A Nod to The Lake

Lake Macquarie City Council and Lake Macquarie Music Society are very excited to present a return to live music with a concert at Speers Point Park on Sunday, 1 May, at the new Multi-Arts Pavilion.

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Conductor Christopher Bearman OAM will delight the audience with a newly commissioned piece, and some firm favourites alongside guest stars Tenor, Sam Elmi and Soprano, Ashlee Woodgate.

The program begins with the world premiere of THE MIMA CONCERT OVERTURE by Stephen Lalor, a new work commissioned by Lake Macquarie City Council. In passionately describing the work, Stephen said, “the fanfare-like opening quickly passes like a brief storm across the Lake.”

“The ‘quiet after the storm’ is embodied by quietly pulsating pizzicato strings (like gently lapping waves) punctuated by bird-like woodwind flourishes, expanding into melodic sections featuring brass, which is a nod to the coal-mining background of the area,” he added.

The whole program has references to the lake and sailing. Tchaikovsky’s beloved Swan Lake Suite is followed by a lovely pastoral suite Summer Days by Eric Coates with a second movement called By the Lake. Khachaturian’s Adagio from the Ballet Spartacus will be very familiar to many as the theme music for the BBC’s sailing ship series The Onedin Line. The program will finish with Percy Grainger’s Molly on the Shore.

Sam Elmi and Ashlee Woodgate will sing arias from Opera Hunter’s production of Verdi’s La Traviata, to be presented on 14 and 16 October this year at MAP mima.

Tickets are available at Council Events, Lake Macquarie Music Society website, or Eventbrite.

Contact Mercia Buck at mbuck@exemail.com.au for more information.