Andrew O'Connor | Public figure
Andrew O'Connor
Reviews
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25.01.2022 In further education news I’m looking forward to presenting as part of Gondwana National Choirs’ Gondwana Online in Term 3 following on from my work with the Sydney Children's Choir last term. My course is designed for young tenors, baritones, and basses aged 12-18 who are looking to build and develop their singing voice on a technical level for the first time or for those who have a lot of choral experience but might like to learn about different techniques and styles. We will explore everything from Chant, Folk Music, and Renaissance Polyphony to Art Song and Musical Theatre. No previous experience with Gondwana Choirs is required. Learn more about this and the other great courses on offer or sign up at: https://www.gondwana.org.au/online/
25.01.2022 Pleased to be named a finalist in the 2020 Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Aria Competition. The competition is virtual this year and you can purchase virtual seats below but I'm still looking forward to recording my recital program and seeing and hearing the other finalists in a couple of weeks time! http://rmp.org.au
25.01.2022 It’s difficult to know what to say about the past month. As the world changes and adapts to the challenges of Covid-19 all live performing arts have been effectively put on hold. This week I would have been making my solo debut with Sydney Philharmonia Choirs in Bach’s John Passion and about to jump into two projects with Pinchgut Opera. These, along with a myriad of other projects, including the bulk of my debut season with the Opera Australia chorus (I managed to sneak in ...one performance before the shutdown) have all been cancelled or postponed for absolutely vital public health reasons. This, of course, is absolutely the right thing to do but naturally it doesn’t stop the sadness or disappointment in having your livelihood put ‘on hold’ for several months. I’ve been fortunate in my continued capacity to teach online and have also been totally supported by family, friends, and colleagues alike in my decision to ‘hunker’ through this time back home in Perth. In the mix of complex feelings at the moment I have to say I’ve lacked any inspiration for singing - but little by little I can feel that changing. The wide open skies, plentiful sunshine, and singing birds of Western Australia are a great help in that regard. Now the real reason for this post (after a few weeks of radio silence) to share two pieces of positive news - proving the world still runs by swings and roundabouts. First, and most excitedly, I received an email last week saying I’d been accepted into the AMERICAN BACH SOLOISTS Academy, later this year in San Francisco. Hilariously, this came through while I (like thousands of other arts workers) was on the phone to Services Australia. You have to laugh! Fingers crossed this will still be able to go ahead, and I’ll still be able to travel for this wonderful opportunity. Closer to home, the team at ABC Classic are broadcasting and hosting a special Easter event online, a filmed performance of Arvo Pärt’s Passio from 2019. It features old Song Company regulars Susannah Lawergren, Anna Fraser, Owen Elsley, and Melbourne-based artists Lucien Fischer, Chris Watson, a quartet of instrumentalists, and The Choir of Trinity College, University of Melbourne. This is deeply moving music and it indeed turned out to be my last performance with Song Company before it entered administration last year. Easter is a deeply reflective time for many, and Arvo Pärt’s mesmeric score is well worth listening to if you’ve never heard it before and perhaps even moreso if you have. Passio will be available for 30 days from 10:00am AEST at the link below. In the coming months without live performance I’ll be somewhat less active on this page but will be back from time to time with news and sharing some of the things I love, musical and otherwise. Solidarity to all my fellow artists (and others) who have been impacted during this strange time. In the end, all we can do is walk through it calmly, kindly, and graciously. Andrew
24.01.2022 One of the highlights of my 'normal' year is travelling into Regional NSW and mentoring the exceptional young people who participate in the Moorambilla Voices program led by Michelle Leonard. Through singing, dance, movement, Taiko, and visual art they Connect to Country in remarkable ways and tell old Stories with new voices. This video from 2019 highlights all the raw beauty and energy of that extraordinary landscape and how the candidates reflect that in their art-making. ...Due to the Covid-19 pandemic Moorambilla are moving their entire program online this year. In a part of the country that has already been ravaged by drought, dust, and fire in recent years - they need support just as much as our city-based cultural organisations. If you can spare a few bucks to help them transition to and deliver this online program - please donate here. I know that every cent will be pumped into ensuring these young people can access the full possibilities of the program. https://moorambilla.com/support-us/donate/ See more
