landscape,
legends, lifelines
FESTIVAL PROGRAM 22 - 25 September, Coonamble
Baradine and Gulargambone NSW
CO M E O N W E DA R E YO U TO S I N G !
20
11
from the artistic director
Vibrant colour is everywhere this year. It is
magnificently showcased in the outstanding
works from the Ngemba Wailwan collective
created especially for the festival Gala Concert
with Moorambilla Voices. It is in the exciting
compositions celebrating the region’s natural
landscapes and the energy and excellence from
the Moorambilla Choirs and guest ensembles.
It is infectious positive energy that shapes all we
do this year—and we are loving it!
At Moorambilla 2011, let’s celebrate life in all its vibrancy, this
unique festival and the opportunity it gives us all to explore
life’s creative possibilities as we laugh and sing together and
make great musical and social memories with all the verve and
colour we possess.
The breadth and depth of collaborations at Moorambilla 2011
are creating remarkable concerts, workshops and opportunities
for regional and city based artists in all fields to mix, learn and
be inspired by this region of NSW. This
development, and the opportunities
it is giving participants, I something
we have strived for from the
beginning. The lantern bird
featured on the cover of this
year’s program has really
taken flight over the
region and the diaspora
of ideas and artistic
possibilities from
Moorambilla is
starting to bear
wonderful
fruit.
MAXed OUT, Walker 2011
Michelle Leonard
Artistic Director
“There is strength in their beauty:
Thick lines traced through thick bark,
For years they have been here, conversations etched in time,
A sacred scar that’s left behind, a voiceless maker’s mark”
Sit back and
enjoy the
sounds of a
full symphonic
orchestra, a fourpart young adult
choir in MAXed
OUT, our stunning
trebles as part of
the 189 voices of the
Moorambilla Choirs, the
Brass Quintet—Sydney
Brass, the incredible
musicality and energy of TaikOz,
the Leichhardt Espresso Chorus, the BJ’s Big
Band or our many other wonderful singers. There are
five concerts at the festival this year for you to enjoy or take
part in any of the 13 workshops. Most importantly, know that
YOU have been a part of this success: your warm welcome,
your support of the concerts and workshops, your enthusiasm
and joy in life. You are the key ingredient in the success of this
festival and we thank you so much for it.
On behalf of all involved in the Moorambilla Festival I would like to acknowledge the Wiradjuri people who are the traditional
custodians of this land. I would also like to pay respect to the elders past and present of the Wiradjuri nation and extend that
respect to other Aboriginal people present.
20
key events11
THURSDAY 22 SEPTEMBER
2pm Open rehearsal workshop of 2011 commissions
6pm Baradine Proms Concert with SYO Flagship Orchestra
and Moorambilla Voices and guest artists
Baradine Memorial Hall
Baradine Memorial Hall
FRIDAY 23 SEPTEMBER
2pm MAXed OUT premiere concert with Plaza Theatre Coonamble
Sydney Youth Orchestra
3.30pm
Outback Archies of Landscape & Legends
St Patricks Hall Coonamble
5.30pm
Massed choir moment workshop
Plaza Theatre Coonamble
7.30pm
Big Band Cabaret Coonamble RSL
SATURDAY 24 SEPTEMBER
9am
Workshop #1 and Creative Culture Markets
Coonamble Main Street
10am
Jazz and High Tea
Monterey Café
11am
Workshop #2 and Creative Culture Markets
Coonamble Main Street
12pm
Lunch Main Street Businesses
Coonamble
1.30pm
Plaza Theatre Coonamble
Lunchtime Concert featuring Moorambilla Voices and guest artists
3pm
Creative Culture Markets
Coonamble Main Street
7.00pm
Gala Festival Concert featuring
Coonamble Pavilion
Moorambilla Voices and guest artists
Fire sculptures will be on display
8.30pm
Coonamble Crooners karaoke competition
Bucking Bull Hotel
SUNDAY 25 SEPTEMBER
9am
Workshop #3 and Creative Culture Markets
Coonamble Main Street
10am
Jazz and High Tea Monterey Café
10.45am Sunday Showcase
1.30pm
2828 Luncheon Plaza Theatre Coonamble
Gulargambone
MONDAY 26 SEPTEMBER
Macquarie Marshes tour – contact Steve Baldwin, Coonamble Council, 0437 27 1936. Approx cost $25.
The Moorambilla Festival would not be possible without the extensive support of the Coonamble community and businesses
who advocate, volunteer and participate in this yearly event to showcase their capacity as remarkable regional leaders in the
community arts. The commitment of the Coonamble Shire Council and Outback Arts, both in kind and financial, as well as
our regional media partner ABC regional radio, has helped enormously to support this community and the communities of far
western NSW that Moorambilla represents. To all those who make this event, our performers, artists, musicians, composers,
organisers and volunteers THANK YOU!
www.moorambilla.com
Baradine Proms
OPEN REHEARSAL WORKSHOP OF 2011 COMMISSIONS – 2pm
This is part of the festival’s commitment to demystifying the creation of music–both in rehearsal and performance. Witness
how the combined artistic forces of conductor, composer and ensembles work together to get the best musical result they
can for the upcoming festival concerts. This is ‘real work’ and you will fully appreciate how well deserved the applause is at
the end! All welcome.
BARADINE PROMS CONCERT – 6pm
This is our inaugural Proms Concert and is an extraordinary opportunity for the audience to experience the talent of the
major ensembles at this years festival in a relaxed and intimate setting. Featuring the 189 voices of the Moorambilla Choirs,
the 50 members of the flagship orchestra from Sydney Youth Orchestra, and the power of Sydney Brass and TaikOz, all of
whom are joining forces to raise money for the 2012 Moorambilla Voices scholarship fund. This concert is our way of also
saying thank you to the Baradine community for their support of this choir over the last 6 years–Camp Cypress, the staff
and pupils from the central and Catholic schools, The Piliga Forest Discovery Centre, Nea, Ronnie and the magnificent
morning tea makers and everyone who has helped create the safe friendly environment we have enjoyed. This concert is
for you, your friends and family–thank you–and enjoy!
ENSEMBLE
REPERTOIRE
Sydney Brass
‘La Mourisque’ from The Renaissance Dances – Tylman Susato Quintet – Michael Kamen
Moorambilla Voices – Sydney Youth Orchestra (chamber)
Trumpet soloist Paul Goodchild
The Long Road – Dan Walker
The Meeting of the Waters – trad arr Ian Munns
Psalm 23 – trad arr Luke Byrne
Love me Sweet – Carl Vine arr Marco Creazzo
Wild Mountain Thyme – trad arr Ian Munns
Fading Waterholes – Elena Kats Chernin
Sydney Youth Orchestra
Mazeppa – Franz Liszt
Romanian Rhapsody No 1 – George Enescu
TaikOz
SYNTAX – Tom Royce-Hampton
CHI – Graham Hilgendorf
About the music
Sydney Brass
La Mourisque – Tylman Susato (1510 – after 1570)
Susato was an accomplished ‘town minstrel’ and player of most known wind instruments–sackbut, crumhorn, trumpet
and recorders and left a substantial number of dance arrangements for instrumental ensemble. Many of the arrangements
he included in one volume in his printed series of 1551, ‘Het derde Musyck Boexhen’, the volume entitled ‘Danserye’.
Among the pieces is his arrangement of the well-known ‘Moorish dance’, the Moresca, or according to his table of
contents, La Mourisque–a type of ‘exotic’ dance which referred in some way to the Moors (European Muslims). Oftentimes
the dance even contained elements of battle-imagery, or swordplay, much as in the related English ‘morris’ dances. A rare
eyewitness account from the Renaissance describes one performance of such a dance, with the solo dancer performing
energetic whirling paces, while dressed in blackface and with bells on his legs.
Quintet – Michael Kamen (1948 – 2003)
Michael Kamen made a major contribution to the brass repertoire with his tone poem Quintet composed in 2000.
More well know as a film composer with scores to X-Men, Lethal Weapon, Die Hard, Mr Holland’s Opus and other delightful
films, Quintet was commissioned by the Canadian Brass and is a very moving piece that relies greatly for its emotional
impact on the French Horn as the featured instrument.
