WELCOME TO 2018 - Monash University...successful Bob Dylan Songbook, two of Australia’s most popular and celebrated singers, Joe Camilleri and Vika Bull, will unite with 6-time ARIA

SEAS

ONPR

OGRA

M

2018

W ELCOME T O 2018

32

MLI

VE 2

018 M

LIVE 2018

AFTER YEARS OF PLANNING, THINKING, DISCUSSING, AND WATCHING AS THE NEW ALEXANDER THEATRE TAKES SHAPE,

WE HAVE FINALLY ARRIVED AT AN EXCITING MOMENT, ONE THAT WE AT MONASH UNIVERSITY ACADEMY OF PERFORMING ARTS HAVE BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO WITH GREAT EXPECTATION:

THE LAUNCH NOT ONLY OF AN AMAZING NEW THEATRE, BUT OF THIS, THE INAUGURAL SEASON OF MLIVE.

This program of cultural events aims to reflect the goals of the University: excellence, inclusivity and enterprise by embracing both our internal and external communities. We have developed industry partnerships with an array of performing arts organisations both Australian and international

that will see the development of many important new works and initiatives over the next few years: the first fruits of those partnerships can be seen in 2018 in the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s Metropolis New Music

Festival , the residency of Belarus Free Theatre, and in the world premiere of Spinifex Gum, a co-commission with the Adelaide and Sydney Festivals.

There is so much to discover and enjoy here, new dance for children from Queensland’s Dancenorth, beautifully made theatre from Adelaide’s

Slingsby, hard-hitting, contemporary work from La Boite Theatre, Tasmania Performs and Melbourne’s Lab Kelpie. Following on the success of 2017’s Jazz Greats Weekend this year will see stars Megan Washington, Vince

Jones, Joe Camilleri and Vika Bull in all-new projects. The rich performing life of our students will be on display in concerts by the brilliant Monash

Academy Orchestra, and in the world premiere of the musical The Dressmaker, made possible by the Pratt Foundation.

And this is just the beginning. 2019 will see the opening of The Ian Potter Centre for Performing Arts, with two additional new venues coming online.

MLIVE is yours to share and to celebrate, a new era in performance for Melbourne’s rapidly growing South East. Come and be part of it!

P R O F E S S O R P A U L G R A B O W S K Y AO Executive Director, Monash Academy of Performing Arts

ML IVE I S A CU LTU R A L RESPONSE T O OU R OPEN-M INDE D , A ND

D I VERSE COMMU N I T I ES .

54

MLI

VE 2

018 M

LIVE 2018

S T A Y I N T H E L O O P

#mlivemelbourne

MONASH.EDU/MLIVE

V I D E O S , I N T E R V I E W S

P H O T O G A L L E R I E S A N D M O R E .

M U S I C

The King’s Singers Gold 50th Anniversary 8

Spinifex Gum and Guests 10

Jazz Greats Weekend at Monash 12

Taxithi 14

Stephen Hough 15

Live at The Alex 22

The Sound of Falling Stars 24

Showcase 23

MSO Monash Series 28

Metropolis New Music Festival 30

Monash Academy Orchestra 32

Organ Series 34

Wood, Metal and Vibrating Air Piano Recital Series 36

T H E A T R E

Rainbow Vomit 16

Emil and the Detectives 17

The Season 18

Generation Jeans 20

Elegy 21

Prize Fighter 26

THE DRESSMAKER 27

7

MLIVE 2018

6

MLI

VE 2

018

D A T E & T I M E

Sunday 4 March, 2.30pm

V E N U E

Robert Blackwood Hall

T I C K E T S

B O O K I N G S

B O N U S W O R K S H O P

$ 2 9 - $ 7 9

M O N A S H . E D U / M L I V E

Get involved at The King’s Singers Choral Workshop on Monday 5 March, 7.30pm. The sextet will work with six Melbourne choirs. Hear them perform and have the opportunity to ask the Singers questions along the way. Tickets $20 - $29. For more information visit monash.edu/mlive

“…effortless, S T Y L I S T I C A L LY VA R I E D and beautifully blended.”

- T h e W a s h i n g t o n P o s t

Photo: Marco Borggreve

MU

SIC

Long before Pitch Perfect there was The King’s Singers, that peerless a capella sextet founded back in 1968 from members of the legendary Choir of Kings College, Cambridge. While they jettisoned their chapel robes in favour of sharp suits they never left behind their choral chops and have always been as at home with renaissance church repertoire as they are with pop, jazz and folk songs from contemporary culture.

Now fifty years later, the members of the group are third/fourth generation with double Grammy® Awards to their name, acclaimed performances at the great theatres of the world and legions of fans clamouring for their musical virtuosity, languorous harmonies, and irresistible charm.

To mark 50 years of music making, The King’s Singers whistle-stop world tour, Gold, charts a journey through the music that’s defined The King’s Singers so far. A celebratory program of favourite cabaret torch songs, early music masterpieces and specially commissioned anniversary works by some of the world’s great contemporary choral composers (including Nico Muhly, Bob Chilcott and Alexander L’Estrange) Gold promises existing fans and newcomers a night of spine-tingling musical magic.

