Mackay Chamber Music Festival in Mackay, Queensland | Concert tour

Mackay Chamber Music Festival

Locality: Mackay, Queensland

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24.01.2022 Dear all, It comes with heavy hearts that we must inform you that the 2020 Mackay Chamber Music Festival has been cancelled, due to Covid-19. We simply can't risk the health of our artists or our audiences, and with such uncertainty in the months ahead it would be unwise and basically impossible to proceed. We are looking into the possibility of enabling some online lessons or masterclasses, so please let us know if you would like to be involved. ... We are very saddened by this development, but we will be back in 2021 with vigour to play some beautiful music for you! We hope that you are all keeping safe and healthy - please look after yourselves in the months ahead. Sincerely, the committee of the Mackay Chamber Music Festival, Inc.

24.01.2022 Three weeks today until opening night! We have fewer than 40 single tickets remaining to three concerts, with the first concert completely full, and Whole Weekend packages sold out. Secure yours quickly!

23.01.2022 Our final musician to introduce is violist, Tom Higham. You might remember Tom from the 2018 festival, and we're so pleased he agreed to come back! Tom Higham began his musical studies on the piano when he was five, before taking up the viola aged nine in Western Australia. He switched his focus to the latter instrument during high school and later completed his Bachelor of Music at the University of Western Australia (UWA) in 2010. Tom moved to Melbourne to continue his stu...Continue reading

22.01.2022 A new festival face in 2019 - Doretta Balkizas! Berlin-based Australian violinist Doretta Balkizas enjoys a diverse international career as a soloist, chamber and orchestral musician. She has performed as soloist with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Nanning Symphony Orchestra and Melbourne Chamber Orchestra. She was a finalist in the 2015 Symphony Australia Young Performer Award and a major prize winner in the Dorcas McClean Travelling Scholars...hip for Violinists, where she also received the competition’s inaugural Fritz Kreisler prize. She has appeared as a chamber musician at the Prussia Cove International Musicians Seminar, International Holland Music Sessions, Musica Viva Festival and Yellow Barn, where she collaborated with Roger Tapping (Juilliard String Quartet) and Donald Weilerstein. Her orchestral experiences include performances with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Deutsche Symphonie Orchester and Australian Chamber Orchestra. Doretta received her Master of Music at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin where she graduated in 2018 with the highest grade. She completed her undergraduate degree at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music as a student of Alice Waten. The scholarships and awards which have supported her studies include an Australia Council Grant, a George & Margaret Henderson Travelling Scholarship, DAAD award, Ernest V. Llewellyn Memorial Fund scholarship and an Ian Potter Cultural Trust grant.

21.01.2022 Thanks to Limelight Magazine for this article about the festival. Getting close now!!

19.01.2022 So thrilled to work with the Mackay City Strings yesterday! Thanks for having us!

18.01.2022 Another friendly face makes its return - cellist Simon Cobcroft is again joining the gang at the 2019 MCMF to make great music... and great food for the other artists! Welcome back Simon! Cellist Simon Cobcroft enjoys a diverse life as a performer of solo, orchestral and chamber music in Australia and further afield. Since 2014 he has been Principal Cello with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, and has also held the positions of Associate Principal Cello with the Queensland Sym...phony Orchestra (2012-2014), and Sub-Principal Cello with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (2003-2011). He is a founding member of the Lyrebird Trio, winner of the Piano Trio and Audience prizes at the 2013 Asia Pacific Chamber Music Competition, and previously resident at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music and at the Center for the Arts in Banff, Canada. Simon is a graduate of the Queensland Conservatorium (2000) and the Australian National Academy of Music (2003). Since that time, he has been a frequent guest performer with London's Philharmonia Orchestra, the Bournemouth Symphony, Denmark’s Esbjerg Ensemble, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and as guest principal with the Tasmanian and Singapore Symphony Orchestras. He has performed as principal cello and chamber musician at, among others, the Aldeburgh, Pacific and Salzburg Music Festivals. In 2016, Simon was awarded the Adelaide Critics Circle Prize for his performance of the Elgar Cello Concerto with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Michael Stern. He made his first appearance as soloist with the ASO in 2015, and appears again in 2018 performing Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto in A Minor. In previous years he performed as soloist with the Malaysian Philharmonic, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Queensland, Sydney’s Metropolitan Orchestra and Orchestra Victoria. Recent highlights include guest performances with the Australian String Quartet at Ukaria, the Tinalley Quartet at the Coriole Festival, Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence with Pinchas Zukerman and friends, and as guest Principal Cello at the Singapore International Piano Festival with Martha Argerich. Simon is passionate about education, and has taught at the Elder Conservatorium and the Queensland Conservatorium. He studied with Matthew Farrell, Janis Laurs, Alexander Baillie, David Strange and Michael Goldschlager. He plays on a beautiful English cello made in 1840 by Thomas Kennedy. In his spare time, he loves to cook.