Baradine Proms
Moorambilla Voices
The repertoire chosen for this proms concert features the
beauty of the unchanged voice singing works designed to
teach quality of sound, length of phrase and vocal clarity
through simple, beautiful traditional melodies. These
works have been arranged by Australian composers for
Moorambilla Voices and reconnect many of us to our
family’s heritage through song. We will also revisit repertoire
originally written for the first MAXed OUT company and
Love me Sweet, sung by the first ever Moorambilla boys
who now–6 years on, are singing the mens part!
not reveal all that Enescu strove throughout his career to
achieve with melody (the ‘vital principle of music’). But if you
listen closely there are riches beyond the simple surface – the
charming invention, the perfect choice of rhythmic figure to
mark tempo increases, the wonderful orchestral colouring
(note how clarinet and oboe piece together a single melodic
line at the beginning)…
Eventually Enescu conceded that all a composer could
do with folk music was ‘rhapsodize it, with repetitions and
juxtapositions’. Yet, how much he achieves here with a
simple formula.
SYO
TaikOz
Mazeppa – Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt was the inventor of the symphonic poem (also
known as the tone poem), a form in which a literary or
other nonmusical source provides a narrative foundation
for a single-movement orchestral work. Liszt’s symphonic
poems, however, were not exclusively dependent on their
source material: the composer’s goal was more to distill
the essence of the poetic concept in music rather than to
exactly recreate it. Mazeppa (1851) is the sixth of the twelve
symphonic poems Liszt wrote: the story upon which the
work is based is that of Ivan Mazeppa, a Polish nobleman of
the seventeenth century who was a page in the court of the
King of Poland. Mazeppa became entangled in a love affair
with the young wife of a count; when the count discovered
this, he tied Mazeppa to the back of a wild horse and
chased the horse into the desert.
Syntax (2009) – Tom Royce-Hampton
Two players, four taiko, deep in conversation… since ancient
times all cultures have used music to express everything
from deep feelings, ideas and philosophies, to light-hearted
playfulness. Syntax begins with a simple rhythmic idea,
which develops through ever more intricate combinations of
patterns: it is as if each player puts forward their own simple
thought and the other is invited to comment and build upon
it. Over the course of the ‘conversation’ our little tête-à-tête
builds to a crescendo, finally arriving with a sense of unity –
the two players finding a common voice.
The horse eventually collapsed, and the half-dead Mazeppa
was rescued by the Cossacks. He stayed with them and in
due time fought with them against the Russian czar Peter
the Great, eventually becoming the Cossack leader.
In his student days in Paris, Liszt became familiar with the
works of Byron and Hugo, both of whom wrote poems on
Mazeppa. The story contained many attractions for the
young composer, including a spectrum of characteristically
Romantic literary elements: human suffering, catastrophe,
and triumph. The music starts with the sounds of the horse
being whipped into flight. The well-known “Mazeppa theme”
appears in the trombones and strings, continuing unabated
in numerous variations until the fall of Mazeppa’s horse,
which is represented by a tutti chord punctuated by triplet
timpani strokes. The concluding section, which concerns
itself with Mazeppa’s rescue, culminates in a heroic march.
Romanian Rhapsody – George Enescu
George Enescu is widely regarded as Romania’s greatest
composer. His musical memory was prodigious. He knew
Bach’s complete works and the whole of Wagner’s Ring
by heart, but his own compositional output numbers only
33 opuses. He was highly demanding of himself; hundreds
of pieces lie beneath those 33 reaching up towards their
perfection in varying degrees of completion. A stringingtogether of dance melodies, the Rhapsody perhaps does
Chi (2003) – Graham Hilgendorf
The Japanese word ‘chi’ translates as ‘land’ and is used as
the title to reflect the idea of wandering across the Australian
landscape. The taiko used in Chi are lightweight, easily
transportable drums called katsugi okedo – which translates
as ‘shouldering drum’ – and as the name suggests, this
particular instrument allows the player to move freely about
a field and across the land; or in our case, over the stage!
The composer draws upon the highly virtuosic katsugi
okedo technique to create a myriad of interlocking rhythms.
However, the basis of the entire composition of Chi lies in
just a single 5-bar musical theme and its transformation
through different combinations of players. Graham says,
“[the use of only a single theme] represents the endless
plains of the Australian landscape”.
To add extra colour to the sound of the okedo he has
included pairs of small cymbals called chappa (the name is
an onomatopoeia). When composing Chi, Graham created
the original technique of playing the chappa in the left hand
while a stick held in the right plays the okedo.
MAXed OUT
MAXed OUT Premiere Concert
CONCERT PROGRAM
Hydra – Luke Byrne (2011)
Moorambilla Voices, Sydney Youth Orchestra, Sydney Brass, TaikOz
and Leichhardt Espresso Chorus
The Earl of Oxford’s March – WIlliam Byrd
Fugue – JS Bach
‘America’ from West Side Story – Leonard Bernstein
Concert Overture – Barry McKimm
Sydney Brass
White Ghost Dancing – Ross Edwards
Sydney Youth Orchestra
Onikenbai – TRADITIONAL Arranged by Yoshikazu Fujimoto (Kodo)
TaikOz
Of Stone and Earth – Dan Walker (2011)
MAXed OUT company 2011, SYO, Sydney Brass, Leichhardt Espresso Chorus and TaikOz
Demon Dance – Anton Lock, Ian Cleworth
MAXed OUT company
ABOUT THE MUSIC: Hydra – Luke Byrne
I originally conceived this piece as being in
three continuous parts, with the first and
third as opposing portraits of the rivers of
the Coonamble and Baradine region. The
first part, Rain from the Stars, is something
like a 19th Century poetic portrait of the
Castlereagh River, taking its point of
departure from the origins of the river high
up in the Warrumbungles. After the river’s
journey has been depicted by the choirs
and orchestra, an increasingly violent TaikOz
interlude launches us into a very different river
from the idyllic variety that English colonists
were seeking.
Throughout the 19th Century, the colonists
discovered that Australian rivers did not
behave like their European counterparts.
Where English rivers were as regular as their
seasons, the Australian rivers and streams
from the Tank Stream in Sydney Cove to the
Darling at Bourke were unpredictable and
dangerous. When John Oxley explored the
Castlereagh and surrounds in 1818 it was
in raging flood, but when Charles Sturt was
there nine years later it was either completely
dry or a ‘chain of ponds’. These three states
became the three ‘verses’ of Hydra, couched
in the evil-sounding musical language of the
octatonic scale, a symmetrical series
of eight notes.
‘Constellations warp and curve on rippled
light’ harks back to the idea of the ‘star
rain’ from the first part of this piece, and the
recurring “across this country lies a web of
trails” is a reminder that most if not all of the
exploration of Australia is guided by water,
either by following the rivers as the precursors
to roads or desperately seeking water to
drink in the driest continent. What Oxley and
Sturt saw as unpredictable extremes in the
rivers and weather, we now know as the true
constant of the Australian climate–that these
extremes themselves are not exceptions or
freak incidents, but part of cycles that we
have to learn to live within.
About the music
Earl of Oxford’s March
William Byrd (1540 – 1623)
Little is known about Byrd’s early life,
though he once implied that he was
born around 1540. It seems likely that
he came under the influence of Thomas
Tallis (1505-1585) at an early age as he
later dedicated works to him as ‘my
great teacher’.
Tallis was the finest English composer
of his generation and his influence
on Byrd’s music can be seen in many
ways. Byrd was later to be hailed as ‘the
father of English music’ and could count
among his pupils such famous names
as Thomas Morley.
Music printing was late developing
in England and Byrd, in conjunction
with Tallis, with whom he shared what
amounted to a monopoly, published
the first volume of Cantiones Sacrae
in 1575. What little music that was
published was overwhelmingly choral,
as keyboard music required printing
techniques yet to be perfected.
Players were used to copying
instrumental music by hand into family
‘commonplace books’, wealthier
families employing a ‘scribe’ to do
so. Exactly who ‘The Lady Nevell’
was we do not know, but the Nevell
family was both rich and powerful. My
Lady Nevells Book was copied by one
John Baldwin in 1591 and contains a
number of Byrd pieces, which probably
date back over the previous 25 years,
including the descriptive suite The
Battell. Being purely programme music,
The Battell is rare in Byrd’s output,
which largely comprises set musical
forms. It was probably written after
1588 when England was in a mood of
national celebration after victory over
the Spanish and French Armadas. The
movement which Byrd calls Marche
Before The Battell became known as
The Earl of Oxford’s March, though it is
not entirely clear why – it appears with
that title in an early manuscript copy
of the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book. Written
while Byrd was at the height of its
powers, it still stirs the soul to this day.
Fugue – J S Bach (1685-1750)
This fugue is one of the shortest pieces
Bach ever wrote when he was at a very
young age. It also gives us an ideal
opportunity to introduce the various
brass instruments used here at
the Festival.
America from West Side
Story – Leonard Bernstein
(1918 - 1990)
This piece is a great crowd pleaser
when ever it is played, due mainly
to its interesting rhythms. It has two
significant driving rhythms and today
you will get a chance to join in.