T H E K I N G ’ S S I N G E R SG O L D 5 0 T H A N N I V E R S A R Y

“… E F F O R T L E S S , S T Y L I S T I C A L L Y V A R I E D A N D B E A U T I F U L L Y B L E N D E D . ”

98

MLI

VE 2

018 M

LIVE 2018

D A T E & T I M E

Sunday 11 March

5.00pm: Free pre-event. DJ set. Pop-up bar. Food stalls.

7.00pm: Spinifex Gum

V E N U E


T I C K E T S

B O O K I N G S

$ 7 9


S P I N I F E X G U M F e l i x R i e b l , M a r l i y a & L y n

W i l l i a m s , B r i g g s , C h r i s t i n e A n u

a n d P e t e r G a r r e t t

In 2015 Felix Riebl, lead singer of The Cat Empire, took up residence in the Pilbara to spend time on the land and hear the stories of the Yindjibarndi community. Spinifex Gum is the result, a series of unique, topical and inspiring new songs that chart the dramatic contrasts of the land of the Pilbara as well as its political and social topography. From this collaboration Spinifex Gum became an album, a live performance and a shared passion to ignite change.

Developed in collaboration with Marliya – a choir of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander teenage girls from Gondwana Choirs directed by Lyn Williams – and guest artists including Peter Garrett, Emma Donovan, Ollie McGill and Briggs, the songs are now a unique and inspiring self-titled album and concert. Audiences are invited to witness this unique, topical and inspiring all-Australian show performed in its Australian premiere at Monash University by the full choir, Felix Riebl, Peter Garrett, Briggs, and in a special Melbourne appearance, Christine Anu.

The lyrics themselves respond to both the natural landscape of the Pilbara, and apply uncompromising clarity to the painful injustices facing many Indigenous communities. The tough reality of these issues however is blended with lush choral vocals, unforgettable melodies and the exuberant energy of the young performers of Marliya.

MU

SIC

“An artistically stunning, thoughtful and evocative collection of

S O N G S T H AT D E M A N D T O B E H E A R D ”

- T h e M u s i c

Photo: Emmaline Zanelli

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government’s Major Festivals Initiative in association with the Confederation of Australian International Arts Festivals Inc., Adelaide Festival, Sydney Festival and Monash Academy of Performing Arts.

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body.

This project has been supported by the Ryan Cooper Family Foundation and receives funds from Creative Partnerships Australia through the Australia Cultural Fund.

1 11 0

MLI

VE 2

018 M

LIVE 2018

V I K A B U L L Photo: Tania Jovanovic

One of the most refreshing aspects of modern jazz practice is the way it has become less interested in narrow stylistic conventions and more about the cheerful embrace of great musicianship and song-writing across all genres. In MLIVE’s hotly-anticipated weekend of jazz, Australian legends from one end of the improvised music spectrum meet those at the other: pop, soul and cabaret.

In Spinoff, Vince Jones is joined by one of Australia’s finest vocalists Megan Washington and a 20-piece jazz orchestra. Together they revisit the sounds of the 1940s as rebooted in the 1990 television series Come In Spinner. The album of the series, featuring classics like Man I Love, Mood Indigo, Sophisticated Lady, You Go to My Head and I’ve Got You Under My

Skin, broke sales records around the country. This time around, MLIVE has commissioned composer and arranger Steve Newcomb to create all new arrangements in a night that promises to blast fresh and surprising energy into beloved jazz standards.

Following on from 2017’s wildly successful Bob Dylan Songbook, two of Australia’s most popular and celebrated singers, Joe Camilleri and Vika Bull, will unite with 6-time ARIA award winner PaulGrabowsky and his Sextet to bringyou a radical new perspective onnone other than the late great ElvisPresley, one of the 20th century’smost influential artists. Filled withnot-to-be-missed classics, Edge ofReality – the Elvis Presley Songbookpromises a hugely enjoyable nightof inspired musical alchemy.

MU

SIC

V I N C E J O N E S

C O N C E R T 1 : S P I N O F F

Saturday 28 April, 7.30pmVince Jones and Megan Washington.With 20-piece jazz orchestra.

C O N C E R T 2 : E D G E O F R E A L I T Y – T H E E L V I S P R E S L E Y S O N G B O O K

Sunday 29 April, 7.30pmJoe Camilleri and Vika Bull with 6-time ARIA winner Paul Grabowsky.

V E N U E


T I C K E T S

$ 2 2 - $ 6 9

B O O K I N G S


A TM O N A S H

M E G A N W A S H I N G T O N Photo: Cybele Malinowski

J A Z Z G R E A T S W E E K E N D

J O E C A M I L L E R I

1 31 2

MLI

VE 2

018 M

LIVE 2018

T A X I T H I

What it’s like to grow up as the second generation of Greek immigrants may be ingrained in our popular culture but the true stories of their parents, and especially the women who embarked on the journey to Australia in the 1950s and 60s are less well known.

Created from candid interviews the playwright conducted with 20 Greek women who sailed to Australia in this era, Taxithi is a stirring hybrid of personal testimony and song. The diversity of their stories and experiences in Australia – and the insight into Greece’s political upheaval that motivated some migrants’ urgent need for safety – are spiked with optimism, heartache, hope and sacrifice. Their tales are gloriously supplemented by fierce, yearning, passionate rebetika: urban folk songs that grew into a distinctive popular form in the 60s.

