One Concert, Two Reviews

Facebook Post by Jane- anne Southwell

Well done Gunning!!

Just shows what can be achieved with support from your local Council, some carefully targeted Grant money and a committed team of community-minded people.

The ‘tin shed’ at the Gunning Showground has discarded its ugly duckling image and presented itself in its new plumage for the Musica da Camera concert this afternoon. The acoustics were so much better, the soft greys and muted whites of the special curtains and paintwork were easy on the eyes and the new seats ….. well they were next level in comfort and practicality.

But the concert itself was innovative and very special, as all pieces presented by this accomplished string orchestra, were composed by Australian women. We were treated to Sally Greenaway, Corrina Bonshek, a fascinating Helen Gifford rendition and then the well known work my Margaret Sutherland. The Lament for Kosovo by Betty Beath took your breath away and director Shilong Ye held us spellbound with Maria Grenfell’s Knitting Unicorns before we all tried to keep up with Elena Kats-Chernin’s Fast Blue Village.

Great music, great afternoon – well done Gunning Focus Group

Concert Review by Mandy McDonald in the Upper Lachlan Gazette 18 Sept 2024

Thanks must go to Gunning Focus Group yet again presenting a fabulous afternoon concert on Sunday, 15 September at the newly refurbished Gunning Shire Hall.  Musica da Camera are a well-known and admired Canberra-based orchestra.  They are no strangers to Gunning Focus Group and indeed, this was their sixteenth concert in Gunning.

Great things were expected of this orchestra and they did not disappoint.

Under the baton of their new musical director, Shilong Ye, the audience was presented with a program of seven Australian, female contemporary composers.

This was a thought-provoking, sometimes uncomfortable musical experience and all the better for it.  The music must reflect something of the composer and this could be heard in the inspiring works of these composers who, at the time, experienced discrimination and restrictions of opportunity, all being female.

The composers were: Sally Greenaway (1984-) “Balkan Batik”, Corrina Bonshek “Dreams of the Earth”, Helen Gifford (1935-) “Phantasma for String Orchestra”, Margaret Sutherland (1897-1984), Betty Beath (1935-) “Lament for Kosovo”, Maria Grenfell (1969-) “Knitting Unicorns”, Elena Kats-Chernin (1957-) “Fast Blue Village 5”.

Musical Director, Shilong Ye, is a highly accomplished and internationally renowned conductor, soloist and event manager.  Much of his time is spent travelling between Australia and China, working on multiple projects.  Shilong writes:

“The reason I chose these pieces for this concert is because they are beautiful, tasteful, bold, intellectual, profound and unique.  Above all, they are music by Australian female composers, a line-up of national talent whose works are underplayed or haven’t been played for a very long time”

Mandy encourages anyone who enjoys good music to seek out these composers.