Concert Overture
Barry McKimm (1941 - )
Barry McKimm was born in Melbourne
in 1941 and commenced his professional
music career in 1958 as a trumpet
player working in theatre and jazz.
McKimm’s early compositions were in
the form of jazz and non-jazz improvised
music. Throughout the 1960s he gained
a reputation for innovative jazz. In 1968
he was appointed third trumpet with the
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO).
From 1970 he composed music in exact
notation forms and wrote works for
orchestral colleagues; concertos, string
trios, brass quintets, choral works,
voice, piano, and a variety of nontraditional instrumental groups.
His Concert Overture for Brass Quintet
was composed in 1983.
White Ghost Dancing
Ross Edwards (1943 - )
The composer writes: ‘There are
recorded instances of Aboriginal people
mistaking early Europeans in Australia
for the ghosts of their ancestors,
since ghosts were believed to be
light-coloured. As I composed White
Ghost Dancing (1999), the concept
of a white ghost came to symbolise
non-Indigenous Australia’s innate
aboriginality–its capacity to transform
and heal itself through spiritual
connectedness with the earth.
natural world: fragments of birdsong,
insect and frog rhythms, as well as
fleeting references to other works of
mine, and fusions of Aboriginal and
Gregorian chant’.’
White Ghost Dancing was
commissioned by Symphony Australia
(with assistance from the Australian
Government through the Australia
Council, its arts funding and advisory
body) for the Tasmanian Symphony
Orchestra and its [then] Chief Conductor,
David Porcelijn, to whom it is dedicated.
Onikenbai Traditional –
Yoshikazu Fujimoto (Kodo)
Onikenbai, or ‘demon sword dance’,
is a traditional dance form that hails
from Iwate Prefecture, Japan. There
are many regional variations and our
version is derived from the Iwasaki area,
in Kitakami City. TaikOz was inspired
to learn this dance because we believe
the beautiful, spectacular movements,
dramatic music and intrinsic message of
peace and goodwill can be universally
enjoyed and appreciated.
The roots of our ‘Onikenbai journey’
date back to 1972 when TaikOz
member Riley Lee began learning as
a then member of Ondekoza. The line
has continued in more recent times with
TaikOz member Anton Lock undertaking
study with Kodo’s Yoshikazu Fujimoto,
who himself has been studying
Iwasaki Onikenbai since his Ondekoza
days with Riley, and who received a
performer’s license from the Iwasaki
Onikenbai Grand Master in 1998 after
many years of cultural exchange.
Under Yoshikazu’s mentorship, the full
group travelled to Iwasaki in August
2010 to deepen our understanding and
technique of the art form. TaikOz is the
first group from outside Japan to study
Onikenbai in Iwate.
The origins of Onikenbai date from
around 700AD when it is believed to
have been performed by the priest
who founded the Shugendou sect of
Buddhism. This solemn dance, which
is accompanied by shinobue (flute),
dengaku okedo (drum) and te-bira
(cymbals), involves a heroic demon
Typical of my maninya (dance/chant)
whose dramatic stomping movements
pieces, White Ghost Dancing is a
symbolise good spirits driving away
compact mosaic of unconsciously
processed shapes and patterns from the the bad.
I believe that music, which has enormous
therapeutic properties and, for me, a close
relationship with ritual–and especially
dance–is destined to make an important
contribution to this transformation and
healing; hence the title.
About the music
MAXed OUT 2011 Of Stone and Earth
This is by far Moorambilla’s most ambitious MAXed OUT project to date: A combination of powerful Japanese Taiko drums,
Youth Voices coupled with the fabulous Leichhardt Espresso Chorus and to top it off; a professional brass ensemble and
the Sydney Youth Orchestra. The notion of pulling together all these instrumental and vocal forces in a cohesive way was
slightly daunting, but when this festival prides itself on going from strength to strength, making each year a bigger and
more memorable experience, where else could we possibly go? Once more into the breach dear friends!
Of Stone and Earth is a three-movement work which draws it’s main inspiration from the beautiful tree carvings that dot the
landscape surrounding Warren. These carvings symbolise various things, most notably the sites of indigenous families, laid
to rest around the base of the trees. The carvings themselves vary greatly in design; from beautiful fluid curves and circles;
undulating ripples perhaps mirroring the flow of the rivers, to geometric shapes and angular and perfectly aligned straight
lines. One imagines the creation of these carvings as part of a more complex ritual or ceremony, and the first movement
of the work, Figure In Clay, was written in response to a photo of several elders standing over the figure of Biame, built up
out of the earth. There is a sombre sense of purposefulness to the scene, and I imagine these men invoking Biame into
animation. Musically this movement moves from a very quiet and brooding opening into a more fast-paced middle section,
featuring the brass and percussion, then slowing to a chorale sung in Ngiyaampa, that is repeated in a chant like way,
building as various sections of the orchestra are added.
The middle movement, Tree Shapes, features the MAXed OUT ensemble with TaikOz and Sydney Brass. The music reflects
the shapes found in these magnificent tree carvings: angular melodic lines and swirling instrumental figures. The text,
written predominantly by the MAXed OUT musicians themselves, was created in conjunction with artworks created by all
of the camp participants.
The final movement A Canvas of Electricity is the rousing finale in which everything is brought full-circle. There is strength
in renewal, like the bright green new growth that emerges after a bushfire, the beauty in the sunrise that heralds a new day.
Text was again provided by the MAXed OUT team, and it is the honest and uncompromising lyricism in their words, along
with their unflagging enthusiasm in the choral and taiko workshops that are the true inspiration for this piece.
I –
Figure in Clay
Nendo de kudari (Lines in clay)
Akai suna no kudari (Lines in red sand)
Karulkiyalu nguura, Karulkiyalu thakun,
Karulkiyalu wiikiiri wakapali karrii
(Karulkiyalu = Stone Country, thakun = sand,
wiikiiri = life, wakapali = flow, karrii = truth)
II –
Tree Shapes
There is strength in their beauty:
Thick lines traced through thick bark,
For years they have been here,
conversations etched in time,
A sacred scar that’s left behind,
a voiceless maker’s mark.
A sweeping arc against the grain,
passing through that familiar place,
The serpent, tired and hungry,
winds his way across the earth,
A well-remembered night-sky, a half-forgotten face.
III –
A Canvas of Electricity
Awaken from a blackened dream as the ancient trees of the plains still slumber,
Throw the curtains on a sea of colours;
the voices of others will bring us together.
Out from the darkest place, it will inspire,
New signs of life revealed as the sun climbs higher.
I have a canvas of electricity!
I paint with the fire and the rain,
And while elemental forces shape the ground beneath my feet,
As sure as the sun rises my spirit remains.
Once as many as a thousand stood,
In a line they would stretch far beyond the horizon,
Silent guardians for hundreds of years,
the hopes and fears of so many within them,
Bound by blood-ties, no knife can sever,
The storied ones once told it, we will remember.
Artists in residence
Ngemba Wailwan Artists
in residence 2011 –
Moorambilla Voices
The Ngemba Wailwan people inhabit the area
between Gilgandra and Brewarrina. They were
Mark Makers and tree carvers with intricate
totems and symbols. The descendants of
this 60,000 year old civilization continue to
reinterpret the works of their ancestors using
a technique whereby they ‘carve’ into oils on
heavy linen canvas. Their vibrant work has
the feel of rich leather and is a reinterpretation
of the glyps of their ancestors. Their work
contains no dots unlike their western brothers
and sisters, rather it is a modern representation
of the tree carvings and sand markings. The
four artists (Mary Kennedy, Mini Riley, Lesley
Ashley, Barbara Stanly) with the Support of
the Aboriginal Regional arts fund through Arts
and communities NSW were visual artists in
residence for Moorambilla Voices in August
delivering workshops to both high school and
primary aged children, mentoring the painting
of the totem poles and collaboratively painting
the magnificent backdrop for this years Gala
concert. Their inspirational work has provided the
189 children involved with the skills to not only
appreciate the traditions and technique they are
employing, but also the artistic courage to be
creative in whatever medium they choose. The
music created with MAXed OUT and composer in
residence Dan Walker is a real tribute to the spirit
of cooperation, creativity and sharing of cultural
knowledge during these August camps–the
results musically and visually are stunning.
‘On behalf of the Ngemba Wailwan collective
form Warren I want to thank Michelle and the
magnificent voices of Moorambilla for our
precious time in Baradine. Being part of a project
in that beautiful big hall where music was being
written and rehearsed about us and our artwork
was just so exciting for us–to be part of the
process from the beginning and to hear the
drums, singing and everything else as we were
painting was beyond words–we can’t wait to hear
it all put together in concert at the festival
in Coonamble’
Mary Kennedy Aug 2011
This initiative is proudly supported by the NSW Government through
ARTS NSW and the Aboriginal Regional Arts Fund and Outback Arts Inc.