Following a sold-out, critically-acclaimed 2016 season at fortyfivedownstairs, Taxithi – An Australian Odyssey makes a welcome return season to the Alexander Theatre, once again showcasing the unforgettable talents of singer/writer Yotis Patterson, acclaimed young screen and stage actor Artemis Ioannides and music-theatre legend Maria Mercedes.

MU

SIC

“It may have S P E C I A L S I G N I F I C A N C E T O A U S T R A L I A N S W I T H G R E E K H E R I TA G E , but all of us should be edified and entertained by this deeply affecting window into the migrant experience.”

- T h e A g e

S T E P H E N H O U G H

A pianist, a composer, a poet, a painter, a novelist, a teacher. A child prodigy who tried twice to become a priest; a prodigious recording artist fascinated by

research into how the brain has quantifiable reactions to certain musical sounds.

Stephen Hough’s extraordinary life and accomplishments make him a modern day renaissance man. The Economist ranks him as one of the

top 20 polymaths in the world yet it is his outstanding interpretations of piano repertoire that has won him ongoing global acclaim. The UK’s

Sunday Times hailed him as ‘our foremost pianist’ while the Boston Globe calls him ‘simply one of the most interesting musicians around’.

His albums have garnered international prizes including several Grammy nominations, and eight Gramophone Magazine Awards including ‘Record of the Year’ in 1996 and 2003. As a recitalist Hough has appeared on the major stages of the world including Carnegie Hall, Chicago’s Symphony

Hall, London’s Royal Festival Hall and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

Stephen’s recitals are always ideas-focused and for MLIVE he has assembled a generous program that is not only full of favourites

(Debussy’s Clair de Lune, Beethoven’s Appassionata and Schumann’s C major Fantasie) but also of insights into the unexpected connections

between the German Romantic and French Impressionist repertoire.

MU

SIC

D A T E & T I M E

Saturday 2 June, 8.00pm

V E N U E

Alexander Theatre

T I C K E T S

$ 1 5 - $ 4 9

B O O K I N G S


D A T E & T I M E

Sunday 24 June, 5.00pm

V E N U E

Alexander Theatre

Photo: Sim Canetty-Clarke

Photo: Sarah Walker

B O O K I N G S


T I C K E T S

$ 1 5 - $ 4 9

1 51 4

MLI

VE 2

018 M

LIVE 2018

Photo: Amber H

aines

R A I N B O W V O M I T D a n c e n o r t h

Welcome to the fully sick world of Rainbow Vomit ! It’s an interactive, eye-popping dance event for the entire family; a place of technicolour vistas where anything is possible, everything can happen, and much more than colour erupts from the darkness.

Over 40-minutes, the dancers move from zombie-like stillness, addicted to an illuminated screen to frenzied kinetic activity. The theatre becomes a space of feverish imagination, where light and sound collide, rhythm becomes vision, voice shapes movement and light warps sound. Audience members are invited to watch through their own pair of kaleidoscopic fireworks glasses; magical glasses that use holographic diffraction film, which refracts light into all colours of the spectrum, generating a myriad of rainbows.

Produced by Dancenorth, one of Australia’s boldest and most critically-acclaimed contemporary dance companies based in Townsville, North Queensland, Rainbow Vomit’s visually stunning imagery and jaw-dropping physical contortions is destined to convert both wide-eyed kids and distracted adults into committed dance fans.

Following the performance, audiences will be welcomed further into the technicolour world of Rainbow Vomit to explore the set, meet the dancers and play on the stage.

TH

EA

TR

E

D A T E & T I M E

Tuesday 10 July, 7.00pm Wednesday 11 July, 11:00am and 2:00pm

V E N U E

Alexander TheatreT I C K E T S

$ 1 5 - $ 3 9

B O O K I N G S


“…a rare achievement, A R E S O N A N T S E N S O R Y J O U R N E Y into our inner, earlier, less convoluted childhood state.”

- R e a l t i m e

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body. Tour supported by arTour an initiative of the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland, part of the Department of the Premier and Cabinet. Dancenorth is assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body. Dancenorth acknowledges the assistance of the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland. Dancenorth acknowledges the support of the Townsville City Council.

E M I L A N D T H E D E T E C T I V E S S l i n g s b y

Emil has been robbed, but never underestimate the determination of a child! Young Emil catches a train to visit family in the big city. Something

valuable is stolen. Luckily Emil soon meets Gustav and his wily band of child sleuths and together they take on the crowded, cosmopolitan

streets of the city in a spirited pursuit of justice. Can a bunch of kids work together to uncover and outsmart the true criminal?

Penned in 1929, Erich Kästner’s classic detective novel for children has been transformed into a pacy, gorgeously designed and brilliantly

inventive performance by Adelaide’s Slingsby. Internationally renowned for its detailed stage-craft, humour and awe-inspiring theatrical magic, Emil and the Detectives continues Slingsby’s ten-year tradition of reinventing

classic children’s stories with contemporary verve and ingenuity.