23.01.2022 A couple of weeks ago (though who can really track the passage of time these days?) I had a chat with my good friend Alex Siegers at the Music Performance Unit UNSW about how performers are faring in this Covid-19 environment and about some non-pandemic topics too! I was slated to be the soloist in Collegium Musicum’s April performance (feat. Duruflé and Fauré) and again as soloist in Alexander’s Feast (Handel) later this year. At the end of the interview thanks to the w...onders of technology I attempt to realise Purcell’s ‘Musick for a While’ (1692) for human voice only. The chat is an interesting snapshot into how I was feeling two weeks ago. Obviously, much is the same, particularly as regards any ongoing performance, though I do have some interesting recording and remote educational opportunities that have fallen in my lap since then to keep myself busy. I’ll have more to announce on this front shortly. In the meantime, the school term returns as ‘normal’ and so to does my small stable of students albeit via Zoom. But, as we’ve seen today in the announcement from Carriageworks all is definitely not ‘normal’ in the Arts sector. I only hope their woes are not a Bellwether for the whole sector. Organisations (of all stripes) around the country are doing incredible things to move their performance or education offerings online and I’m quite excited to see and be a very small part that shift. But, it’s difficult, and at the end of the day it costs someone money to create, produce, licence, approve, and distribute that content and not every organisation has that capacity either. So, if you’re reading this rambling post and in a position to help support an organisation that might be doing it tough (or you want to support them by engaging with or promoting the online programs they’re offering) please consider doing so. In the end, as I said last month, all we can do is walk through this situation calmly, kindly, and graciously. If we can do that, hopefully we’ll have a vibrant and resilient Arts sector to return to. Andrew
21.01.2022 Next project in Sydney Noël Noël with Australian Brandenburg Orchestra Live concerts 12-17 December at City Recital Hall and a Digital release (48 hours) on 19 December via Brandenburg One.
21.01.2022 The rousing final bars of Handel’s Messiah with Sydney Chamber Choir and The Muffat Collective last night performed in rather extraordinary circumstances at City Recital Hall. In this time of uncertainty for our sector we can at least be sure of the communicative power of the arts.
20.01.2022 I’m so thrilled to be joining Bach Akademie Australia for their next live-streamed performance via the Melbourne Digital Concert Hall. This amazing digital platform has been a real game changer for the Arts during the Covid-19 pandemic and has now raised close to $650,000 for Australian artists. Wherever you are in the world you’ll be able to purchase tickets and ‘tune in’ to see and hear a wonderful program that includes Bach’s extraordinary early cantata Actus Tragicus ...(BWV106) and the joyous Brandenburg Concerto No. 4. The best part? The cost of your ticket goes direct to the artists on stage. Please visit the MDCH website below for more event and ticket details. Friday, 2 October, 7pm AEST https://melbournedigitalconcerthall.com/sydney-spring-seas/
19.01.2022 My third (and final) Melbourne Digital Concert Hall ‘appearance’ for the year is with Bach Akademie Australia tomorrow night (Wednesday 16 Dec) at 8:30pm (AEST) in a program that features Susannah Lawergren, Hannah Fraser, Richard Butler and Andrew O'Connor in a number of vocal works including the effervescent ‘Lobet Den Herrn’ and one of Bach’s Christmas Cantatas ‘Ich Freue Mich in Dir’ - alongside instrumental works including Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 featuring Neal Peres ...Da Costa and all directed by Madeleine Easton. Please ‘tune in’ if you can! Tickets are just $24 and as always with the MDCH platform - the lions share of the ticket cost goes directly to the artists on stage. This is a wonderful platform that has really been one of the great triumphs of 2020 - and the MDCH team have also just announced a very exciting 2021 Season which will allow greater accessibility to concerts around the country next year. Photo Credit: Noni Carroll (2019, Comfort and Joy)
18.01.2022 Rather humbled by these words from Classic Melbourne in review of the recent 'Digital' Messiah with the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic. After a rather turbulent year it's nice to feel like it's ending on a positive note. 'We were also treated to the full version of The Trumpet Shall Sound, where bass baritone Andrew O'Connor also showed effortlessness and evenness in strength and timbre, adding significantly fine embellishment to the reprise section of this popular Air. Winner ...of the 2020 RMP Aria, O’Connor demonstrated a sensitive tonal variation with the contrasting keys and texts of the principle sections, sharing Handel’s colour and vibrancy with Christopher Grace’s golden trumpet solo. O’Connor also commanded our full admiration for his highly effective shaping of the low, dark texts For Behold, Darkness Shall Cover the Earth, particularly the fiendish phrase land of the shadow of Death.' See more
17.01.2022 Thanks to the wonderful people at ABC Classic (and Phoenix Central Park) you can now watch Pinchgut’s ‘Splendour of Venice’ on ABC iview. I hope it’s not too long before we can all make beautiful music in the same room again.