Saturday lunchtime concert
CONCERT PROGRAM
MC: Colin Currie
Sydney Brass
‘La Mourisque’ – from The Renaissance Dances Tylman Susato
Quintet – Michael Kamen
Moorambilla Voices – Sydney Youth Orchestra (chamber)
Trumpet soloist Paul Goodchild
The Long Road – Dan Walker
The Meeting of the Waters – trad arr Ian Munns
Psalm 23 – trad arr Luke Byrne
Love me Sweet – Carl Vine arr Marco Creazzo
Wild Mountain Thyme – trad arr Ian Munns
Fading Waterholes – Elena Kats Chernin
El Coro
– Today’s songs will be chosen from the following:
From Spain
Triste España (Unhappy Spain) – Encina
Ay triste que vengo (Oh how sad I am!) – Encina
Pase el agoa (Come to me across the water) – Anon
De gram prisión nos quitó (She has released us from a great prison) – Anon
From the Americas
Alabanza (Praise) – Badillo (Puerto Rico)
En los surcos del amor (In the furrows of love) – Guastavino (Argentina)
Se equivocó la paloma (The dove was mistaken) – Guastavino (Argentina)
Juramento (An oath) – Matamoros, arr Silva (Cuba)
Piel canela (Cinnamon skin) – Bobby Capo (Puerto Rico)
Adijo Kerida (Farewell, beloved) - Judeo-Spanish folksong, arr Joshua Jacob (USA)
Warren
– Selection of Australian songs for the Moorambilla Festival Performance:
Beautiful Day by Sydney band King Curly arranged Fiona Cook
Gold Canary by Blue Mountains band Cloud Control arranged Fiona Cook
The Ship Song written by Nick Cave arranged Tony Backhouse
Hot Flats / Coonamble Singers
Better Be Home Soon – Neil Finn arr D Lawrence
(Hot Flats will be joined by members of the Coonamble Singers)
Can’t Get You Out of My Head – R Davis & C Dennis arr K Sinclair
(Hot Flats will be joined by members of the Coonamble Singers)
The Little Fish – trad arr K Sinclair
Stand With Pride (in celebration of Warren’s 150 Year Anniversary) –
Paul Jarman & Warren Community Members
Outback Arts Showcase
CREATIVE CULTURE MARKETS – Main Street Coonamble
Among the extravagant arts scene of the 2011 Landscapes, Legends and Lifelines festival theme there will also be
outstanding regional hand made crafts and produce available at the Saturday and Sunday Main Street creative culture
markets. Expect unique handmade wood carvings, iron works, recycled art, artisan jewellery, Indigenous crafts and
emerging artists work on canvas from the region, as well as delicious preserves and cakes, seasonal produce and the now
infamous ‘Moorambilla Voices chooks’, fabulously quirky soft sculptures for sale to raise money for choral scholarships by
local artist Ann Nixon.
OUTBACK ARCHIES OF LANDSCAPE AND LEGENDS – St Patricks Hall
The Outback Archies of Landscape, Legends and Lifelines, aims to foster and support artists and perpetuate the memories
of the great Australians and landscapes that can be found surrounding our communities. We live in a land of contradictions;
devastating drought and roaring bushfires, blinding dusts storms and flooding rains but as a community we persevere and
we learn to see the beauty hidden within.
Through art, we will explore the stories of courage
and perseverance, doubt and uncertainty,
hope and a blossoming future. Behind each person
is a different story. Behind each artist is an
unknown landscape of possibilities.
Proud sponsor
This exciting new aspect of the festival showcases our commitment to working closely with Outback Arts, Orana Arts,
West of the Darling Arts and the unique organisations in this region who create, support and mentor our blossoming visual
artists to ensure we have a festival that is a showcase for the region’s capacity now and into the future.
Awards will be given for Landscape, Legend, and Emerging Artist categories with entries and prizes assessed by a Panel.
Special thanks to the team at Outback Arts for initiating and coordinating this festival event, and to their supporters
Robert Stein Winery and Vineyard, the outstanding artists involved and Orana Arts for supporting this inititiave.
Work will be on display, and for sale during the entire festival weekend.
SUNDAY SHOWCASE
This relaxed style concert has become an institution in the Moorambilla Festival. Here workshop presenters get a
chance to show each other what they have been doing during the festival. Weekend workshops as acts are called
from the floor the competition heats up! In previous years we have had three hour Opera plots condensed into 5
minutes–(three death scenes!!), hoola hoops en mass, multiphonic singing (with everyone captured on camera with
their hands in their ears!) an Armenian wedding with dancing and chair carrying, Gospel and blues soloing from within
the audience, some yodeling and much laughter. If you like your concerts relaxed and varied this one is for you and will
feature the massed choir performing some ‘Messy Messiah’ as the traditional end of the festival.
FIRE SCUPLTURES
This year the Coonamble community has had the chance to work with renowned community arts facilitator Philip
Relf of IKARA to create fabulous fire sculptures for display outside the Gala concert. This year expect to see the
Moorambilla logo set alight with additional fire sculptures framing the paddock in front of the showground Pavillion.
These fire sculptures will be designed and made by members of the Coonamble community and will use as their
artistic starting point the Ngemba Wailwan tree scaring and sand drawing patterns and historical images which are a
feature of this years festival. Expect to be amazed as we announce the start of the Moorambilla Gala Concert 2011
with flames into the night sky. www.ikara.com.au
Festival Artists
Ensembles: Leichhardt Espresso Chorus, Sydney Youth Orchestra – Flagship (Max Mc Bride, SYO Artistic Director)
SYO, Sydney Brass, TaikOz, Big Band Theory, Coonamble B’Js, Moorambilla Voices, MAXed OUT, Hot Flats,
Coonamble Singers, El Coro, Warren
Visual Artists: Ngemba Wailwan collective Warren, Fiona Fagan, Liz Cutts, Natalie Giglioli, Kirsty Wettenhall,
Fairy Emilie, Philip Relf, Mary Kennedy, Mini Riley, Lesley Ashley, Barbara Stanley
Festival Artists
Workshop presenters: Jade Fleming, Stephanie Mormanis, Margot McLaughlin, Jos Greenaway, Justin Bear,
Karin Thurston, Billie McCarthy, Val Hooper, Stephan Kooper, Nadia Piave, Luke Byrne, Tom Royce Hampton,
Anton Lock, Ian Cleworth, Kerryn Joyce
Composers: Gerard Brophy, Elena Kats-Chernin, Luke Byrne, Paul Stanhope, Ian Munns, Dan Walker
Festival Gala Concert
PROGRAM
Fiant Luminaria from The Heavens Declare – Paul Stanhope (1999)
Moorambilla Voices, Leichhardt Espresso Chorus and SYO
Moorambilla Dawn – Gerard Brophy (2011)
Moorambilla Dawn 2011
Dewdrops
Raise your voice
Moorambilla Voices, Leichhardt Espresso Chorus and SYO (chamber)
The Meeting of the Waters – trad arr Ian Munns (2011)
Psalm 23 – trad arr Luke Byrne (2011)
Love me Sweet – Carl Vine arr Marco Creazzo (2008)
Wild Mountain Thyme – trad arr Ian Munns (2010)
Moorambilla Voices, MAXed OUT, Leichhardt Espresso Chorus, SYO (chamber),
Trumpet soloist Paul Goodchild
Hydra – Luke Byrne (2011)
Rain from the stars
Hydra
Moorambilla Voices, Leichhardt Espresso Chorus, SYO, Sydney Brass, TaikOz
Biame Ngunnu – Elena Kats Chernin (2009)
Fading Waterholes (excerpt) – Elena Kats Chernin
SYO (chamber), Trumpet soloist Paul Goodchild
Double concerto for Flute and Clarinet – George Palmer (2011)
SYO and soloists, Flute – Michael Last, Clarinet – Aleisha Kahn
Three Folksongs for Brass Quintet – David Stanhope
The Jolly Sailor
Rufford Park Poachers
Creepin’ Jane
The Saints Hallelujah arr Luther Henderson
Sydney Brass
Dedication – Ian Cleworth
TaikOz
Of Stone and Earth – Dan Walker (2011)
Figure in Clay
Tree Shapes
A Canvas of Electricity
Moorambilla Voices, MAXed OUT, Leichhardt Espresso Chorus, SYO, Sydney Brass, TaikOz
Demon Dance – Anton Lock, Ian Cleworth (2011)
MAXed OUT Company 2011
Words from the Artistic Director
Tonight’s gala concert starts even before you enter the Pavilion with the
remarkable fire sculptures in the front paddock created by members of the
Coonamble community with artist Phillip Relf. As the night sky becomes
ablaze you will start to feel the warmth of colour seeping through this year’s
festival – but wait until you step inside!