TH

EA

TR

E

D A T E S & T I M E S

Friday 7 September, 11.00am and 2.00pm Saturday 8 September, 11.00am and 2.00pm

Sunday 9 September, 11.00am and 2.00pm

V E N U E


$ 1 5 - $ 3 5

B O O K I N G S


Photo: Andy Ellis

“Captivating…masterful… A T H E AT R I C A L D E L I G H T. ”

- T h e A u s t r a l i a n

1 7

MLIVE 2018

1 6

MLI

VE 2

018

T H E S E A S O N Ta s m a n i a P e r f o r m s

Families are like seasons: you don’t get to pick them, and when they show up you best be ready.

Somewhere between mainland Australia and Tasmania lies Dog Island. For six weeks every year that’s where you’ll find the Duncans, a mob as funny as they are unforgettable.

They come back to roost for mutton-bird harvest, and have done for as long as anyone can remember. Amid the threat of snakes and Pop’s explosive temper, the family reunites with a country and culture still very much alive.

But given their long memories and the width of their smart-arse streak it’s not just the birds that are sticking their beaks where they’re not welcome. As with any family, tension simmering just below the surface can bubble over with both heartbreaking and hilarious results.

“Coming from a long line of mutton-birders, playwright Nathan Maynard has crafted a fascinating portrait of a singular corner of

our world and a glimpse into a little-known tradition. Directed by Isaac Drandic and

featuring a stellar cast including Luke Carroll, Trevor Jamieson and Lisa Maza, this acclaimed

production is a W A R M A N D L A U G H - O U T- L O U D C E L E B R AT I O N O F A T H R I V I N G C U LT U R E A N D A

F I E R C E L O V E that holds this family together.”

- T h e S h o w

Photo: James H

enry

D A T E & T I M E

Thursday 2 August, 7.30pm Friday 3 August, 7.30pm Saturday 4 August, 7.30pm

V E N U E


$ 1 5 - $ 4 9

B O O K I N G S


A Tasmania Performs production. The Season is supported by the Australian Government through the Major Festivals Initiative and the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding

and advisory body; and the Tasmanian Government through Arts Tasmania

TH

EA

TR

E

1 91 8

MLI

VE 2

018 M

LIVE 2018

G E N E R A T I O N J E A N S B e l a r u s F r e e T h e a t r e

For some artists, creating theatre has turned them into enemies of the state. The small but mighty Belarus Free Theatre is one such example, an infamous Belarusian theatre founded by journalist Nicolai Khalezin and human rights activist Natalia Kaliada. An underground theatre founded in 2005, Belarus Free Theatre was established as an artistic form of resistance to Alexander Lukashenko’s authoritarian regime.

Generation Jeans is Khalezin’s candid solo performance about growing up in Soviet-era Belarus and selling vinyl rock albums and blue jeans on the black market while dodging KGB agents who routinely pounced on teenage bootleggers. Two decades after the Soviet Union’s collapse, Belarus remains Europe’s last dictatorship.

It’s a bitter-sweet, heart-warming coming-of-age story laced with dry humour but which darkens with Khalezin’s personal experience of police brutality and its widespread use towards anyone suspected of dissent. Fast forward to 2006 and denim is still a resonant symbol of freedom when an opposition protester famously hoisted his denim shirt on a city flagpole.

In a highly-anticipated visit to Australia, Belarus Free Theatre’s performance is in association with Malthouse Theatre.

TH

EA

TR

E

“One of T H E M O S T P O W E R F U L underground companies on the planet.”

- N e w Yo r k T i m e s

E L E G Y L a b K e l p i e

The horrific reportage of gay men in the Middle East thrown from tall buildings as a method of execution by Islamic State stunned even those who thought they were inured to ISIS torture and brutality on the nightly news. But behind the headlines is a wider story of the experience of gay Iraqi refugees, desperate to escape the mass killings in their homeland.

Based on British playwright Douglas Rintoul’s verbatim interviews with gay refugee survivors and inspired by images

from photojournalist Bradley Secker, Elegy is a lyrical, searing exploration of loss, displacement and a longing for home.

Performed as a one-act solo in a powerhouse performance by Nick Simpson-Deeks, his character’s tentative first steps exploring his

sexuality give way to a story of civic disintegration as his ‘post-liberation’ country sees militant groups transform his city from a place of safety to

one of shocking violence and brutality. As his friends – other gay men – are tortured and murdered he attempts to escape to the refuge of the

west, only to be met with apathy and hostility towards refugees.

An immediate critical and audience success following its 2016 premiere at Melbourne’s Midsumma Festival, Elegy is a lament for those left

behind and a shattering wake-up call to western audiences; a human face behind the abstracted headlines and Australia’s ‘refugee problem’.

TH

EA

TR

E“ A D I S C O N C E R T I N G LY P O W E R F U L

W O R K that brings its audience so close that it’s impossible

to keep the story at a safe or forgettable distance”

- T h e A g e

D A T E & T I M E

Monday 6 August, 7.30pm Tuesday 7 August, 7.30pm Wednesday 8 August, 7.30pm

V E N U E

Alexander Theatre

T I C K E T S

$ 1 5 - $ 3 5

B O O K I N G S


D A T E & T I M E

Thursday 16 August, 7:30pm

V E N U E

Alexander Theatre

T I C K E T S

$ 1 5 - $ 2 9

B O O K I N G S


Art: Nick Simpson-Deeks

2 12 0

MLI

VE 2

018 M

LIVE 2018

M O R E I N F O R M A T I O N & T I C K E T S


L I V E A T T H E A L E X

Live at the Alex will land at MLIVE’s newly built Alexander Theatre not once, but twice in 2018. Bringing some of the hottest and most dynamic up-coming contemporary artists to Monash University.

