AVE – Australian Vocal Ensemble

“…an absolute success, with a fascinating mix of the old and the new, highlighting Australian culture in all its forms.”  - Limelight 

Katie Noonan, soprano, Artistic Director 
Fiona Campbell, soprano 
Andrew Goodwin, tenor 
Andrew O’Connor, bass-baritone 

AVÉ is an elite chamber ensemble that is warm and welcoming to all, consisting of artists of international excellence; Katie Noonan (Artistic Director and Soprano, QLD), Fiona Campbell (Mezzo Soprano, WA), Andrew Goodwin (Tenor, NSW) and Andrew O'Connor (Bass-Baritone, NSW). The ensemble presents vocal performances featuring new Australian works, featuring engagement with our First Nations People. 

The ensemble, established in 2021, aims to make a mark on the national and international stage, telling unique stories and celebrating identity and place through song. Exploring the extraordinary vocal music from the late Renaissance and Baroque era alongside New Australian works, AVÉ is creating a national standard in the presentation of professional chamber vocal works. 

AVÉ’s Patron Dame Quentin Bryce AD CVO said, "AVÉ – imagination, ideas, magic; hallmarks of Katie Noonan’s contribution to our cultural life. Sparkling, enriching, inclusive in every sense, again and again, she amazes with her capacity to translate dreams into reality, captivating us with the way she lifts our hearts, taps into our emotions, laughter, sometimes a raw nerve or two, an awakening, with generosity in spades." 

For the 2023 concerts through Musica Viva Australia’s Regional Touring program, AVÉ's artist fees are subsidised by the Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) Fund – an Australian Government initiative. 

TUMBLING LIKE STARS 

USING THE HUMAN VOICE TO TELL THE STORIES OF OUR TIME AND PLACE THROUGH SONG 

Four of Australia’s finest vocalists come together in a visionary performance combining heavenly vocals in a chamber setting. Katie Noonan’s new project, Australian Vocal Ensemble - AVÉ intertwines Australian compositions by Cawrse, Davidson, Green, Humphries, Hurren, Leek, Noonan and Wells, alongside new arrangements of music by Bach, Handel and Tomás Luis de Victoria creating a beautiful tension between ties to more traditional European music and modern Australian classical. Committed to telling uniquely Australian stories, AVÉ presents these new works based on the poetry of iconic Australian writer David Malouf. 

  

Stephen LEEK & David MALOUF Stars (1987) 

Jessica WELLS & David MALOUF In the Sea’s Giving (2020) 

VICTORIA Heth Misericordiae (1585) 

Anne CAWRSE & David MALOUF Afterword (2020) 

Isaac HURREN & David MALOUF The Catch (2020) 

JS BACH Jesu, meine Freude, BWV 227 (1653) arr. Andrew Goodwin      

Thomas GREEN & David MALOUF Typewriter Music and First Night (2020)                                             

Robert DAVIDSON & David MALOUF Suburban (2020) 

HANDEL ‘Tu del Ciel Ministro eletto’ from Il trionfo del Tempo e della Verità, HWV 46 (1707) arr. Andrew Goodwin 

Alice HUMPHRIES & David MALOUF From the Book of Whispers (2020)                                                                   

JS BACH Mache dich, mein Geist, bereit, BWV 115 (1724) 

ALBINUS Straf mich nicht in deinem Zorn (1694)                                                  

Andrew GOODWIN Peace I Leave With You (2020)