Composer PORTRAITS
world Premiere of new works by NortherN Rivers composers Nicholas Routley and Romano Crivici.
Both -Nicholas ‘Sonata for flute, viola and harp’ and Romano’s ‘Arafura Haze’ – are written as companion pieces to one of Claude Debussy’s Sonatas ‘pour instruments divers’ (1915). Many composers in the 20thcentury have been inspired by Debussy who was one of the first to write for this combination of instruments. And now in the 21st century we have Nicholas and Romano following this fine tradition. In one of our composers own words, ‘this unusual configuration of instruments gives rise to a remarkable sound world.’
This Portrait will be the World Premiere of Nicholas’ and Romano’s works, performed by the outstanding Carla Thackrah (flute), Virginia Comerford (viola) and Alice Giles (harp).
The Music Estuary is honoured to be the host of this truly special concert.
Carla Thackrah, Flute
Virginia Comerford, Viola
Alice Giles, Harp
DATE & TIME
SUNDAY, 26 October
3:00 – 4:30 PM
TICKETS
GENERAL $25
CONCESSION $20
Under 18 Free
PROGRAM
CLAUDE DEBUSSY
Sonata for flute, viola and harp (1915)
Nicholas Routley
Sonata for flute, viola and harp (2024)
Romano Crivici
Arafura Haze (2025)
ROMANO CRIVICI – COMPOSER
Romano, a former member of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the New England String Quartet (violin) has also worked extensively as a pianist, repetiteur and conductor. A recent cultural refugee from the noise and chaos of Sydney, he has found his creative home here in the enchanted Northern realms!
As artistic director, he founded the Elektra String Quartet in 1991, an influential contemporary ensemble which worked with cutting-edge sound technologies and cross-cultural collaborations. In that role he commissioned, recorded and premiered works by many Australian composers. To further develop his voice, he formed the Elektra Collektive Unconscious (ECU) in 2019, a disciplined and flexible ensemble of classical improvising musicians which he directs from the keyboard.]
His work has been performed in the UK, Europe and South America, and he has six albums released of his compositions, three on the ABC Classic label, that are broadcast regularly. His most recent album, Ebb & Flow, was released in 2022 by ABC Classic. In 2023, he composed the score for the feature-length documentary The Last Violin, broadcast on SBS. More recently, he co-composed the score for the feature-length documentary Follow the Rain, released on Netflix in 2024.
NICHOLAS ROUTLEY – COMPOSER
Nicholas was the founder director of the Sydney Chamber Choir for 30 years. During his time there he commissioned and premiered many Australian compositions, including works by Ross Edwards, Clare Maclean, Martin Wesley-Smith, Vincent Plush, and others.
He is now active in the Northern Rivers as a pianist, composer, and conductor. As a pianist he has partnered a series of great singers, including Hartley Newnham, Gaynor Morgan, Gerald English, and Lorina Gore. He has conducted many orchestras in Australia, including the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and orchestras in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Italy. His compositions include a clarinet concerto for David Thomas, a guitar concerto for Adrian Walter, and a cantata for baritone solo, choir, 2 pianos and percussion.
He is currently completing his three opera cycle on the Indian epic, Mahabharata.
Carla Thackrah – Flute
Carla is an award-winning musician, filmmaker and screen composer. She has 20 years professional orchestral experience, ten years of that as principal flute with the Opera Australia Orchestra, based at the Sydney Opera House. She has performed as guest principal with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO), West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO), the Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO), and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (ASO). She has also performed with contemporary and world music ensembles including David Ahern’s A-Z Music, the Lindsey Kemp Contemporary Dance Co., Seymour Group, Tango Paradiso, Tucana Flute Ensemble, and Elektra Collective Unconscious (ECU).
Carla has studied at the University of Sydney, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and, in London, Guildhall School of Music, and Royal College of Music. She has a Masters degree in music and film from the Queensland University of Technology and a Doctorate from the University of Technology Sydney.
VIRGINIA COmerfORD – Viola
Virginia Comerford is Principal Viola in the Opera Australia Orchestra, having first joined the Orchestra as Associate Principal at the age of nineteen.
Virginia left in 1994 to pursue a career in Europe, spending time first in Italy and then The Netherlands, where she performed with the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest, Radio Symfonie Orkest, Nederlands Kamer Orkest, Nieuw Sinfonietta Amsterdam, I Fiamminghi Chamber Orchestra in Belgium and with the Salzburg Soloists. She toured to Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Turkey, Germany and Ireland. She also pursued her love of singing and was awarded a Queen Elizabeth scholarship to study singing in London.
Virginia returned to Sydney in 2001 and was appointed to her current position of Principal Viola in 2010. She regularly performs chamber music, has performed for the Melbourne Digital Concert Hall and has been a member of Australian World Orchestra since 2015, when she toured to India with Maestro Zubin Mehta.
ALICE GILES – Harp
First Prize winner of the 8th Israel International Harp Contest, Alice Giles has had a wide-ranging career, with solo recitals from London’s Wigmore Hall, New York Merkin and 92nd St Y, Frankfurt Alte Oper, to Mawson Station, Antarctica. She has appeared as guest artist at international chamber music festivals from Marlboro Music to Schleswig Holstein, and as soloist with orchestra, including all the major Australian orchestras.
Alice is creator of an online harp teaching resource, has given Master Classes worldwide, and is Lecturer at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. She was the Artistic Director of the World Harp Congress Sydney 2014. Luciano Berio called her “The most intelligent, sensitive and technically accomplished harpist I have ever met”. Alice has commissioned and performed many new works on both acoustic and electro-acoustic harp. Her solo debut was hailed by the New York Times as “An exciting solo concert. Miss Giles has a fluent technique, a prismatic sense of tonal color and shows a keen awareness of musical structure”. Her extensive discography can be found at www.alicegiles.com.