18.01.2022 ANNOUNCEMENT! The 3rd Mackay Chamber Music Festival will take place from the 17-19th July, 2020. Pencil it in your diaries, and keep an eye out for some exciting announcements in the coming weeks! We can't wait to play some amazing music for you in July!

14.01.2022 Just over a month to go till opening and tickets are flying out the door! A tiny number of Whole Weekend packages are left, and single ticket availability is depleting rapidly. Visit www.mackaycmf.com.au to secure yours today!

12.01.2022 In under two weeks 10 world class musicians will descend on Mackay to perform and facilitate workshops and masterclasses for YOU! This wouldn't be possible without the generous support of all of our donors and supporters - the Mackay Masonic Temple, Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal, House of Pianos, FinePrint Music Printing and Typesetting, the Queensland Government, Mackay Regional Council and the Regional Arts Development Fund, Brian Wilson at Piano Care, the Central Queensland... Conservatorium Of Music, and those who donated through the Australian Cultural Fund. Thank you, and we look forward to seeing you soon! PS - 13 single tickets remaining!

12.01.2022 We're thrilled that the Mackay Masonic Hall will again be brought to life for the MCMF performances by local interior designer, Lauren Taylor. Born and bred in Mackay, Queensland, Lauren enjoyed weekly art lessons with local Mackay artist Rosemary Payne from a young age. She continued studying art at high school before completing a Bachelor of Built Environment (Interior Design) degree at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane. After a year working at Gordon Go...uld Ipson Architects in Mackay, Lauren spent a few years working in London. She was part of the small interior design team employed by boutique hotel brands Malmaison and Hotel du Vin. The team worked on refurbishments and new hotels all over the UK. The interiors for Hotel du Vin Cambridge were designed and finished under the management of Lauren in 2007. After moving back to Sydney, Australia in 2008, Lauren worked for Graphite Architects and was the project interior designer for a new studio for community radio station, 2SER. In 2009, Lauren moved to Noosa for a sea-change. Here, she worked for Di Henshall Interior Design gaining experience in high end residential design. Lauren Taylor Design was established in Mackay at the end of 2009. And in early 2011, Lauren joined the already established team at BOLD Architecture to form BOLD Interiors with Stewart and Suellen Bagley. This venture lasted 3.5 years and during this time, there was a small team of 3 Interior Designers and an Architect. The team worked on projects in Mackay, Rockhampton, Moranbah, Nebo, Emerald, Townsville and Cairns. At the end of 2016, Lauren assisted the project team at Mackay Regional Council with the finishes and furniture for the new Mackay library - Dudley Denny City Library. When she’s not working on design projects, Lauren is busy raising two children with her husband Tim and enjoying time at the beautiful beaches of the Mackay region.

07.01.2022 Happy Friday everyone! Due to overwhelming demand, Masterclass participation for the 2019 Mackay Chamber Music Festival has now closed! Tickets for Masterclass observation are still available, as well as limited tickets for the concerts. Get in quickly - they're going fast!

06.01.2022 We're sorry to advise that due to a broken collarbone following a cycling accident, cellist Edward King is unable to join us for this year's festival. We wish Eddie all the best for a speedy recovery, and hope to see him in a future festival! While we're sad that Eddie can't join us, we're also thrilled that Alexandra Partridge was available to jump in at short notice to replace him! Thank you Aly - we can't wait to hear your beautiful tones in Mackay! Born in Wellington, Al...exandra Partridge completed a Masters of Musical Arts at the New Zealand School of Music. During her time there, she was the recipient of numerous scholarships and awards including the Barbara Finlayson Trust Scholarship and the NZ School of Music Director’s Scholarship. After completing three years of study at the Australian National Academy of Music in Melbourne with Howard Penny, Alexandra won a position with the Hyogo Performing Arts Centre Orchestra in Osaka, Japan. Alexandra has been an Australian Chamber Orchestra Emerging Artist, allowing her the opportunity to travel across Australia performing with leading international artists such as Pekka Kuusisto, Malin Broman and Meta4. Alexandra also successfully auditioned for the Mahler Chamber Orchestra Academy program and played under conductor Daniel Harding in Germany. A devoted chamber musician, Alexandra toured with Chamber Music New Zealand in 2017 across Australia and New Zealand as a member of a piano quartet formed by Wilma Smith. She was a finalist of both the 2014 ANAM Chamber Music Competition and the Great Romantics competition at the Melbourne Recital Centre with the Queensbridge Piano Trio. Alexandra was also a finalist of the same Recital Centre competition playing the Dvorak Cello Concerto in 2016. Other solo engagements include performing the Elgar Concerto with Manawatu Sinfonia and the Saint-Saëns Concerto with the Kapiti Concert Orchestra. From a young age, Alexandra has been passionate about orchestral playing and is a past principal cellist of the NZSO National Youth Orchestra. She is also a casual player with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Opera Australia Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra and New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. Alexandra has participated in masterclasses with the Borodin String Quartet, the London Haydn Quartet, Torleif Théeden, Marko Ylönen, Tim Hugh, Lynn Harrell and Clive Greensmith.

