Encore! The Australian Chamber Orchestra raises the tempo in London
READ MORE
The residency gives the likes of violinist Maja Savnik the chance
to settle in one place.Credit:Nic Walker
I’ve watched him exchanging grins with two of his fellow players in rehearsal; they look like they’re having fun. “Well, it is fun,” he says. “We’re good mates; there’s a bit of competitiveness – who can do the most interesting fingering; playing around in happiness, really.” Is there room to make suggestions to Tognetti? “Totally, he’s like 10 million miles an hour in his brain, so you have to find the right moment. But he’s really open – it’s one of the main things about the band: taking risks.”
The ACO was one of three orchestras chosen for the Barbican’s new residency program, the others being the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel, and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra led by legendary trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. “The three orchestras are like our international family,” says the Barbican’s head of music, Huw Humphreys, “and by coming every year for an extended period, they can start to tell stories about themselves.” Such residencies allow the bands to program more adventurously than they might if they were just flying in for a single concert or two. “It means that we’re able to dig deeper in [their] programming,” Humphreys says, “presenting something like Mountain, for example, which you would never do in a one-concert tour – and this is exciting for audiences. As well, these three orchestras are all committed to learning and outreach in their own cities and now they can do that here, too, as ACO is with the Guildhall students.”
For ACO managing director Richard Evans, the residency marks a “step change” in the orchestra’s evolution. “European tours are usually a series of one-night stands,” he explains, “either playing behind the host’s conductor, who’s famous, or behind a soloist, both of which are used by promoters to sell tickets. Whereas a residency in our most mature market allows us to play the music we play at home. And doing three concerts each time enables a broad sweep of what the orchestra has to offer.” As well, says Evans, a residency enables the musicians to settle in one place, see friends, go to concerts and pursue professional development. “It is maturing for the orchestra and the brand; it feels like a very adult and creative move for us.”
The ACO has undertaken only a handful of residencies previously, in Hong Kong, Banff in Canada and Berkeley in California. London is a definite step up – and while it has tended to tour to the city every year or two as part of its regular European sojourns, knowing it has annual London dates locked in should help in other ways. “It should enable us to be more choosy about which cities we go to elsewhere in Europe, concentrating on the three or four centres that are most important,” Evans says. “We’re certainly hoping it will allow us to leverage residencies in other places like France and Berlin, where we’re already having these conversations.” The orchestra will continue to be away from Australia for about six weeks a year. “We will go to Europe every year and to either the US or Japan in alternate years. We are making a concerted effort to establish Japan as our third major musical centre.”
Article source: http://smh.com.au/nsw/young-teen-received-more-than-600-emails-from-34yearold-posing-as-15yearold-20171013-gz0kx0.html
Comments
Post a Comment