Who are these hot artists you ask? Well, that is for us to know and you to find out!

What we can say is the two shows will feature an epic headline acts plus pre-show entertainment, food and drink to warm you up in the midst of winter.

The Live at the Alex is a series created especially for students and those young at heart.

Put the dates in your diary now then subscribe to our e-newsletter to stay up to date.

These performances are produced in association with the Monash Student Association (MSA) and Campus Community Division.

MU

SIC

D A T E

V E N U E

Alexander Theatre, Clayton Campus

Wednesday 15 AugustWednesday 5 September

S H O W C A S E P r e s e n t e d b y T h e S i r Z e l m a n C o w e n S c h o o l o f M u s i c

Featuring large ensembles such as the Monash Big Band, Sinfonia, Monash Electronic Music Ensemble, Gospel Choir and jazz ensembles

as well pianists, singer songwriters and new works by composition students, the showcase highlights the diversity of style and quality of

talent of both students, staff and collaborators within the school.

MU

SIC

D A T E & T I M E

Sunday 2 September, 1.00pm and 5.00pm

V E N U E

Alexander Theatre

T I C K E T S

F R E E C O N C E R T S

B O O K I N G S

R E S E R V E S E A T S V I A T H E B O X O F F I C E

O R O N L I N E A T M O N A S H . E D U / M L I V E

2 3

MLIVE 2018

2 2

MLI

VE 2

018

T H E S O U N D O F F A L L I N G S T A R S W r i t t e n a n d D i r e c t e d b y R o b y n A r c h e r

Sid Vicious. Ricky Nelson. Tim and Jeff Buckley. Hank Williams. Mario Lanza. Otis Redding. Ian Curtis. Kurt Cobain. Elvis.

Not only the names of some of the great and most influential male singers and songwriters of our generation, but also a roll call of artists who lived fast and died young. In the tradition of Robyn Archer’s iconic global hit A Star is Torn, which traced the fate of 11 great female singers dead before their time, The Sound of Falling Stars, written and directed by Archer, is a roll call of the men whose impact on our culture and our hearts belied the length of their creative lives.

Cameron Goodall, (The Lion King, The Audreys, Sydney Theatre Company) in a performance described as an ‘outstanding tour de force’ evokes the personalities and voices of all 31 lost souls with astonishing range, versatility and showmanship. Extracts from the stars’ greatest songs, some known, and others more rarely heard, interspersed with brief monologues about the lives of each star and their untimely demise. As the bodies pile up, so too does our own sense of how life in the public eye plays its own part in both deifying and crucifying so many of our great artists.

A night of virtuosic hits and heartaches, The Sound of Falling Stars is not to be missed.

MU

SIC

“With the brilliant, versatile, charismatic singer/actor/musician Cameron Goodall as the conjurer-in-chief, this is a thrilling,

AT T I M E S I N - Y O U R - FA C E evening of music theatre.”

- T h e C o n v e r s a t i o n

Photo: Dam

ian Bennett

D A T E & T I M E

Thursday 20 September, 7.30pm Friday 21 September, 7.30pmSaturday 22 September, 7.30pm

V E N U E

Alexander Theatre

T I C K E T S

B O O K I N G S

$ 3 2 - $ 5 9


2 52 4

MLI

VE 2

018 M

LIVE 2018

Photo: Dylan Evans

P R I Z E F I G H T E R L a B o i t e T h e a t r e a n d B r i s b a n e F e s t i v a l

B y F u t u r e D . F i d e l

Isa is a talented young boxer preparing for the biggest fight of his career. On the line is the national title and the promise of fame and riches beyond his wildest dreams.

Familiar territory for a modern day fable you may think but the surprising back-story that emerges is of a Congolese boy orphaned by war and forced to become a child soldier by the very people who killed his family. His powerful left hook offers a new life in Australia, but his greatest obstacle is not his formidable opponent – it’s his past.

Playwright Future D. Fidel writes with unmistakeable authenticity. Fleeing the Congo as a child, he lived in a Tanzanian refugee camp for eight years before being granted refugee status in Australia. Prize Fighter is inspired by his own story and the stories of those he’s known. It’s the tale of one man’s ability to confront the unbearable horrors of his past and to beat the demons that once defined him.

Following the rapturous public and critical response that greeted its seasons at recent Brisbane and Sydney Festivals, Prize Fighter is a rare treat for Monash audiences and comes to MLIVE for a strictly limited season.

TH

EA

TR

E

T H E D R E S S M A K E R : A M u s i c a l A d a p t a t i o n B a s e d o n R O S A L I E H A M ’ S T H E D R E S S M A K E R

b y P e t e r R u t h e r f o r d a n d J a m e s M i l l a r

The second Jeanne Pratt Musical Theatre Artists in Residence Program, a visionary program that supports Australian artists to develop new

Australian music theatre, will take place at Monash University in 2018.