06.01.2022 Our artists are now in Mackay, and we're super excited to say that the festival concerts are completely SOLD OUT! There are still observation tickets for the masterclasses, and for the professional development workshop, but apart from that - we're chockers! We're so excited to play for you all - see you on the weekend!

06.01.2022 We have a very exciting announcement today! On the 14th July, the Mackay Chamber Music Festival will be collaborating with Camerata - Queensland's Chamber Orchestra to present a strings workshop for students of Whitsunday Anglican School as well as members of Mackay City Strings and the Mackay Youth Orchestra. Artistic Director of Camerata - Queensland's Chamber Orchestra, Brendan Joyce will be facilitating this workshop, and we'd like to thank him and Camerata for their amaz...ing support and commitment to the arts in Queensland. Brendan Joyce’s leadership of Camerata Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra, was recently described by The Australian as dynamic and in Limelight as indefatigable. An alumnus of the original version of Camerata that played to high critical acclaim 1987-1997, he frequently appears as soloist with the group, has led for milestones including its first recordings, tours, broadcasts, collaborations, world premieres, and in acclaimed performances at the Brisbane Festival, Darwin Festival, Queensland Music Festival and the Australian Festival of Chamber Music. Brendan curates Camerata’s renowned programming including its 2016 Helpmann Award nominated concert, Home and 2014 APRA/AMCOS Best Performance in Queensland award for its performances in Natalie Weir’s When Time Stops for Expressions Dance Company. Recent performances included Chamber Landscapes at Ukaria for the 2019 Adelaide Festival. In demand as a guest leader and concertmaster, Brendan has led the Orchestra of the Antipodes for Pinchgut Opera productions and for many years with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, including as soloist in their world premiere performances on period instruments of Max Richter’s hit work, Vivaldi Four Seasons Recomposed. Brendan holds a Doctorate from the University of Maryland (USA) and is on the faculty of University of Queensland.

05.01.2022 Hope everyone is doing well out there in these trying times! For a bit of light relief, tune in to The Chamber Project at 4pm on Sunday for a mini concert in support of Support Act, featuring violinist Glenn Christensen, pianist Evan Streater, and composer Andrew Howes.

05.01.2022 The piano arriving yesterday! Thanks very much to House of Pianos and to Brian Wilson at Piano Care. #mackaycmf2019 #masonandhamlin #houseofpianos

03.01.2022 The first exciting announcement is here! For the 3rd Mackay Chamber Music Festival we're pleased to announce that our Principal Sponsor and the home of the festival is the Central Queensland Conservatorium Of Music, part of CQUniversity Australia! A massive thanks must go out to the Con and CQUniversity for this great opportunity - we're so excited about this partnership, and hope that you are too! More to come soon, including the program, artists, and when tickets will go on sale....

01.01.2022 To keep the beautiful Mason and Hamlin grand piano up to performance standard, we have world renowned piano technician Brian Wilson making his way to Mackay for the MCMF! Many may remember Brian hammering away at the piano mid-concert last year for some last minute adjustments! Brian will also be available to work on all your piano needs while in Mackay - get in touch at www.brianwilsonpianocare.com.au Brian’s interest in pianos started at a young age, first from peering insi...de his parent’s ex-pianola and seeing what happens when different parts moved, to watching a piano tuner work, through to moving onto lessons in classical piano. Commencing his piano tuning apprenticeship in October 1984 with Piano Service Co in Eagle Farm, Brisbane, Brian found his passion in tuning. Since then he has specialised in tuning, action regulation and voicing of pianos. Brian has trained at piano factories in 2001 with Kawai, Japan, 2007 Schimmel (Germany) 2009 Steinway (Germany) and was the recipient of a Churchill Fellowship in 2012 and in 2013 he studied in Steinway (USA) Mason & Hamlin (USA) Steinway (UK), Steinway (Germany). In 2016, Brian travelled to Mason & Hamlin, Haverhill MA to assist in the selection of a concert grand for the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) Melbourne. Music Events: Brian has tuned pianos at numerous jazz and classical music events throughout the eastern seaboard including the Australian Festival of Chamber Music, Gold Coast Jazz Festival, Bangalow Music Festival, Coramba Chamber Music Festival, Four Winds Easter Festival, Music by the Springs, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, ABC Classic FM Sunday Live, ABC Keys to Music, recording with ABC Classics, Splendour In the Grass, Music by the Sea, Queensland Music Festival, Brisbane International Jazz Festival, and Australian National Academy of Music.