In fact the preparations for this year’s Gala concert started 12 months ago
when I first saw the incredible artwork from the Ngemba Wailwan collective
at the 2010 festival. I decided then and there that this year would be all
about colour and collaboration in the most innovative ways I could imagine.
The ensembles of Moorambilla Voices have always experienced a uniquely
collaborative approach to music making with the incredible artistic staff at
the camps. This year was no exception, but somehow it had a more refined
focus and momentum as painting, percussion and performance rehearsals
took place together in the Baradine Memorial Hall. The combined frission
of artistic energy was unique this year. The phrase “under intense pressure
you make diamonds” seems to spring readily to mind! The truth of the
matter is that the overall calibre of music, musicians, standard and scope
you will hear tonight is a result of the ever rising capacity of the singers
themselves as their skills, determination and musical capacity grows with
each year. I am now able to chose repertoire that can be crafted at a much
higher level because of their determination to be better each subsequent
year. I am sure you will notice this in tonight’s performances as they
perform alongside some of the most outstanding ensembles this region
has ever seen.
The Gala concert is, and has always been the artistic highlight of the
festival and is as much a visual feast as a musical one. The Wailan
Ngemba artists have taken my small scribbles and transformed them onto
a wider canvas –and created electricity indeed!, Fiona Fagan has again
worked her magic on the stunning sunset inspired costumes for the girls
– all hand dyed. A virtual forest of tree scaring and totems on the walls
showcase each child’s individual contribution this year, and the Totem
Poles processing up the aisle for the conclusion of the concert work were
co-created by MAXed OUT and the Ngemba Wailwan collective to visually
frame and recreate a modern bora ground for our own musical ceremony
as we celebrate this remarkable region, its talent, capacity and possibilities.
Tonight’s repertoire is a showcase of not only Australia’s unique musical
voice by some of its best composers, but also I hope for you in the
audience a reminder of how the colours of our life are really bountiful and
bold. May they inspire you until Moorambilla next year.
Liz, this one’s for you my friend for you are the boldest colour of them all.
Michelle
I have a canvas of electricity! I paint with the fire and the rain,
And while elemental forces shape the ground beneath my feet,
As sure as the sun rises my spirit remains.
About the music
GERARD BROPHY
When I received the invitation from
Michelle Leonard to compose a work
focussing on the Macquarie Marshes
for the Moorambilla Festival I was
simply thrilled for many reasons.
Firstly it immediately drew me back
to the bliss filled, halcyon days of my
childhood in Coonamble.
A flood of memories from these
carefree days washed over me as these
wonderful times were crammed full
of the most amazing discoveries from
my first real exposure to the Australian
bush. The spectacular electrical storms
when I stayed with my grandparents at
Wallangambone, the joys of exploring
the pools and streams of the mighty
Castlereagh River, the abundant wildlife
and the memory of collecting dinner
plate sized mushrooms after the rains
on my uncle’s property near Quambone
were among the many reminiscences
that I savoured.
These humble pieces are my
heartfelt responses to these magical
experiences and times albeit quite
sometime after the event !
In short, DAWN sets the scene for
the work by heralding another brand
new day, DEWDROPS is a paean to
the natural and pristine beauty of the
Marshes and RAISE YOUR VOICE is a
song of celebration, identity and pride
in this special place.
These pieces were commissioned
by the fantastic Leichhardt Espresso
Chorus and the fabulous Moorambilla
Voices. They are dedicated with great
affection to the tireless and inspirational
Michelle Leonard and to each and every
one of her very special and marvellous
band of performers and singers.
PAUL STANHOPE
Fiant Luminaria from The Heavens
Declare (1999) for chorus and Orchestra
In January of 1999 I camped on a
remote area of Fraser Island for a few
days. One of the most vivid memories
I have of that trip was staring up at
the night sky to see the overwhelming
blaze of stars. Both the heavens and
the earth seemed remarkably tangible,
although the incomprehensible
distances of the stars and planets to
where I was standing seemed equally
clear. I knew from that moment that
this piece would deal with celestial
imagery. I later realised that what I felt
at that moment was an equal sensation
of existential angst at the vastness of
the universe and utter elation at the
thrill of being able to comprehend at
least a fraction of its grandeur. It was
an experience that was simultaneously
ecstatic and devastating.
These two feelings–polar opposites–are
present in The Heavens Declare from
which a section of the first part, Fiant
Luminaria, is extracted and performed
here. The text is the first creation story
from Genesis which presents the
creation of the earth, moon and stars.
This Jewish Dreamtime story seems
to have many resonances in common
with indigenous Australian Dreamtime
creation stories, including the utter
wonder at the celestial, and the way this
marks out the seasons, years and days.
The Heavens Declare has only had
the one performance before now, by
Sydney Philharmonia Choirs (who
commissioned it) in the Sydney Opera
House Concert Hall in November 2000.
I am delighted that we are hearing a
section of the piece again in today’s
performance!
Dixit autem Deus
fiant luminaria in firmamento caeli
ut dividant diem ac noctem
et sint in signa et tempora et
dies et annos
ut lucceant in firmamento caeli
et inluminent terram
et factum est ita
fecitque Deus duo magna luminaria
luminare maius ut praeeset diei
et luminare minus
ut praeesset nocti et stellas.
And God said,
let there be lights in the expanse of the
sky to separate the day from the night,
and let them serve as signs to mark
seasons and days and years,
and let them be lights in the expanse of
the sky to give light on the earth.
And it was so.
God made two great lights–
the greater light to govern the day
and the lesser light to govern the night.
He also made the stars!
Genesis 1:14-17
Paul Stanhope
IAN CLEWORTH
I have always loved the look and
the sound of the shimedaiko: the
proportion of the instrument, its rope
tuning as well as its high-pitched tone
makes the shimedaiko an object of
beauty. I have also been inspired by the
many different contexts in which the
shimedaiko can be heard: the austere
beauty of ancient nô, the colourful
parade of kabuki, the excitement of the
matsuri and the unique sound world of
Maki Ishii – so many sounds, rhythms
and colours have inspired Dedication.
This music is dedicated to my first taiko
teacher Sen Amano. It also reflects the
dedication needed to master wadaiko.
GEORGE PALMER
In this double Concerto, the soloists
are not only in close dialogue with each
other, they are also often in close, but
friendly competition, each striving to
outdo the other in virtuosity–sibling
rivalry at its harmonious best. The First
Movement is full of contrast. After
beginning with a bold flourish, the
soloists reflect quietly for a little, before
taking off on a roller-coaster ride. A
gentle middle section gives some time
to catch breath. It’s in the jazz idiom
and after a cadenza-like interlude, the
soloists resume their ride helter-skelter
to a (quite literally) “breath-taking”
conclusion.
The second movement uses a cool jazz
style, the third movement is quiet and
reflective, the fourth movement is party
time with the finale an all-out riot!
The Concerto was commissioned
for Emma and Richard Sholl and the
Sydney Youth Orchestra by my good
friend, the Rev. Dr. Arthur E Bridge AM,
on behalf of Ars Musica Australis.
Notes © George Palmer
Moorambilla Voices
The remarkable choirs of Moorambilla
Voices will be celebrating 6 years in
2011. In this time it has grown from one
choir of 38 boys to three choirs totalling
over 189 voices, and a yearly program
of workshops, camps, recordings,
performances and tours. Each year,
Michelle Leonard, Artistic Director
of Moorambilla Voices, sees over
1,400 students for skills development
workshops in 80 schools in the region
to ensure ALL have the opportunity
to dare to sing, read music and thrive
in a creative environment. Michelle
then selects children to participate in
the yearly program for children from
year 3 until year 11 in the three choirs:
Moorambilla Regional Girls Choir,
Moorambilla Regional Boys Choir and
the high school based MAXed OUT
company. Children and youth are
selected to participate in the program
based entirely on merit and musical
capacity NOT financial circumstance
– this has always been a core value of
the choirs and integral to its growth
and success.
Both in Camps in Baradine and
in performances in Coonamble
and beyond, the children have the
opportunity to work with some of
the most outstanding musicians,
composers and visual artists operating
in Australia today. Since its inception,
the choirs of Moorambilla Voices
have created 43 works about the
legends, landscape and lifelines of
the inhabitants of this region of NSW
and have represented Australian
music at the highest level on recording
compilations and radio broadcasts.
