Emerging composers feature in Perform-HER

Gippsland Symphony Orchestra will present Perform-HER at the West Gippsland Arts Centre on Sunday, August 9, featuring two of the orchestra's leading players Beth Frank and Katarina Yalizis as well as the works of emerging local composers Hannah Comrie Weston and Alisha Redmond.

A first for the GSO, the concert features two commissioned works by young emerging Gippsland composers including Dawn Chorus by Hannah Comrie-Weston and Grand Ridge by Alisha Redmond.

Both works exude the abundant talent the two composers have and the works are a musical homage to Gippsland's beautiful vistas and wildlife.

Dawn Chorus invites the listener into a moment: night relinquishes its hold on the surface of the earth, the stars fade. Still, quiet greyness creeps in and the first birds awake one by one, warming their voices in anticipation of the glory of sunrise.

Hannah is an emerging pianist-composer with a love of musical storytelling. She studied composition at Monash University, ethnomusicology at the Indonesian Institute of the Arts, and now works locally as a music tutor, freelance composer and pianist.

Hannah creates music for live theatre and film and is passionate about collaborating with artists from other disciplines to bring stories to life.
Grand Ridge was inspired by the sweeping vistas and lush landscapes of the iconic Grand Ridge Rd, as it winds through the region's many communities.
For Alisha, a resident of Seaview where the road begins, the work is a personal tribute to home - a musical reflection intended to preserve cherished memories and share the beauty and magic of this remarkable landscape with others.
Alisha is a composer, pianist, and teacher. With a background in classical piano, her compositional style blends lyrical sensitivity with contemporary textures.
She currently teaches piano, drama and composition privately and at St Paul's Anglican Grammar School.
Perform-Her also will feature soloists Beth Frank and Katarina Yalizis.
Beth will play the Flute Concerto in G major by Mozart and Katarina Yalizis will play the Viola Concerto on a theme of Handel by Henri Casadesus.
Beth began learning flute at seven-years-old with Heather Mason at Albert Street Primary School, where she joined the FIASCO Orchestra and placed second in the 1998 Latrobe Valley Eisteddfod.
In the same year, she began AMEB examinations, achieving A grades through to grade eight. She continued her studies with Tamara Warden and through the Lowanna College Music Department. She also was a member of the Latrobe Valley Youth Band, touring internationally to Japan and China as part of sister city cultural exchange programs.
Beth later explored songwriting through the Kool Skools recording project, receiving nominations including Best Ballad and Best Singer/Songwriter.
She has completed a Bachelor of Music at Melbourne University and a graduate diploma of education at Monash University.
An experienced orchestral and theatre musician, Beth has performed in pit orchestras with Class Act Productions, Latrobe Theatre Company, Warragul Theatre Company, and Chairo Christian School.
The Flute Concerto No. 1 in G major remains one of the supreme achievements of the flute repertoire because it embodies everything that makes Mozart's music timeless: elegance without superficiality, virtuosity without excess, and emotional depth expressed with effortless clarity. More than a showcase for the solo instrument, it is a work of remarkable humanity and refinement, demonstrating Mozart's extraordinary ability to transform simplicity into enduring beauty.
Almost 250 years after its composition, it continues to captivate performers and audiences alike as one of the great masterpieces of the Classical concerto.
Katarina has been a dedicated member of the Gippsland Symphony Orchestra for the past 10 years. She has been playing the violin for 17 years and the viola for six, cultivating a love for the unique qualities of each instrument.
Katarina recently completed a Bachelor of Music Performance and a Bachelor of Secondary Education (Honours) at Monash University. She also performed with the Monash Academy Orchestra and the Monash Philharmonic Orchestra.
Throughout her musical career, Katarina has performed alongside musicians from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria, and the Flinders Quartet. Her experience spans a wide variety of musical settings, from orchestral and chamber music to musical theatre productions and collaborations with bands across diverse genres.
Katarina also is dedicated to the development of music education in Gippsland and has been teaching music throughout the region for the past six years.
Katarina is honoured to be presenting her first viola concerto with the GSO, the Casadesus Viola Concerto in the Style of Handel.
The concerto, published in 1924, has become one of the most frequently performed concertos in the viola repertoire. Originally attributed to Handel, the work was long accepted as authentic before musicological research established that it was Casadesus's composition.
The Viola Concerto in the Style of Handel is appreciated not as a forgery but as a heartfelt tribute: a work that celebrates the enduring influence of Handel while establishing itself as one of the twentieth century's most cherished compositions for the viola.
Gippsland Symphony Orchestra's Perform-Her will be presented on August 9 at 2pm at the WGAC. Tickets are $20 members, $25 full, $20 concession and $15 for under 18.