Along the Field - Saturday, May 9th, 11:00am
Description
Program
Ralph Vaughan William: Along the Field (1925)
1. We'll to the woods no more
2. Along the field
3. The half-moon westers low
4. In the morning
5. The sigh that heaves the grasses
6. Good-bye
7. Fancy's knell
8. With rue my heart is laden
Aaron Copland: Duo for flute and piano (1971)
1. Flowing
2. Poetic, somewhat mournful
3. Lively, with bounce
Angélica Negrón: The Violinist (2022)
Nino Rota: Trio for Violin, Flute, Piano (1958)
1. Allegro non troppo
2. Andante sostenuto
3. Allegro vivace con spirito
Listening Guide
Nature, folk songs and poetry were among the influences that breathed life into the prolific body of work from Englishman Ralph Vaughan Williams. A national treasure, Vaughan Williams was forever changed after serving as a private in World War One. When living and teaching in London, he composed the song cycle Along the Field in 1927, setting the text of contemporary poet Alfred Housman.
Meanwhile in America, a young Aaron Copland was busy writing music self-described as “his gold nuggets”. Copland’s compositional voice would later inform a wave of ‘American sound.’ His Duo for flute and piano arrived when Copland was in his seventies, living in New York and professing to be struggling to feel anew with ideas. The duo brims with melodies and counterpoint that call back to the Shaker tunes and rodeo dances heard in his popular ballet Appalachian Spring.
Puerto-Rican composer Angélica Negrón’s work The Violinist spins a short story written by Ana Fabrega detailing a non-musician's nightmare waking up to find herself on Carnegie Hall’s stage into life through the use of electronics and solo violin. Such drama and theatrics spill into the essence of Italian film composer and pianist Nino Rota, best known for his score to The Godfather, and whose Trio for flute, violin and piano was written in 1958 for a popular touring group at the time.
Lineup
Louis Hurley, Tenor
Louis Hurley, a Sydney-based tenor, has established himself as a versatile and sought-after artist in the realm of classical music. He is a passionate operatic and concert performer in repertoire spanning the Baroque through to the 21st Century. After completing a Bachelor of Music and Graduate Diploma of Music at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), Louis furthered his studies, as a Hazell Scholar, with a Master of Music at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, London. Whilst in London, Louis made debuts as a soloist at Wigmore Hall, and at the Barbican Hall with the London Symphony Orchestra. Since returning to Australia, Louis has made debuts with a number of Australia's leading companies and orchestras. On the concert platform he has been a soloist with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Pinchgut Opera, and Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. In operatic roles Louis has been seen performing extensively with Pinchgut Opera, where he was the inaugural recipient of The Humanity Foundation Taryn Fiebig Scholarship, and with Melbourne Opera, West Australian Opera, and at the Adelaide Festival, where his performance of Flute/Thisby in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, was praised for ‘stealing the show’ (The Advertiser).
Lee Dionne, Piano
Described as “impressive” (NYTimes), “impeccable” (Fanfare Magazine), and “entrancing” (BBC Music Magazine), pianist Lee Dionne leads a varied, international career as a soloist, chamber musician, educator, artistic director, arranger, and speaker. He has performed numerous solo and chamber debut recitals in such venues as Carnegie Hall, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Jordan Hall, Merkin Hall, Spivey Hall, and the Philharmonic in Bratislava. For six years Lee toured the US and internationally as the founding pianist of the Merz Trio (2017-2023), with which he was a recipient of the prestigious Naumburg Award in Chamber Music and first prize winner of the Fischoff, Chesapeake, and Concert Artist Guild Competitions. Other chamber ensembles and organisations with which Lee has been associated include Yellow Barn Music Festival, Ensemble Connect, and Cantata Profana. Within Australia Lee has been presented as a soloist, chamber musician, speaker, and studio artist by such organisations as Piano+, the Sydney Writers’ Festival, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Musica Viva, ABC Classic, and Fine Music Sydney. Lee is deeply indebted to a host of former teachers and mentors, including pianists Vivian Weilerstein, Boris Berman, Wei-Yi Yang, Matti Raekallio, Seth Knopp, Patricia Zander, and Wilma Machover; harpsichordist Arthur Haas; musicologists Michael Friedmann and Paul Berry; and chamber musicians Don Weilerstein, Mark Steinberg, Julio Elizalde, Gerhard Schutz, Kim Kashkashian, Isabel Charisius, Merry Peckham, and Alisdair Tate. Lee currently teaches piano, collaborative piano, and chamber music at the Sydney Conservatorium. Previous faculty positions include Yellow Barn's Young Artist Program and Yale University's Performance of Chamber Music Seminar.
Rosie Gallager, Flute
Renowned for her dynamic performances and spellbinding interpretations, Rosie Gallagher is a flutist who champions creativity and collaboration. With a passion for exploring diverse musical landscapes, Rosie is a leading voice in both classical and contemporary flute performance, with her versatility and deep musicality seeing her perform regularly with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra and Opera Australia. Rosie received a BM from The Juilliard School, an MM from The Royal Academy of Music, and from 2016-2018, she was a fellow in Ensemble Connect; a fellowship program of program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and the Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education. Rosie has given pre concert talks for both the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Carnegie Hall.
Anna Freer, Violin
Anna Freer is a musician and writer based between Adelaide, South Australia, and Zürich, Switzerland. She is interested in finding unique ways to tell stories through music and words and is passionate about bringing back our attention to nature, community, and joy. Anna is a versatile and creative player, equally at home on the modern and the baroque violin, and is especially interested in the practice of self-accompaniment, being also a trained and accomplished singer. She does this as a solo undertaking, in chamber music settings, and as an educational output. In solo settings, she frequently combines ancient and contemporary music with texts and songs to create narrative-driven programs (The Long Way Home 2023, MAGNOLIA SEASON 2024-2025, LABYRINTH 2025), performing these recitals internationally. In chamber music settings, she has collaborated with various leading Australian vocal ensembles to create expanded programs for violin and voice (Woman, Divine 2023, B.A.C.H 2023). As part of her ambassadorship with Theresia Orchestra, she developed a workshop called SING/PLAY for musicians about historically informed self-accompaniment, which she has given in France and Switzerland.
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