We thank all the supporters of
Moorambilla Voices over the past
six years, both government, town
fundraising groups and private
individuals who believe in our pursuit
of musical excellence, new Australian
music and equity of opportunity for all
children, indigenous and
non-indigenous alike.
The 2011 Moorambilla Voices
singers come from over 60 schools
in 30 towns
Baradine, Bugaldie, Binnaway, Bourke
Distance Education, Bourke, Brewarrina,
Cassillis, Cobar, Collarenebri, Combara,
Coolah, Coonabarabran, Coonamble,
Dubbo, Dunedoo, Engonnia, Gilgandra,
Girilambone, Goodooga, Gulargambone,
Gwabegar, Leadville, Lightning Ridge,
Mendooran, Narromine, Neilrex,
Nevertire, Nymagee, Nyngan, Pambula,
Petersham, Quambone, Quirindi,
Stanmore, Summer Hill, Trangie,
Walgett, Warren.
The project is dependent on the generous donations of supporters. Help continue the opportunities for development and
performances by Moorambilla Voices by supporting the on going work of the choirs. Please go to the www.moorambilla.com
to make a donation or email: voicesadmin@moorambilla.com for more information.
DONATIONS OVER $2 ARE TAX-DEDUCTIBLE
Moorambilla Voices has been assisted by the
Australian Government through the Office of Prime Minister
and Cabinet Indigenous Cultural Support Program
Moorambilla Voices has been assisted by the
Australian Government through the Australia Council,
its arts funding and advisory body
Moorambilla Voices has been assisted by the
NSW Government through ARTS NSW Program
and Aboriginal Regional Arts Funding.
Moorambilla Voices
GIRLS 2011
Brooke Andrews
Ainsley Baker
Camilla Bell
Lucy Margaret Berrell
Eliza Bostock
Georgie Bowyer
Molly Boyd
Georgia Bragg
Chloe Buckley
Emma Bunter
Erin Butler
Isobella Cameron
Lena Jade Cochrane
Shanikqua Dennis
Georgia Ditchfield
Caitlin Doolan
Jasmine Evans
Isabella Fisher
Gemma Fitzgerald
Grace Fletcher
Amelia Ghiggioli
Tobiana Glasson
Bridget Goldsmith
Emily Gray
Alexandra Hamblin
Scarlett Hamblin
Isabel Hanlon
Sophie Hay-McKenzie
Harriet Hedger
Felicity Hedger
Madeleine Hoath
Georgia Horne
Arielle Irving
Caitlin James
Chiffona Kennedy
Elizabeth King
Sappirah Knight
Tenisha Lebrocq
Chloe Ledden
Grace Lehman
Chenneh Manyathi
Helen Markey
Kate Masman
Ruby McGrath
Mollie McGuiness
Bonnie Morton
Laura Murray
Abigail Murray
Theresa Murray
Niamh Newton
Harriet O’Brien
Maddison O’Neil
Isobel Pearson
Hannah Perrin
Elizabeth Ramsay
Lucy Ramsay
Lilly Ricardo
Mikayla Rindflaish
Abby Ryan
Sophie Schier
Sophie Schiffmann
Callie Secombe
Zoe Sibbald
Ellie Smith
Summer Rose
Stingemore
Tahlia Stokes
Monique Sullivan
Rachel Sweeney
Xhana Tishler
Ella Tomkins
Annabelle Turnbull
Elizabeth Varley
Nadya Volkofsky
Emily Wallace
Shalana Walsh-Morris
Angel Waterhouse
Imogen Waters
Lily Wettenhall
Karina White
Sharee Whitton
Georgia Wilson
Jarrod Douglass
Mitchell Dunne
Reuben Efoti
Connor Fergusson
Riley Fernando
BOYS 2011
Fergus Atkinson
Harrison Baillie
Benji Barlow
Charles Berrell
Beau Boyd
Jakob Brown
Rory Cheal
Jacob Christie
Oscar Clarke
Jayman Cleary
Darcy Clifton
Byron Coe
Jarrod Colwell
Hamish Corcoran
Fergus Crawford
Dermont Fields
Benjamin Fisk
Thomas French
James Garnsey
Murdoch Geddes
Miles Ghiggioli
James Gough
Will Grant
Nicholas Hay-McKenzie
Mack Holz
Jake Hopgood
Ned Isedale
Keith Jacobs
John Wayne Josephson
Patrick Keady
Moorambilla Voices
Clayton Kennedy
Angus Lambert
Damien Manson
Cameron Markey
Mitchell McGuiness
Keenan Middleton
Patrick Mitchell
Peter Nadin
Bryce O’Mally
Kayne Pratt
Haydn Priest
Thomas Ramsay
Oscar Ricardo
Jayden Rogers
Tyler Shoobert
Pat Skinner
Jesse Smith
James Stoddart
Jett Tishler
George Webber
Hugh Wesley
Hugo Weston
MAXed OUT
Nathaniel Agnew
Kamikakye Anforth
Yasmine Astill
Jack Ayoub
Nigel Baker
Simon Bouwsema
Jokota Bowling
Emily Brown
Zachery Buckton
Reece Buckton
Nicola Byrnes
Megan Callander
Courtney Carey
Brooke Carthew
Michela Cartner
Stephanie Cartner
Emily Claxton
Caitlin Colwell
Ethan Day
Scott Edwards
Tia-Lee Fairley
Brayden Farrell
Caragh Fretwell
Frankie Gray
Isabella Ghiggioli
Jessica Haddon
Kayla Hobden
Sadie Inder
Yue Liang
Stanley Lord
Dylan Lugli
Domanic Lugli
Runyararo Malandu
Hamish Markey
Joshua Masman
Greg McEuen
Kyle McGovern
Arabella McKenzie
Portia McKenzie
Anna Miglietta
Stuart Murray
Tanaka Mutasa
Taylor Nasmith
Cally-Jo Parker
Brydon Ramien
Dylan Ryan
Matthew Simpson
Lewis Varty
Samual Watson
Justin Welsh
VOLUNTEERS
Bev Barlow
Annie Berrell
Tony Brown
Steve Brown
Amanda Bunter
Llianne Clarke
Paul Cameron
Peter Claxton
Jodi Colwell
Donna Ditchfield
Jacquie Fitzgerald
Miriam Fretwell
Heather Geddes
Nataile Ghiggioli
Leonie Goldsmith
Tracy Grant
Di Holz
Kerry Inder
Melissa Irving
Shane Josephson
Margaret Lefebvre
Penny Lehman
Bronwyn Masman
Mara Nesa
Rachael Olsen
Mouse Ramsey
Felicity Ready
Karen Ricardo
Pip Schiffmann
Leonie Smith
Josie Varley
Justin Welsh
Audrey Weston
Belinda Wilson
Jan Redman
Simon Turnball
David Berrill
Tom Berrill
Nicole Cleary
Ben Markey
Danny Keady
Libby James
YOUTH
LEADER
Justin Welsh
INTERNS
Natalie Popovic
Mark Rossman
Festival Artists
Leichhardt
Espresso Chorus
Choir in Residence
The Leichhardt Espresso Chrous is
committed to innovation, support for new
Australian choral music and the pursuit of
excellence in community music.
Over the past 13 years, under the artistic
direction of Michelle Leonard, the choir
has commissioned 90+ musical works
from Australian composers. Annually,
the choir completes a busy performance
schedule including stadium events such
as STOMP at the Sydney Opera House
and the Edinburgh Military Tattoo at the
Sydney Football Stadium, to intimate
world premieres at its new home in the
Italian Cultural Centre in the centre of
Leichhardt. Repertoire includes iconic
classical pieces such as Carmina Burana
and Haydn’s Nelson and Heiligmesse, or
Mozart’s Vespers interwoven with Dan
Walker’s Seven Deadly Sins.
For the past 10 years, with generous
assistance from the Leichhardt Council,
the Chorus has hosted Carols on Norton,
and in 2009, introduced a community
lantern parade to the program.
As choir in residence with the
Moorambilla Festival, the Leichhardt
Espresso Chorus has been instrumental
in mentoring regional children’s choirs
and encouraging the formation of
adult choirs in outback NSW. This year
the Leichhardt Espresso Chorus will
complete their commissioning of the
Brophy song cycle “Moorambilla Dawn”
about the Macquarie Marshes for the
festival and will feature in the second
movement of this work.