As the recipients of the 2018 Program, Director Peter Rutherford (Musical Director, Matilda) and award-winning Australian actor, singer and writer

James Millar (Matilda, The Hatpin, Up Close and Reasonably Personal) will work with students from the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music and The Centre for Theatre and Performance to develop a new original Australian

musical based on the 2000 revenge-comedy novel, The Dressmaker.

Based on Rosalie Ham’s novel of the same name, the film starred Kate Winslet in the role of Myrtle ‘Tilly’ Dunnage, a dressmaker femme fatale

who returns to her birthplace in a small Australian town to take care of her ailing, mentally unstable mother (played by Judy Davis). With a host of

idiosyncratically Australian characters and unexpected moments of humour, grief, drama and suspense, the story explores themes of revenge and

creativity and promises to be a thrilling canvas for a new Australian musical.

TH

EA

TR

E

D A T E & T I M E

P R E S E N T E D B Y M O N A S H

C E N T R E F O R T H E A T R E

A N D P E R F O R M A N C E A N D

T H E S I R Z E L M A N C O W E N

S C H O O L O F M U S I C

Friday 19 October, 7.30pm (Preview)Saturday 20 October, 2.00pm and 7.30pm

Tuesday October 23, 7.30pmWednesday October 24, 7.30pm

Thursday October 25, 7.30pmFriday October 26, 7.30pm

V E N U E

Alexander Theatre

D A T E & T I M E

Friday 26 October, 7.30pm Saturday 27 October, 7.30pm

V E N U E

George Jenkins Theatre

T I C K E T S B O O K I N G S

$ 1 5 - $ 4 9 M O N A S H . E D U / M L I V E

“Prize Fighter is, in every respect, T H E AT R E T H AT M AT T E R S . ”

- A B C A r t s

B O O K I N G S


2 7

MLIVE 2018

2 6

MLI

VE 2

018

D A L E B A R LT R O P Photo: Matt Irwin

The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s four excursions to the Robert Blackwood Hall in 2018 offer a chance to hear infrequently performed works by familiar composers alongside well-loved masterworks and great pieces by Australian composers.

Debussy’s hauntingly beautiful orchestral suite entitled Nocturnes is rarely heard in its complete version with a female chorus, and the delightful Serenade in A by the 25-year-old Brahms is almost never programmed (its appearance a fringe benefit of having principal violist Christopher Moore at the helm – the piece has no violins!)

Favourite works by the “three Bs” (Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos No.1 and No.3, Beethoven’s Symphony No.3, Eroica and Brahms’ Symphony No.4.) are peppered by MSO’s 2018 Composer in Residence, Carl Vine’s, thrillingly virtuosic Smith’s Alchemy, his crowd-pleasing Concerto for Orchestra and what promises to be a fascinating excursion by Mary Finsterer into territory previously explored by Brahms (the darker hued ‘double’ concerto for Viola and Cello).

Concertmaster Dale Barltrop also directs and performs as soloist in an extraordinary work by Latvian composer Peteris Vasks. If this is your first encounter with his sublime music, grab it. In fact, why not sample the whole package and add the special bonus concert with Maxim Vengerov.

MU

SIC

F E A T . I N C O N C E R T 2

S I R A N D R E W D A V I S Photo: Peter Tarasiuk

C O N C E R T 1 - D E B U S S Y A N D B R A H M S

Friday 6 April, 7.30pm

Jun Märkl – ConductorChristopher Moore – ViolaDavid Berlin – CelloLadies of the MSO Chorus

C O N C E R T 2 - B E E T H O V E N ’ S E R O I C A

Friday 11 May, 7.30pm

Sir Andrew Davis – Conductor Moye Chen – Piano

C O N C E R T 3 - D A L E B A R LT R O P

Friday 10 August , 7.30pm

Dale Barltrop – Violin, Director

C O N C E R T 4 - C H R I S T O P H E R M O O R E

Friday 12 October, 7.30pm

Christopher Moore – ViolaSophie Rowell – Violin

S E A S O N F I N A L E : M A X I M V E N G E R O V

Friday 30 November, 7.30pm

Markus Stenz – ConductorMaxim Vengerov – Violin

V E N U E

T I C K E T S

B O O K I N G S


$ 3 9 - $ 9 9


M S O M O N A S H

J U N M Ä R K L Photo: Michiharu Okubo

C H R I S T O P H E R M O O R E Photo: Daniel Aulsebrook

S E R I E S

2 92 8

MLI

VE 2

018 M

LIVE 2018

M E T R O P O L I S N E W M U S I C F E S T I V A L

M E T R O P O L I S 1

Thursday 19 April, 7.30pm

Clark Rundell – ConductorWu Wei – ShengAustralian String Quartet

T I C K E T S

$ 3 0 - $ 3 5

M E T R O P O L I S 2

Saturday 21 April, 7.30pm

Clark Rundell – ConductorJennifer Koh – ViolinAllison Bell – Soprano

B O O K I N G S


V E N U E


In two stunning concerts, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and exceptional soloists (including the Australian String Quartet and a virtuoso of the Chinese Sheng) introduce Australian audiences to the music of one of the 21st century’s finest composers, Unsuk Chin, and revisit seminal works by her teacher, Gyorgy Ligeti, a giant of the twentieth century.

Unsuk Chin is a Berlin-based Korean composer who has won nine of the most prestigious composition prizes across the globe. Her music has been championed by conductors of the calibre of Kent Nagano and Simon Rattle and performed by the major orchestras and chamber ensembles of the world.

