Sydneian Bach Choir

All Festival concerts begin at 6.30pm in the Big Schoolroom, Sydney Grammar School - unless otherwise noted

Concert I 20 May		Opening Lecture - Theodore Piekos Organ Recital - Robert Wagner

Theodore Piekos, a member of the Grammar Music Department for over thirty years, will explore the question: �What are the characteristics of French music?� in the Festival�s opening lecture in the Edmund Barton Room. Following an interval, Grammar organist Robert Wagner will present an organ recital on the new Mander Organ in Big School, blending French music with the music of J.S. Bach, including Durufl�s Prelude and Fugue on the Name of Alain.

Concert II 26 May	SGS Vocal Concert - Chansons & Jacques Brel
Since the establishment of French opera in the time of Louis XIV, French composers have been known for the beauty of their vocal writing. Senior Grammar boys will present a concert of vocal solos spanning four centuries and a range of styles. In the first half of the concert, they will sing chansons by such composers as Lully, Faur� and d�Indy. The second half of the concert features the music of Jacques Brel, the great French popular songwriter of the �60s and �70s.

Concert III 27 May		Organ Recital - Paul Jacobs
Few organists could claim greater connection to the theme of the 2005 Bach Festival than Paul Jacobs; none could claim it at such a young age. Only 27 years old, this international virtuoso is head of the Organ Department at New York�s Juilliard School, having already performed the complete organ works of both J.S. Bach and Olivier Messiaen. Both composers will be represented in this important recital.

Concert IV 29 May	Harpischord Recital - Neal Peres Da Costa Tickets $10/$5 Time 4.00pm

An accomplished player of historical keyboard instruments, Neal Peres Da Costa co-founded ringtones for iphone Florilegium in London in 1991, and has played with a wide range of international early music soloists and ensembles. His recital will present a survey of French Baroque keyboard music in the two generations before Bach, including Rameau and both Fran�ois and Louis Couperin. The concert will conclude with Bach�s French Suite No. 2.

Concert V 1 June	SGS Choral Concert A
Concert VI 2 June	SGS Choral Concert B
The School�s Choral Concerts (the same concert presented on two consecutive nights) focus primarily on French choral music from the Renaissance to the Romantic period. The different choirs will sing French madrigals, excerpts from the Charpentier Te Deum and the French-influenced Bach cantata BWV 61, Nun komm der Heiden Heiland. Pamela Getnick returns to Grammar to conduct the senior boys and Sydneian Festival Choir in the Faur� Requiem, accompanied by organist Robert Wagner.


Concert VII 3 June	Organ Recital - David Drury
One of australia�s most respected organists, David Drury is Music Director at St James�s Church, King Street. He returns to Grammar�s Mander organ for a recital featuring the music of Bach, Durufl� and Dupr�. David is particularly well-known for his organ improvisations; in this concert, he will improvise on the German chorale In Dulci Jubilo.

Concert VIII 8 June	Yale Glee Club and Yale Whiffenpoofs Sydney Town Hall, 8pm Tickets $15/$10 Phone 136 100

The Yale Glee Club is one of America�s oldest choirs and has long had a close association with many important composers, including Paul Hindemith and Charles Ives. This is their first tour to Australia, and they will perform a wide range of repertoire under the direction of Jeffrey Douma. They will be joined by the Yale Whiffenpoofs, a group synonymous with American college a cappella singing.

Concert IX 9 June	SGS Orchestral Concert Tickets $10/$5
The School�s senior instrumental ensembles will be joined by the Old Sydneians� String Orchestra in their inaugural performance under the direction of their founding conductor, Carolyn Watson. The concert will include two Bach concerti�the third Brandenburg Concerto and the Violin Concerto in E, as well as Debussy�s Petite Suite, in a rarely-heard arrangement by his student, Henri Bussier.

Concert X 10 June	Messiaen Piano Concert - Vingt Regards sur l'Infant-Jésus Ransford Elsley
Ransford Elsley has been an institution in the Grammar piano department for over two decades. In this concert, he returns to one of his first musical loves�the music of French composer Olivier Messiaen. A deeply spiritual composer, Messiaen wrote a number of works in which he explored the mystical side of his Roman Catholic faith. In the Vingt R�gards de l�Enfant-J�sus (�20 Glances at the Infant Jesus�), Messiaen surveys a vast range of musical style and expression. This important work is rarely performed in Australia.

Concert XI 15 June	The Russians & The French - Irena Zaborskaya, Flute Anastasia Zhukov, Violin
The Russians have long had an affinity for French culture. These two young Russian performers will present a concert of 19th and 20th French music, including Saint-Sa�ns, Ysa�e and Debussy. They will be joined by pianist Evgeny Ukhanov, who won third prize in the 2000 Sydney Piano Competition.

Concert XII 17 June	Baroque Cello Recital - Belinda Manwaring & Patricia McMeekin
Cellists Belinda Manwaring and Patricia McMeekin have been performing together for several years, having served together in the Music Department at Sydney Grammar School as cello tutors. They reunite for this concert, featuring music by DeFesch, Vivaldi, and Cupis.

Concert XIII 22 & 23 June	Sydneian Bach Choir & Orchestra - Christmas Oratorio, I-III & VI Tickets $20/$10
The Christmas Oratorio is one of Bach�s most attractive and immediately accessible choral works. It follows the story of the Nativity, with choruses, chorales and arias commenting on the narrative. This concert will present cantatas I-III and VI, and will feature the Sydneian Bach Choir and Orchestra and members of the Schola Cantorum, conducted by Chris Shepard. They will be joined by soloists Jodie McGuren, Jenny Duck-Chong, Nathan and Simon Gilkes and Timothy Collins. Tenor Luke Redmond will be making his d�but as a Bach Evangelist.

If prices are given, please ring 9332 5895 to purchase tickets. All other concerts are free.


		2005 � Sydneian Bach Choir