For more details on our program visit
www.espressochorus.com.au
Touring Choir 2011
SOPRANO
Di Beauchamp
Melinda Beck
Jenny Boddington
Suzanne Blythin
Louise Cantrill
Wihelmina Brown
Lliane Clarke
Penny Chappell
Pattie Dinkleman
Fiona Fagan
Shae Fleming
Kathy Green
Margaret Grove
Barbara Hearne
Gwyn Jones
Jeanne Kinninmont
Jan Redman
Barabra Rysenbry
Lesley Survela
Sally Steele
Pat Veenendaal
Bo Xu
ALTO
Helen Bailey-Cooke
Georgie Cropper
Susan McCarthy
Corrine Mesana
Margie Moore
Pepe Newton
Zeynep Ozcan
Miriam Poole
Nuala Williams
TENOR
Colin Currie
Tom Knapp
Mark Robinson
Marcus Testoni
Greg Wright
BASS
Jock Baird
Ruggero Benvenuti
Paul Collett
Richard Goodman
Allen Harroothian
Neale Morison
Chris Robinson
Adam Smith
Graham Williams
Sydney Brass
Sydney Brass was formed in June 1958
by the late Cliff Goodchild (1926-2008)
(former Principal Tuba of the Sydney
Symphony Orchestra) with four of his
colleagues from the Sydney Symphony
Orchestra. Since this time Sydney
Brass has grown to include many other
fine musicians: including high profile
freelance players and members of the
Sydney Symphony and Opera and Ballet
Orchestras. Their artistic director is
Paul Goodchild. Paul studied trumpet in
Sydney and Europe and was appointed
a full-time member of the Sydney
Symphony at age 18, later becoming
Associate Principal Trumpet. Leading
Australian composers have written
works featuring his exceptional sound
and phrasing, including Carl Vine,
Ross Edwards, Barry McKimm,
David Stanhope, Matthew Hindson and
Paul Stanhope. In 2005 he gave the
premiere of Alan Holley’s trumpet
concerto Doppler’s Web with the
Sydney Symphony, reprising it in
2006 with the Queensland Orchestra.
He has performed as soloist with
Sydney Chamber Orchestra and many
ensembles nationally.
Paul Goodchild is Musical Director
of the Waverley Bondi Beach Band
and Director of Sydney Brass, one of
Australia’s oldest and most respected
chamber music ensembles. This is his
second year at Moorambilla as soloist
Sydney Brass at Moorambilla 2011 are:
Trumpets: Paul Goodchild and
Andrew Evans
French Horn: Abbey Edlin
Trombone: Matthew Harrison
Tuba: Scott Frankcombe
Festival Artists
each instrument a masterpiece born of
centuries of design and craftsmanship
in the pursuit of perfect sound, working
together to produce music which can
move thousands to tears of joy. There is
nothing like it. And it begins with Sydney
Youth Orchestras.
TaikOz
TaikOz is a high-energy ensemble
renowned for its physicality and spirit.
Combining the visceral power of the
taiko with the ethereal, translucent
sound of the bamboo shakuhachi,
TaikOz is exploring a synthesis of
East and West, old and new. Since
1997 TaikOz has established a unique
performance aesthetic that reflects the
group’s passionate dedication to the
forms of wadaiko and a desire to create
new music for today’s audiences.
Eight musicians undertake a year-round
schedule of performances, workshops
and teaching with highlights including
concerts with the world-renowned
ensemble Kodo; appearances at Tokyo’s
National Theatre of Japan with Eitetsu
Hayashi and Fu-un no Kai. World
Premieres include TaikOz’s collaboration
with acclaimed choreographer Meryl
Tankard in Kaidan: A Ghost Story;
Winners by Andrea Molino at the
2006 Brisbane Festival and at Paris’s
Pompidou Centre; The Book Of Clouds
by Gerard Brophy, commissioned and
premiered by the Melbourne Symphony,
Riley Lee, TaikOz and Synergy; and
William Shakespeare’s Pericles with the
Bell Shakespeare Company. The group
regularly tours around Australia, playing
in both regional areas and the concert
halls of the nation’s capital cities.
Awards include the Sidney Myer
Performing Arts Award in 2006 in
recognition of TaikOz’s commitment to
Australian music, as well as the 2007
Limelight Best New Composition Award
for Kaidan and the 2005 Drover Award
for regional touring and education.
The group has released three CDs and a
DVD – TaikOz Live At Angel Place.
TaikOz @ Moorambilla 2011
Ian Cleworth Artistic Director
Kevin Mann
Kerryn Joyce
Anton Lock
Tom Hampton
www.syo.com.au
SYO @ Moorambilla 2011
Conductor: Max McBride
General Manager: Bernie Heard
Violin 1: Catherine Bucknell,
Nataliya Lukich, Vincent Surjadinata,
Rebecca Davies, Helena Olofsson,
Stephen Davies
SYO
Violin 2: Ben Tjoa, Meaghan Glen,
Clare Cooney, Daniel Zhou, Laura Case,
Caitlin Fong
Sydney Youth Orchestras is one of
Sydney’s most exciting and vibrant
arts organisations, presenting the new
generation of outstanding musicians
in concerts full of innovation, passion
and vitality. Led by experienced and
energetic conductors, the SYO provides
a unique and comprehensive program,
achieved through a clearly articulated
Orchestral Training Framework of
learning. For talented young musicians
aged from 6 to 24, SYO has offered the
path to musical success for 40 years.
Viola: Alan Rossman, Mariette Reefman,
Anthony De Battista
In the Junior String Program, children
benefit from weekly rehearsals, featuring
repertoire chosen to match targeted
skill development, and supported
by tutorials, sectional rehearsals,
music camp and performance
opportunities. The Senior Orchestral
Program consists of a series of large
ensembles specifically designed to
allow emerging musicians to experience
core orchestral repertoire, through
a range of performance styles and
compositional periods. This is achieved
through regular rehearsals, tutorials with
professional orchestral musicians from
Australia’s leading orchestras, high level
performance opportunities in Sydney’s
leading venues, touring and the chance
to play exciting large scale orchestral
works.
Bassoon: Jordy Meulenbroeks
To play in an orchestra is to participate
in one the great achievements of human
culture. A group of people, each of them
amazingly talented and highly trained,
Cello: Jonathan Bekes, Joseph Eisinger,
Talulah Yunkers, Dan Morgan,
Annabelle Oomens
Bass: Daniel Dean, Isabella Brown,
Annabel Cameron
Flute: Lauren Bortolazzo, Michael Last,
Antonia Berg
Oboe: Sarah Young
Clarinet: Aleisha Kahn, Jeremy Kindl,
Jess Hort
Horn: Nick Mooney, Abbey Edlin
(Sydney Brass)
Trumpet: Jonathan Baker, Charlie Bale,
Justin Williams
Trombone: Zachary Karpinellison,
Chris Retter, Adrian Codognotto
Tuba: Liam Acheson
Keyboard: Francis Carreon
Percussion: Sara Delavere,
Jasper Rasmussen, Kerryn Joyce
(TaikOz), Daniel Rose
Festival Artists - Regional
Hot Flats – Warren
The Hot Flats Choir formed in January
2007 in the midst of the drought with the
aim of creating a non-audition local choir
to foster community spirit and create
positive motivation for those involved.
The name, whilst being a little tonguein-cheek, evokes the scenery of the
Western Plains where the choir is based.
Since its inception, the choir has
grown to around 20 members who
come together to learn new skills and
develop the musical potential of both the
individual and the group, whilst having
a bit of fun. The Hot Flats regularly
participate in many different events
in their local communities and further
a field. They continue to share new
experiences and lots of laughs together.
Conductor – Katie Sinclair
Linda Boss
Megan Callendar
Simon Cant
Belinda Haigh
Michele Hamblin
Edna Hammond
Annette Irving
Audrey Irving
Jenny Irving
Peter McKay
Kate Mildner
Fiona Soulsby
Laurina Thompson
Katrina Walker
Helen Wise
Margaret Wood
Coonamble Singers
Ainsley Schieb
Ruth McKenzie
June Day
Sandra Harrison
Angela Yates
Trish Smith
Marge Parsons
Paula O’Connor
Bob Glasson
Tobiana Glasson
El Coro
El Coro is one of Sydney’s newest
chamber choirs, formed especially
to research and perform Iberian and
Latin American choral music to a
high standard, making accessible to
both Hispanic- and English-speaking
audiences a wide range of repertoire
which is so far largely unknown in
Australia.
Our repertoire spans the 13th to 21st
centuries and covers a wide range
of styles from many countries and
provinces, such as mediaeval Galicia
and Portugal, renaissance Spain,
Mexican baroque, Brazilian classical,
contemporary folkloric from Chile and
Argentina, cha-cha, bolero, and much
more. We have performed at festivals in
Wollongong and the Blue Mountains as
well as the Instituto Cervantes in Sydney,
and have also collaborated with Latin
American ensemble Trio Matíz.
