botanic Gardens the sheer beauty of the setting compliments the music played inside the Conservatorium's superb concert venues.

The present series will cover a wide range of music, from the Baroque splendour of JS Bach's Brandenburg Concertos to the manic hilarity of Martinu's La Revue de cuisine. The serenade tradition is well represented with music for winds and strings by Mozart, Beethoven and Dvorak as well as some rarely performed masterpieces such as Spohr's Nonet and Gounod's Petite Symphonie. A rare musical delight can be found in a concert devoted to music for solo and duo bassoons. In this very special series Conservatorium staff will be joined by some of Australia's leading instrumentalists in presenting a series of programs that will appeal to wide range of music lovers.

Sensational Sundays Brochure

Lunchbreak Series

Lunchbreak Concerts
Enjoy a delicious lunch in the Conservatorium Music Café followed by a concert in the intimate surrounds of Verbrugghen Hall, where staff and students from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music perform inspired programs of music from modern jazz through to some of the most beautiful chamber music pieces ever to have been composed. Ensembles performing in this series vary widely from double bass quartets, cello, sax, and guitar ensembles through to the Sydney Conservatorium Wind Symphony.

Lunchbreak Concerts Brochure

Lecture Series

As a forum for new ideas one would be hard pressed to assemble a finer series of lectures given by some of Australia's leading musicologists and music educators. Insightful, controversial, always stimulating, be prepared to explore the great as well as some of the more prosaic ideas currently being discussed by today's intellectual community.

View all lectures

Masterclasses

What Makes it Great? 2006 Masterclasses

Our series of masterclasses presented by visiting guest artists are open to the general public and are free. Below is the list of those masterclasses currently confirmed. Others will be added to this list as the year goes by.

View all masterclasses

Additional Concerts

Additional Concerts

Enchanted Winds
Friday 10 November 7.30pm

SYO in Concert – Enigma Variations
Saturday 9 December

The University of Sydney - Sydney Conservatorium of Music