Ruby
for clarinet
Composed for Clare Fox
First performance: 17 Nov 2021
Performed at the ANAM Set Festival by
Clare Fox (clarinet)
This ANAM Set commission was generously supported by the Restart Investment to Sustain and Expand (RISE) Fund – an Australian Government initiative
Program note:
Ruby is a piece for solo clarinet, inspired by a person who was special in the life of the performer, who died unexpectedly at 19 after becoming suddenly sick in April 2021. The aim of the piece is to capture and express her unique character, and the way that she brought pleasure and happiness to all who knew her. The piece also draws inspiration from her artwork, in particular, images of the unique and beautiful Blue Mountains area in which she lived.
About the composer:
Anne completed her PhD in Composition in 2008 at the University of Adelaide, having studied primarily with Graeme Koehne. Anne’s penchant for text setting has made her the most commissioned composer of the award-winning Adelaide Chamber Singers (five commissions since 2005) and a highly revered art song composer, with notable performances by Greta Bradman, Emma Horwood, Robert Macfarlane, Cheryl Pickering, Kate Macfarlane and Bethany Hill. She is also highly sought after as an orchestral and chamber music composer, with commissions from the Adelaide and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras, the Australian String Quartet, Plexus Ensemble, the Benaud Trio, and the Adelaide Wind Orchestra, as well as a long standing relationship with Adelaide’s own Zephyr Quartet, Various People Inc. and The Firm New Music Concert series.
Anne’s first opera, Innocence, was developed with the Singular Productions and the State Opera Company of South Australia with support from an Arts SA Major Commission grant. Anne has twice been a finalist in the APRA/Australian Music Centre Classical Music Awards, winning the State award in 2018.
Projects for 2021 include premieres of new works for Claire Edwardes, Slava and Sharon Grigoryan, the Adelaide Chamber Singers, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Vocal Project, Rob Nairn, and the Bowerbird Collective. Anne has curated the June presentation of ‘She Speaks’ for the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, which includes the premiere of her Suite from Innocence. She is also the 2021 Australian Youth Orchestra Composition tutor.
More info: www.annecawrse.com