El Coro is currently looking for skilled
singers in all sections, and if you are
interested we would love to hear from
you! We rehearse on Monday evenings
in Sydney, and the selection process
includes a short audition and attendance
at a rehearsal or two.
Inquiries: David Goodwin, Administrator
goodwin.mclaughlin@bigpond.com
or 0410 505562. Website:
elcorosydney.weebly.com
Soprano: Margot McLaughlin,
Margaret Grove
Alto: Yasmin Funk, Kathleen Pearce
Tenor: Helen Mathieson
Bass: David Goodwin,
Bran MacEachaidh
Warren
Warren was born in 2006 when
Ferncourt Public School parents
enviously observed the kids having fun
with music and decided that the adults
needed some fun too. The suggestion
of an adult choir gained immediate
momentum and started up the following
week. Initially Warren was comprised
only of parents from the school but now
has almost 50% of our members from
the broader community. The school
Principal actively supports the choir and
encourages joint performances with the
children’s choirs.
Over five years Warren has grown to
about 40 members and has moved
through various styles of music looking
for its own niche. Contemporary
music with catchy bass lines, beautiful
melodies and infectious rhythms are
the current favourite – although they are
rarely performed without the odd African,
madrigal or traditional spiritual
in between.
Founding member and director,
Fiona Cook, has no relevant resume
to mention: just a love of music, an
enthusiasm to learn and evolve her
choral arranging skills and an engaging
sense of the ridiculous.
Coonamble B’Js
This is the 6th consecutive year the
Coonamble B’js have played in the
Monterey for the festival Morning and
afternoon teas. Wildly acclaimed as the
best dance band in the west they have
been wowing audiences for more years
individually and collectively as a group
than they care to remember.
Barry Murray
Peter Butler
Bede Johnson
Ambrose Butler
Great Western
Plains Big Band
The GWPBB were formed in 2006 under
the direction of Paul Dunn. The band is
made up of keen instrumentalists from
the Western Plains Region of NSW, who
simply wanted to get together to play
big band music. They are from all walks
of life, ages and levels of experience.
Their first gig was at the Dubbo Jazz
Festival, at which they are now a regular
fixture at the Big Band Night. This
year they are very proud to be again
associated with the Moorimbilla Festival
here in Coonamble. In 2009 and 2010
they had a great time playing for the
Cabaret night and have been looking
forward to playing at a bigger and better
cabaret night this year. Dance on....
20
11
MOORAMBILLA FESTIVAL
MOORAMBILLA VOICES ANNUAL PROGRAM
FESTIVAL PARTNER
OUR FUNDING SUPPORTERS
Coonamble Shire Council for their support of
the administration and promotion of the festival
by Row Macrae and committee through a
three year partnership with Outback arts
Moorambilla Voices has been assisted by
the Australian Government through the
Office of Prime Minister of Cabinet
Indigenous Cultural Support Program
Elders Real Estate
Moorambilla Voices has been assisted by the
Australian Government through the Australia
Council, its arts funding and advisory body
Moorambilla face painting donated by
Max and Sofia Robinson
Moorambilla Voices has been assisted by the
NSW Government through ARTS NSW
Program and Aboriginal Regional Arts Funding.
Coonamble Newsagency – paint paper and canvas
for the Ngemba Wailwan artists.
First Choice Printing
St Vincent De Paul Coonamble
ARTISTIC PARTNERS
Moorambilla Voices The young singers of Moorambilla Voices would like to thank
the following people and groups for their support in 2011:
Leichhardt Espresso Chorus
Hot Flats and Coonamble Singers
TaikOz
Sydney Brass
Warren Choir
El Coro
Sydney Youth Orchestra Flagship
ensemble TangoOz
Coonamble B’Js
Greatorex Foundation
Great Western Plains Big Band
Ngemba Wailwan Collective Warren
Outback Arts
Offical Photography by Kirsty Wettenhall
other images by Natalie Gigglioli, Liz Cutts, Jamie Lea Hodges
All of our FABULOUS 16 Festival workshop presenters
ARTISTS
The sensational artists who work with us at the residency camps and the
festival led by our Artistic Director Michelle Leonard:
TaikOz, Leichhardt Espresso Chorus, Sydney Brass, Sydney Youth Orchestra
Dan Walker – composer in residence
Luke Byrne – accompanist
Composers – Gerard Brophy, Elena Kats-Chernin, Luke Byrne,
Paul Stanhope, Ian Munns
Photography at Baradine: Natalie Gigglioli, Liz Cutts, Kirsty Wettenhall
OPERATIONS STAFF
Annette Brown, Pepe Newton, Chris Robinson, Jacqui Smith
Camp co-ordinator – Dot Thompson
Educational consultant – Margie Moore OAM
Moorambilla Voices Board – Chair Luke Robinson, Justine Lawler,
Margie Moore, Michelle Leonard
COMMUNITY PARTNERS
Coonamble High School - Moorambilla Angels
St Brigids Primary School Coonamble
Koonambil Coonamble Primary School
St Vincent De Paul Coonamble
VENUES
Camp Cypress, Baradine, Baradine Central School and principal Christine
Clark, Baradine Memorial Hall, our artists’ accommodation at ‘Wagga’ and
‘Karoa’, Aboriginal Lands Council Baradine, Anglican Church Hall Baradine.
The communities of Baradine and Coonamble who make us so welcome.
VENUE PARTNERS
Plaza Theatre
Sons of the Soil Hotel
Global Village
Mac’s Dry Cleaner
Monterey
A & A Karanouh (BUSY BEE)
CATERING
Ronnie’s Catering and Nea Worrell and all their assistants, Freckles Café in
Baradine, the Baradine community, Rotary Coonamble and The GumNut
Café Coonamble
RSL
Coonamble RTC
R & L Quigley
MTM FM
ML & R Leonard
Coonamble Street’s Ahead Committee
CATERING PARTNERS
Coonamble CWA Evening Branch Coonamble Branch Red Cross
Coonamble ROTARY
Global Village
The Bucking Bull Hotel
Two Eight Two Eight Gulargambone
MEDIA MATES
ABC Western Plains
Coonamble Times
MTM FM Coonamble Community Radio
VOLUNTEERS
The Moorambilla Festival would not be possible without the extensive
support of the Coonamble community, who advocate, volunteer and
participate in this yearly event to showcase their capacity as a remarkable
regional leader in the community arts.
Volunteers lead by the remarkable Row Macrae include, Al Karanouh,
Steve Baldwin, Beverley White, Barbara O’Brien, Jamie-Lea Hodges,
Samantha Stratton, Ben Markey, Liz Markey, Don Schieb, Ainslie Schieb,
Rick Warren, Ruth McKenzie, Chris Gray, Joy Nichol, Trish Smith,
Vicki Lampe, Matt Cock, Coonamble High School staff & students,
Shire Councellors & staff, Mark LoSchiavo, Louise Keady, Joanne Day,
Jacqui Ftizgerald, Jenn Hoath, Raquel Pickering.
VOLUNTEERS
Moorambilla Voices lives, breathes and thrives with the passion and
dedication of our wonderful volunteers, Margaret Lefebvre, Ben Markey,
Danny Keady, Nicola Cleary, Libby James, Belinda Wilson, Paul Cameron,
Stephen Brown, Donna Ditchfield. With the overwhelming support of
Moorambilla mums and dads and the communities they represent we have
a remarkable team of regional and local supporters who organise, supervise,
fundraise, cater, drive and promote the activities of the Festival and Voices
throughout the region and beyond. THANK YOU.
The 2011 Moorambilla Voices singers come from over
60 schools in 30 towns
Baradine Bugaldie
Binnaway
Bourke Distance
Education
Bourke Brewarrina
Cassillis Cobar
Collarenebri
Combara
Coolah
Coonabarabran Coonamble Dubbo Dunedoo Engonnia
Gilgandra Girilambone Goodooga Gulargambone Gwabegar
Leadville Lightning Ridge
Mendooran
Narromine Neilrex Nevertire Nymagee
Nyngan
Pambula
Petersham
Quambone
Quirindi
Stanmore
Summer Hill
Trangie
Walgett Warren
This program is produced and donated to the festival audiences by
Moorambilla Voices and the wonderful Sherry Min from First Choice Printing.
Graphic Design Juliet Mikha
w w w.mo orambilla.com
Image Liz Cutts:
Canvas Artwork Ngemba Wailwan collective Warren,
created for Moorambilla Voices 2011.