Friends in the Drawing Room - ‘Spring with Brahms and Strauss’

Experience world-class chamber music in a relaxed intimate heritage setting as the Friends in the Drawing Room series returns to Barrengarry House with ‘Spring with Brahms and Strauss’

Violinist and host Bridget Crouch is joined by soprano Lorina Gore and pianist Nicholas Routley for another relaxed  program of romantic music, including a premiere of Jewel 2 a new reworked composition by Robert Constable dedicated to Bridget Crouch.

There are two performances of the programme, an afternoon tea or a relaxed morning coffee performance, refreshments will be served on the verandah of the historic Barrengarry House. 

• Afternoon Tea Concert: Saturday, September 19th at 4:00 pm

• Morning Coffee Concert: Sunday, September 20th at 11:00 am

• Location: Barrengarry House, 171 Upper Kangaroo River Road, Kangaroo Valley

• Tickets: $70 General Admission | $30 Students & Children (Limited) 

Seating in the Barrengarry House Drawing Room is strictly limited, so reserve your seats early.

About the Artists:

Bridget Crouch
English-born violinist Bridget Crouch had an extremely successful playing, teaching & lecturing career in London before emigrating to Australia.
She was a pupil of pedagogue Sheila Nelson & went on to study on scholarship with eminent violinist Emanuel Hurwitz at the Royal Academy of Music in London where she won major prizes, then postgraduate study (also on scholarship) with Max Rostal & the Amadeus Quartet in Germany.
Returning to the UK, Bridget freelanced with all the major London Orchestras (including the BBC Symphony, London Philharmonic, English Baroque Soloists and others) and she guested with many leading chamber groups. She was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company music ensemble for ten years as well as playing guest principal for the Royal Ballet.
Bridget toured major world venues with Sir Neville Marriner's Academy of St-Martin-in-the-Fields and the London Sinfonietta under Sir Simon Rattle.
Film scores she has performed in include the later Star Wars, Amadeus and many others.
In Australia, Bridget has played principal with the Australian Chamber Orchestra. She was principal with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra for two years and appeared with Sirius at the Barossa Festival and numerous other festivals. She has recorded solo recitals for the ABC in Sydney and Brisbane.
Bridget taught at the Royal College of Music in London and the Queensland Conservatorium. She now freelances in Sydney as well as consulting in upper string pedagogy at California State University.

Nicholas Routley 

Nicholas Routley has had a broad career in music, as pianist, conductor, and composer. He was for many years a lecturer and then Professor in the  Faculty of Music at the University of Sydney. His pupils, now spread across many continents as well as within Australia, occupy prestigious positions and many have already achieved international renown.
Nicholas studied piano with the renowned teacher Peter Feuchtwanger (the teacher of many great pianists, among them Martha Agerich and Shura Cherkassky) in  London. Since then he has specialised in chamber music. Nicholas has toured internationally, having twice given recitals at London’s Wigmore Hall. He has also played at the Belvedere Palace in Vienna, and the Cultural Centre in Hong Kong.
Since moving to the Northern Rivers in 2009 he has founded, and directs, the chamber choir Vox Caldera. Nicholas works as a pianist with Gaynor Morgan, Emilie Lemasson, Bridget Crouch and Thomas Zachary among others. He is currently president of the Byron Music Society, an organisation which promotes concerts by outstanding musicians of the region and across Australia. He is engaged in the composition of three operas on the subject of the Indian epic, Mahabharata.

Lorina Gore 

Lorina Gore is an acclaimed Australian soprano, who began her foray into classical music at the Australian National University in Canberra. In 2008 Lorina joined Opera Australia as a principal artist, and has since performed many roles for the company including: Violetta (La Traviata), Marie (Wozzeck), Roxana (King Roger), Leïla (Les pêcheurs de perles), Amina (La sonnambula), Musetta (La Bohème), Queen of Night (Die Zauberflöte), Die Fiakermilli (Arabella), Tytania (Midsummer Night’s Dream), Honey B (Bliss), Yum-Yum (The Mikado), Despina (Cosi fan tutte), Oscar (Un ballo in maschera), Marzelline (Fidelio), and Woglinde (Der Ring des Nibelungen) in both the Melbourne and Queensland Ring Cycles.

Lorina featured as Ophelia in the 2018 Glyndebourne Festival Opera production of Hamlet (written by Brett Dean and directed by Neil Armfield), which was presented at the Adelaide Festival. Lorina subsequently won the Helpmann Award for ‘Best Female Performer in a Supporting Role in an Opera’ for her performance, and Hamlet was also chosen as the ‘Best Opera’ for 2018. Lorina reprised the role of Ophelia in Hamlet in 2024 and the role of Violetta in La Traviata in 2025, both at the Sydney Opera House with the national company Opera Australia.
Lorina’s music recordings include 'A Toast to Melba' and 'Johann Strauss: Waltzes and Arias' with Marko Letonja and the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (ABC Classics), highlights from Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier with Yvonne Kenny, 'Bliss' (Opera Australia), and Handel's Rodelinda conducted by Maestro Richard Bonynge.