17.01.2022 These twelve talented people, recorded this video from around Australia, in isolation during June/July. Engineered and edited in Melbourne in July/August. So p...roud to work with these wonderful humans. Members of Syzygy Ensemble and Chloe Lankshear, Anna Fraser, Hannah Fraser, Robert McFarlane, Mark Donnelly, Andrew O'Connor, Dan Richardson, Paul Ghica, Claire Portek. This song is a single piece from the one-hour 'Hidden Thoughts I:Do I Matter?' cycle of songs which sets the anonymous and hidden thoughts of women from around the world and won the 2019 Paul Lowin Prize for Composition (song-cycle category). Generously funded by City of Melbourne Covid-19 grants and Fine Arts and Music at Melbourne - VCA & Conservatorium Research Development Grant. With Australia Council for the Arts Enjoy! Here 'tis: https://vimeo.com/446434117/12da4240a6
16.01.2022 Last week I visited Aquinas College, my high school alma mater, and had the pleasure of spending a few hours workshopping and singing with the boys of the College Schola Choir. Just barely 18 months old (including the mad pivot to virtual learning of the last few months) the Choir led and developed by Hugh Lydon is already relishing and successfully tackling Gregorian Chant, Renaissance Polyphony, and more. I’m so glad a program like this now exists at this school and I hope it continues to grow and develop. https://bit.ly/2OdrNN2
13.01.2022 Some news for the end of the month I’m going to be performing four small roles in Graeme Koehne’s Chamber Opera ‘Love Burns’ with The Other Theatre (23-24 Oct) in Sydney. It’s a great ensemble piece telling the murderous (and hilarious) story of Angela & Jack a kind of Australian Bonnie & Clyde. Both physical tickets and streaming ‘seats’ are available. https://bit.ly/3niO3oO
13.01.2022 Pinchgut Opera’s 60-minute film project featuring the music of Barbara Strozzi has now gone live! Watch it at home on demand (perhaps along with a glass of Barbera?) any time from 29 October - 13 December. Headphones or hi-fi also highly reccomended in order to get a premium audio experience! https://www.pinchgutopera.com.au/a-delicate-fire
12.01.2022 Alice Chance is a wonderful multi-faceted composing artist who has created something very special for the Leichhardt Espresso Chorus via the Australian Music Centre Until We Gather Again. It is a poignant expression of what many people are feeling during this time. I always love singing Alice’s music and I was pleased to help this project by recording guide tracks for LEC. If you need five minutes of beauty in your Friday afternoon please put your headphones in, make a cup of tea, and have a listen.
