The ANAM Chamber Music Competition creates conversation, not just the musical conversation between players on stage, but a broader dialogue between performer and listener, between young ANAM musicians and the audience who so passionately support their development. Join us for round two of the competition!
ANDREW FONG (clarinet)
What's the key element that 'binds' your ensemble together?
There are three main loves shared by the group; doing performances that are nothing like we ever rehearsed, doing very little rehearsal and long coffee breaks.
Performing chamber music, in the orchestra, or as a soloist: which is your favourite and why?
I believe I can speak for all of us in saying that chamber playing is our favourite. When you have a smaller group of players the reaction time to a player's spontaneous ideas is much shorter and this dialogue between the parts is what makes the music comes off the page. It thrills all of us.
What’s the biggest difference between practicing together as an ensemble and rehearsing for an orchestral piece?
In orchestras you rehearse.
What can the audiences expect to hear or experience in the Chamber Music Competition Round 2?
The audience can expect to hear three things; musical ideas that will be a surprise to all of us, unrelenting creativity and a lot of very passionate breathing.
BRAHMS Clarinet Trio op. 114
Andrew Fong QLD clarinet
Caleb Wong NSW cello
Liam Wooding NZ piano
MIA STANTON (violin)
What's the key element that 'binds' your ensemble together?
Going to go out on a limb and state the obvious, the key element that binds us together is our want to play chamber music! And what better way to do it than to do it with friends, because you’re sharing sentiments and experiences not only through your verbal conversations but your musical conversations too! Chamber music is one of the greatest joys of music making and the string quartet repertoire is an unparalleled trove for exploration.
Performing chamber music, in the orchestra, or as a soloist: which is your favourite and why?
I would like to think that in any setting, whether solo, chamber or orchestral, you are contributing to the max and putting all of your creativity and energy into your music making! Perhaps the biggest difference for making chamber music though is your role, for you are both a solo voice and equal partners with three other voices. It takes a great amount of initiative, philosophy and spontaneity to create a balanced, interacting conversation.
What can the audiences expect to hear or experience in the Chamber Music Competition Round 2?
What you’ll hear in the second round is what I heard for the first time only a few months ago. David came to us all and said you’ve got to check out these Ginastera quartets, and so we did...and boy are they spicy!
Written around the 1950s, Ginastera’s second string quartet manages to mix the flavours of the rhythms and flare of the native music of South America with the emotional characters of Hitchcock films. It ranges from driving dance rhythms, to weeping outpours and will take you on a journey like no other.
GINASTERA String Quartet no. 2 op. 26
Neu String Quartet
Mia Stanton ACT violin
Meg Cohen NSW violin
Cora Fabbri NSW viola
David Moran SA cello
MOLLY COLLIER-O'BOYLE (viola)
What's the key element that 'binds' your ensemble together?
The four of us not only share a passion for stringed instruments and Western Art Music; but we love hanging out together and sinking a few frothies at the local watering hole every now and then.
Performing chamber music, in the orchestra, or as a soloist: which is your favourite and why?
I personally love playing chamber music, as the shared experience of performing a piece of music in this intimate setting is really satisfying. Chamber music also incorporates so many forms of communication I find fascinating; visually, sonically and kinaesthetically.
What’s the biggest difference between practicing together as an ensemble and rehearsing for an orchestral piece?
All orchestral music in theory should be like playing a huge chamber music piece. In an orchestra you are often under the helm of a director or conductor making all the executive decisions, whereas in a quartet there are four equal voices to discuss and decide on the choices being made. This can sometimes either be a piece of cake, or incredibly frustrating depending the personalities in the ensemble. I am very fortunate that the Rathdowne Quartet is a very democratic group and things haven’t gotten too heated (yet).
What can the audiences expect to hear or experience in the Chamber Music Competition Round 2?
Audiences are going to hear an absolute treat of a dynamic smorgasbord of genres produced by my wonderful colleagues at ANAM.
SHOSTAKOVICH String Quartet no. 8
Kyla Matsuura-Miller (violin 2018)
Harry Ward NSW violin
Molly Collier-O’Boyle QLD viola
James Morley SA cello
Trifle Quartet (Edward Wang, Phoebe Masel, Jeremy Garside, Ruby Shirres)
What's the key element that 'binds' your ensemble together?
What binds us together is our love for chamber music and the fact that we get along really well with each other outside of rehearsals. We all really enjoy the collaborative process and creative licence that comes with making music in small ensembles. Apart from this, we all have a passion for music education and we are all experienced music teachers. At the intersection of music and education is the aspect of sharing what we have learnt. For our upcoming performance, we're really excited to share Mozart’s Oboe Quartet and the unique way that we have come to understand it through our lens.
Performing chamber music, in the orchestra, or as a soloist: which is your favourite and why?
While we have a real affinity for chamber music, we also enjoy playing solo repertoire. We feel that solo repertoire informs our musical choices in chamber music, and chamber music encourages us to be more mindful of sound and expression in our solo playing. In chamber music, everyone is contributing and you just feel more invested in the result. We can feel more individually responsible for the music and we have more initiative working in a group, as opposed to playing in an orchestra where we are usually following prescriptive instructions.
What’s the biggest difference between practicing together as an ensemble and rehearsing for an orchestral piece?
One of the differences is not having a conductor. We are all having input into the rehearsal rather than being told what to do. Another difference is the type of communication. We can feel very at ease to express our thoughts and feelings on the way we think the music should go. When the four of us are directly being involved in the creation process, we have the artistic licence to try out new things and see if they feel organic. In an ensemble, we are researching and learning, rather than having preconceived ideas. It is a process of investigating the piece rather than being told when to play and how to play it. So, in essence, the biggest difference is the artistic freedom.
What can the audiences expect to hear or experience in the Chamber Music Competition Round 2?
We hope that audiences will come to enjoy our own approach to Mozart. We’ve been fortunate enough to have been tutored by a number of professional musicians who have given us lots of insight into the operatic and ‘cheeky’ side of Mozart. Apart from our performance, we know our colleagues in the competition will also produce their best. It’s so inspiring to hear our friends play their repertoire. Audiences can expect to hear very high quality chamber music delivered by young and enthusiastic people with a lot of love for the chamber music genre.
MOZART Oboe Quartet in F K370
Trifle Quartet
Edward Wang VIC oboe
Phoebe Masel QLD violin
Ruby Shirres VIC viola
Jeremy Garside WA cello
ANAM CHAMBER MUSIC COMPETITION - ROUND 2
FREE ENTRY, NO BOOKINGS REQUIRED
Thursday 7 November 10.30AM
ANAM, South Melbourne Town Hall
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ANAM CHAMBER MUSIC COMPETITION - FINAL
Sunday 24 November 2PM
ANAM, South Melbourne Town Hall
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