More importantly, her works have engaged and delighted audiences because they manage to be both unlike anything they’ve heard before and yet compelling and coherently musical.

MU

SIC

Her stunning Violin Concerto and other major pieces can be heard for the first time in Australia alongside Gyorgy Ligeti’s amazing String Quartet No.1 (which, with its driving folk rhythms and enigmatic gestures is fantastic fun) and one of his “greatest hits”, Atmosphères. Even if they had never gained world fame as the soundtrack to Kubrick’s internationally- acclaimed film 2001: A Space Odyssey, these remarkable nine minutes of music would have earned it in their own right. The chance to hear, live, this masterpiece with its ground-breaking use of a massive orchestra is a rare event not to be missed.

The Metropolis New Music Festival is all about encountering new works in a concert hall that make you feel excited and humbled. Hear for yourself this April.

U N S U K C H I N

M E T R O P O L I S N E W M U S I C

F E S T I V A L E D U C A T I O N P A R T N E R

3 13 0

MLI

VE 2

018 M

LIVE 2018

M O N A S H A C A D E M Y O R C H E S T R A

George Dreyfus, Fanfare for a New Dome

George Dreyfus, Music from Let the Balloon Go

George Dreyfus, Symphony No. 2

George Dreyfus, Sebastian the Fox

George Dreyfus, Theme from Rush

Korngold, Violin Concerto in D major

Steiner, Suite from Gone with the Wind

Benjamin Northey, Conductor

Rebecca Chan, Violin

C E L E B R A T I N G G E O R G E D R E Y F U S

Sunday 15 April, 2.30pmA concert celebrating the composer’s 90th birthday.

C O M P A S S I O N

Sunday 13 May, 2.30pm

Nigel Westlake, Antarctica Suite for guitar and orchestra

Nigel Westlake/Lior Attar, Compassion

Nigel Westlake, Conductor

Lior Attar, Tenor

Slava Grigoryan, Guitar

S T A B A T M A T E R

Saturday 4 August, 7.30pm

Katy Abbott, Before the Beginning, After the End

Haydn, Symphony No. 104

Rossini, Stabat Mater

Brett Weymark, Conductor

Merlyn Quaife, Soprano

Sally-Anne Russell, Mezzo-soprano

Andrew Goodwin, Tenor

Nicholas Dinopoulos, Bass-Baritone

Monash University Singers

F I R E B I R D

Sunday 7 October, 2.30pm

Iain Grandage, New Work (world premiere)*

Ian McQueen, Achior’s Confession (world premiere)

Aribert Reimann, Interlude 3 and Habe ich mein leben retten können from Lear

Handel, Cara Sposa from Rinaldo

Stravinsky, The Firebird (1945 version)

Natalia Raspovova – Conductor

Hamish Gould – Countertenor (Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music Concerto and Aria Competition 2017 winner)

*Monash University Ed Byrne Commission

Iain Grandage and brilliant Melbourne composer Katy Abbott, and national treasure and superb human Nigel Westlake conducting his own works, featuring Slava Grigoryan and Lior Attar.

Compassion, which he co-wrote with Lior is one of the most moving concert works of recent years and has been acclaimed around the world. If you’re yet to hear it, don’t miss the concert on May 13.

There is a unique and thrilling energy to an orchestra in which top students share desks with professional mentors, all excited to be working with remarkable conductors and soloists, united by the love of music and their passionate need to share it with an equally committed audience. That’s why people flock to the four free Monash Academy Orchestra concerts each year.

And what an amazing season 2018 promises to be. Luscious scores like Stravinsky’s Firebird, Korngold’s Violin Concerto and Steiner’s Gone With the Wind, Rossini’s gorgeous Stabat Mater and an illustrious program of Australian music: a retrospective of favourite works by Aussie icon George Dreyfus, now 90 years young, new and recent pieces by Helpmann Award-winning

MU

SIC

V E N U E


T I C K E T S


B O O K I N G S

R E G I S T E R F O R T I C K E T ( S ) V I A

T H E B O X O F F I C E O R O N L I N E


3 33 2

MLI

VE 2

018 M

LIVE 2018

O R G A N S E R I E S

The Robert Blackwood Hall is graced by one of the finest organs in the Southern Hemisphere built from 1978 to 1980 by renowned German craftsman Jürgen Ahrend in consultation with Monash University organist John O’Donnell. It is particularly well suited to the Baroque repertoire and the 2018 Series takes full advantage of its glorious yet intimate sonorities.

As usual, O’Donnell is joined by outstanding Melbourne organists Jennifer Chou and Elizabeth-Anne Nixon but this year you also have the rare chance of hearing Sydney-born Brett Leighton, who returns to Australia after 30 years as a teacher and recitalist in Europe.

Leighton is well versed in historical performance practise and it will certainly be worth catching his interpretations of early masters Praetorius and Frescobaldi alongside more familiar works by J S Bach.

Papa Bach takes pride of place in the free concerts as you’d expect, but his great predecessor Buxtehude is also represented, and even Couperin and Vivaldi get a look in.

Delicious sounds in a beautiful acoustic. Moments of calm introspective listening don’t come around too often these days, so immerse yourself in the Monash Organ Series.