11.01.2022 Looking forward to these sold out live performances with Bach Akademie Australia this Friday. If you missed out on tickets (or aren't in Sydney) fear not as we're going to record this program for Melbourne Digital Concert Hall! https://bit.ly/3pe9h8F
11.01.2022 It‘s a little hard to believe but in just under three weeks I‘ll be singing my first concerts to a real-life audience since 14 March. Looking forward to travelling to Canberra and joining Luminescence Chamber Singers for a program of Tallis, Stanhope, Pärt, Shaw and more - Performing 3 & 4 October at the Wesley Music Centre. Details and tickets available here: https://bit.ly/2FyzLiC
11.01.2022 The Royal Melbourne Philharmonic 'Digital' Messiah we recorded last week will be available to stream at home from 24 - 26 December with tickets available from 16 December. Rather amazingly, it's the RMP's world record 241st performance of this work, which it has performed at least annually (including during both World Wars) since 1853. Nice to be a part of this continued story. www.rmp.org.au
10.01.2022 Happy Easter! I couldn't let this weekend pass without sharing some Bach - particularly after seeing the offerings shared by my colleagues including David Greco and Bach Akademie Australia's Artistic Director, Madeleine Easton. This recording of 'Mache Dich' from the Matthäus-Passion comes from a special (and whirlwind) 'legacy recording' project we did earlier this year on the far North Coast of NSW quite literally singing from 'inside' or 'on top' a house organ known as t...he 'Hope Chamber Organ'. It was a special 24 hours with dear colleagues Thomas Wilson and Michelle Maria Leonard and this unfiltered recording (I love that you can hear the air of the bellows and the clack of the pedal board) speaks of that happy (and very hot) time in January. https://youtu.be/_XjJbUZdU8o Bass-Baritone: Andrew O'Connor Organist: Thomas Wilson Sound Engineer: Jan Muths, MixArtist
09.01.2022 Busy weekend this week! In addition to concerts with Bach Akademie Australia and recording with St Mary's Cathedral Choir, Sydney (more on that tomorrow) the virtual finals of the Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Aria Competition 2020 are taking place 'live' on Saturday 14 Nov 7pm with additional streaming twice on Sunday. For details visit https://bit.ly/3f1aLhO
08.01.2022 This ANZAC weekend would have played host to one of the projects I was most looking forward to this year two concert performances of ‘Splendour of Venice’ for Pinchgut Opera featuring mostly Venetian polychoral works from the 16th and 17th Century including excerpts from Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo and 1610 Vespers, Gabrielli’s In Ecclesiis, and Allegri’s Miserere. Sadly, like so many other projects at this time, it was not meant to be but thankfully you still tune in on Sunda...y 26 April 1pm AEST to stream our private performance of the program in 2019 as part of the consecration of the Great Hall at Dangrove. Many thanks to Judith Neilson, Dr Nena Beretin, and all at Phoenix Central Park for allowing this live recording to be shared in this manner. It features a terrific line up of Australian-born-or-based singers and instrumentalists all lead by the inimitable Erin Helyard and just goes to show what magic can happen when Australian artists are brought together and trusted to share their craft.
06.01.2022 I hadn't had singing on national television on Christmas Day on my '2020 Bingo' this year but so much of this year didn't really go to plan did it? It was a privilege to sing the Cornelius 'The Three Kings' with the Scholars of St Mary's Cathedral Choir, Sydney last week and to round the performing year in this building this morning. Merry Christmas to all and best wishes for 2021!
05.01.2022 If, like me, you have been ploughing through podcasts during this pandemic period I cannot recommend Pinchgut Opera’s ‘Baroque Banter’ highly enough. Especially if you want to learn more about this wonderful art form and the amazing people (both on and off the stage) that bring it to life. Pinchgut have also released a range of past performances and new recordings which highlight the wonderful artists this company fosters.
