Sundays by the Lake 2027 Series

Sundays by the Lake 2027

Four extraordinary concerts. Ten years of musical friendship. One very special community.

Join Ensemble Q for Sundays by the Lake, our much-loved chamber music series in the beautiful GHD Auditorium at the University of Queensland.

In 2027, we're celebrating ten years of making extraordinary music with extraordinary people. What began as a gathering of musicians who simply loved playing together has grown into something much more: a musical family that includes everyone who walks through our doors.

At Ensemble Q, we believe the audience is every bit as important as the musicians on stage. Our concerts are about more than listening to great music. They're about connection, discovery, shared experiences and the wonderful sense of belonging that comes from being part of something special.

Our four concerts — Rapture, Wonder, Currents and Echoes — bring together some of Australia's finest musicians in programs filled with breathtaking masterpieces, exciting contemporary works and the unexpected musical discoveries that have become an Ensemble Q hallmark.

From the passion of Brahms and the beauty of Schubert to the brilliance of Ravel, Prokofiev and some of today's most exciting composers, every concert is an invitation to experience chamber music at its most exhilarating and intimate.

Each concert experience includes a free post-concert reception where you can meet us, talk with friends and enjoy a glass of something nice.

Come for the music. Stay for the connection. Be part of the Ensemble Q family.

We can't wait to share our tenth-anniversary season with you.

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Sydney Arts Guide

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Limelight

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What's the Show

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Arts Hub

Four concerts, all 3pm Sundays

SUNDAY MARCH 7 - RAPTURE

We open the season with two phenomenal chamber works.

Two composers, two extraordinary musical worlds, and the exhilarating experience of being completely swept away.

Prokofiev’s brilliantly theatrical Quintet is a world of sharp wit, unexpected twists and irresistible rhythmic energy. Originally conceived for a ballet, its unusual combination of instruments creates a kaleidoscope of colour and character, with music that can turn from playful to unsettling in a heartbeat.

Brahms takes us somewhere entirely different. His magnificent A major Piano Quartet unfolds with warmth, generosity and breathtaking lyricism, its intimate conversations growing into moments of sweeping passion and exuberant joy.

Separated by generations and musical language, these two masterpieces share an irresistible vitality. From Prokofiev’s mischievous imagination to the emotional richness of Brahms, Rapture celebrates music at its most vivid, surprising and gloriously alive.

PROGRAM

Sergei Prokofiev Quintet

Johannes Brahms Piano Quartet No 2 in A major

SUNDAY MAY 9 - WONDER

There is something magical about hearing the world through a child's imagination, where the ordinary becomes extraordinary and anything seems possible.

Schumann's beloved Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood), reimagined for seven musicians by Trish Dean, opens a window onto a world of innocence, tenderness and half-remembered dreams. Thomas Adès takes us further into the imagination with his mesmerising Les Barricades mystérieuses, while Paul Dean's Undertoad explores the darker, more mysterious corners of childhood, where wonder and unease can exist side by side.

And then comes Berwald's glorious Septet, bursting with invention, unexpected turns and irrepressible good humour. Full of playful surprises and delightful musical conversations, it's a work that reminds us that curiosity and the joy of discovery are not just for children.

From childhood memories to flights of fantasy, Wonder celebrates the imagination in all its forms, and the extraordinary places music can take us.

PROGRAM

Robert Schumann Kinderszenen, arr Trish Dean

Thomas Adès Les Barricades Mystérieuses

Paul Dean Undertoad for string trio

Franz Berwald Grand Septet in B flat major

SUNDAY JULY 18 - CURRENTS

Music has a remarkable way of crossing boundaries, carrying ideas, stories and emotions between people, places and generations.

Bottesini opens with a sparkling display of virtuosity, bringing the clarinet and double bass together in an unlikely but irresistible partnership. Sibelius offers a fleeting moment of enchantment with Water Droplets, a miniature for violin and cello that captures the delicate play of water in just a few exquisite notes.

At the heart of the program is Across the Ditch, a new collaborative work bringing together six Australian and New Zealand composers - Dame Gillian Whitehead, Nathaniel Otley, Ben Hoadley (NZ) with Maria Grenfell, Nicole Murphy and Matt Laing (AUS). Each contributes a musical voice to a shared journey across the Tasman, celebrating the connections, contrasts and creative currents that flow between our two countries.

And finally, Schubert's beloved Trout Quintet, inspired by his song about a fish darting through a sparkling stream. Overflowing with warmth, invention and effortless charm, it is chamber music at its most joyful.

From the smallest ripple to the broadest musical horizons, Currents celebrates the extraordinary ways music connects us.

PROGRAM

Giovanni Bottesini Duetto for clarinet and double bass

Jean Sibelius Water Droplets for violin and cello

Across the Ditch A new collaborative work by six Australian and New Zealand composers

Franz Schubert Piano Quintet in A major, D. 667, The Trout

SUNDAY OCTOBER 31 - ECHOES

Music is a conversation across centuries, with ideas passed from one composer to another, transformed by time, imagination and the irresistible urge to create something new.

Weber's magnificent Clarinet Quintet opens with all the elegance and exuberance of early Romanticism. The clarinet takes centre stage, soaring above the strings in music filled with operatic flair, tenderness and dazzling virtuosity.

Caroline Shaw's Entr'acte takes inspiration from a Haydn string quartet, finding unexpected beauty in the spaces between musical phrases. Familiar harmonies bend and shift, leading us into a sound world that feels at once ancient and entirely new.

Ravel's exquisite String Quartet brings these musical echoes into brilliant focus. Drawing on the traditions of the past while creating a language unmistakably his own, Ravel weaves shimmering colours, intricate textures and breathtaking beauty into one of chamber music's most treasured masterpieces.

From Weber's Romantic brilliance to Shaw's playful reinvention and Ravel's luminous imagination, Echoes celebrates the endless conversation between composers, and the extraordinary music it inspires.

PROGRAM

Maurice Ravel String Quartet in F major

Caroline Shaw Entr'acte for string quartet

Carl Maria von Weber Clarinet Quintet in B-flat major, Op. 34