05.01.2022 In education news over the past few weeks I’ve been busy creating online learning material for the Young Men of Sydney Children's Choir as part of their ‘Vocal Boot Camp’ and the move online as we all adapt to life with Covid-19. Gondwana National Choirs have also moved online and they have great courses available for any young singer who is interested including courses in conducting, jazz, choral music history, musical theatre, historical performance practice (led by my dear friend Anna Fraser) and even beatboxing. If you know someone who’d be interested direct them to https://www.gondwana.org.au/online/
05.01.2022 I had a great time sending Coro Innominata to sleep yesterday afternoon. It was a pleasure to be invited to lead them through a workshop on topics of vocal health, breathing, singing techniques and ensemble skills. Their first concert for 2020 is on April 5 at the Mosman Art Gallery, where you’ll hopefully be able to see them put some of these techniques into practice! More info: https://bit.ly/2vvYjnF #freelancelife
04.01.2022 for Pinchgut Opera's 'A Delicate Fire' from The Sydney Morning Herald for our 60 minute opera film featuring the music of Barbara Strozzi. 'A Delicate Fire is a gorgeously recorded, imaginatively filmed pandemic offering from Pinchgut Opera... Its sound is glistening and sensual, its symbolism witty and thoughtful and its message one of pain and hope.' https://www.pinchgutopera.com.au/a-delicate-fire
03.01.2022 Ten days to go until Handel’s Messiah with Sydney Chamber Choir and The Muffat Collective and I cannot wait to sing this wonderful music again. This ‘stripped back’ performance (more on that below) features soloists Amy Moore, Steph Dillon, Andrew Goodwin and Andrew O'Connor in City Recital Hall, Saturday, March 14. The live recording below is from my performance with The Choirs of Christ Church Cathedral, Newcastle in December 2019. Tickets and more details here: https://bit.ly/3cyccCO
03.01.2022 Another recent isolation project a virtual recording of Spem in Alium performed by 40 singers from around Australia. When my old friend and colleague Nick Caddick got in touch to ask me about being involved in the project I was just a few weeks into my recent lockdown ‘retreat’ in Western Australia. Whilst it was an unusual but not altogether unfamiliar experience to sing a single lonely polyphonic line at home for me the end result in this recording still has much human...ity, vibrancy, and connection. I’ve shared stages, concert platforms or choir stalls with at least 31 of the singers in this video and I know that we are all bound in deep appreciation of choral music, the visceral emotional impact of vocal harmony, and the personal connection that comes from singing together. While the arts world trickles along and adapts to the challenges of the Covid-era I think we all hope it isn’t too long until we can make music like this again in person.
03.01.2022 One of the silver linings of the Covid-19 pandemic (even amidst the recent case developments here in NSW) has been my work with St Mary's Cathedral Choir, Sydney which has been an ongoing source of enjoyment, employment, and friendship during an otherwise unusual and interrupted year. A number of weeks ago we recorded and filmed a number of videos (made possible by a benefactor) which are being released at https://cathedralchoir.sydney across this week featuring the Lay C...lerks, the Cathedral Scholars, and the full Cathedral Choir including this renaissance favourite by Robert Parsons. Even if singing like this becomes restricted in the coming days it's important to remember that only a few months ago even singing like this was almost beyond imagining and for many parts of the world it still remains nigh on impossible. The music will still be there for us. I encourage you to visit https://cathedralchoir.sydney to see the other recordings as they are released. I'll also be posting about this later in the week but our recently recorded 'Carols from St Mary's' will be broadcast on Channel 7 on Christmas Day!
02.01.2022 Back in January Michelle Leonard (Moorambilla Voices), Thomas Wilson (St Mary's Cathedral Choir, Sydney) and myself travelled up to beautiful Mullumbimby (near Byron Bay) to film and record a featurette on the ‘Hope Chamber Organ’ for ABC North Coast which was broadcast today on ABC News 24 and online at ABC Australia. The story of both David Hope and this organ are remarkable, and you can learn more about them (and watch the organ in action) here - https://youtu.be/LcOU6JhE...zu8 - It really was an amazing experience to stand ‘inside’ that organ and make music in a very direct way. Our sound engineer was Jan Muths (MixArtist) who was just as passionate about capturing the essence of the organ sound (and the environment around it) as we were. You can hear the full performance of Mache Dich here - https://youtu.be/_XjJbUZdU8o - and with any luck there will be some other pieces to come soon. I believe the organ is still in need of a home - as this Mullumbimby property is being sold. With a little love, attention, and regular playing this instrument could be really valuable for chamber music and the like - or to be the musical feature of another home somewhere in Australia.
01.01.2022 Some notes from Erin Helyard about Pinchgut Opera’s ‘Splendour of Venice’ program we would have been performing in Sydney today. Tune in to the broadcast featuring Monteverdi, Gabrieli, and Allegri at 1pm AEST today if you can! https://youtu.be/cSZW9O2AvWA
01.01.2022 This Easter is the first in a very long time where I won’t be making music. Church music has been a happy fixture of almost all of my singing life and since I’m not singing this weekend I thought I’d share this recording of the Tallis Lamentations by the Lay Clerks of St Mary's Cathedral Choir, Sydney (plus two guests) from our concert at the Organs of the Ballarat Goldfields Festival this January. These gentlemen are wonderful and gracious colleagues and I’m missing them all this weekend.