MU

SIC

V E N U E


T I C K E T S & B O O K I N G S


N O B O O K I N G R E Q U I R E D

S E R I E S C U R A T E D B Y

J O H N O ’ D O N N E L L

Works by – Johann Sebastian Bach.

J O H N O ’ D O N N E L L

Saturday 4 August, 6.00pm

Works by – Antonio Vivaldi, Peter Cornet, Dietrich Buxtehude, John Bull and Johann Sebastian Bach.

E L I Z A B E T H - A N N E N I X O N

Sunday 13 May, 1.00pm

Works by – Dietrich Buxtehude, Johann Sebastian Bach, Ad Wammes, Jean Bouvard and François Couperin.

J E N N I F E R C H O U

Sunday 7 October, 1.00pm

Works by – Jacob Praetorius, Girolamo Frescobaldi, Jacques Boyvin, John Stanley and Johann Sebastian Bach.

B R E T T L E I G H T O N

Sunday 15 April, 1.00pm

3 53 4

MLI

VE 2

018 M

LIVE 2018

K R I S T I A N C H O N G

HammerklavierThursday 23 August, 7.30pm

A N D R E A L A M Premieres, Passion, and Puppets

Thursday 28 June, 7.30pm

W O O D, M E T A L & V I B R A T I N G A I R

The true glories of chamber music – which, as the description implies, had its origins in private homes – were arguably lost when it made its way to the grand theatres and concert halls of our cities and towns: the intimate drama of being perhaps an elbow length away from the extraordinary musician who leans into their instrument, at a whispering pianissimo, becoming a direct conduit to the musical imagination of the composer. It’s all about music making rather than performance and projection.

Now in its third year, MLIVE’s Wood, Metal & Vibrating Air program invites you to this unique and unforgettable experience in a series of intimate recitals with five of Australia’s most outstanding pianists, and one special international guest. Limited to an audience of just 150, audience and artist are seated on the stage together in an up-close communion with each pianist and a diverse array of compositions and music forms.

The list of performers in this year’s series is a who’s who of Australia’s most eminent and award-winning Australian pianists. It includes Gabriella Smart, Andrea Lam, Zubin Kanga, Kristian Chong and Timothy Young.

MU

SIC

T I C K E T S

$ 1 5 - $ 3 5

B O O K I N G S


P I A N O R E C I T A L S E R I E S

G A B R I E L L A S M A R T Of Broken Trees and Elephant IvoriesSunday 22 April, 5.00pm

T I M O T H Y Y O U N G

From Rameau to BartokThursday 27 September, 7.30pm

Z U B I N K A N G A

Rhythmic KaleidoscopesThursday 9 August, 7.30pm

3 73 6

MLI

VE 2

018 M

LIVE 2018

O N L I N E

monash.edu/mlive Bookings can be made securely online 24 hours a day.

Here you can choose your own seat and have your tickets emailed to you as PDF files – all without booking fees!

O V E R T H E P H O N E

Please call 03 9905 1111 between 9:30am and 4:30pm Monday to Friday. Excluding public holidays.

Bookings can be made for all shows using Visa or Mastercard for payment.

For some events, we may also be able to reserve your seats for up to 7 days to enable a postal payment by cheque.

Box Office staff are happy to answer any further questions you have about the booking process or any aspect of your visit to our venues.

P H O N E

03 9905 1111E M A I L

[email protected]

I N P E R S O N

Our Box Office is open from 9:30am – 4:30pm Monday to Friday (excl. Public holidays)

During these times, we are located at: Robert Blackwood Hall 49 Scenic Boulevard, Monash University, Clayton

Box Offices are also open at each performance venue from 60 minutes prior to all ticketed performances.

A C C E S S I B L E S E A T I N G

All our venues contain accessible seating for wheelchairs or any patron with limited mobility which can be booked on request by calling the Box Office on 03 9905 1111 during business hours.

H O W T O B O O K T I C K E T S T O A S H O W

F O R M O R E I N F O R M A T I O N

P L A N Y O U R V I S I T

MAIN

ENTR

ANC

E

TS DRALLIM

MCM

AHONS RD

FRA

NS

TON

-FLIND

ER

S R

D

MC

MA

HO

NS

RD

timreP

timreP

timreP

tekciT

delbasiD

delbasiD

ANCORA IMPARO WAY

CAMPUS CENTRE

MENZIESBUILDING

LAWLIBRARY

RA

INFO

RE

ST

WA

LK

CHANCELLORS WALK

EX

HIB

ITIO

N W

ALK

SCEN

IC B

OU

LEVA

RD

WELLINGTON RD

Clayton Campus,Wellington Road49 Robert Blackwood Hall

49 Scenic Boulevard

55 Music AuditoriumPerforming Arts Centre55 Scenic Boulevard

55 Drama TheatrePerforming Arts Centre55 Scenic Boulevard

Peninsula Campus,McMahons Road,FrankstonGeorge Jenkins TheatreBuilding GJ

2

4

3

1

RELIGIOUSCENTRE

LEARNING & TEACHING BUILDING

1 A L E X A N D E R T H E A T R E . 48 Exhibition Walk

2 R O B E R T B L A C K W O O D H A L L . 49 Scenic Boulevard

3 J A Z Z C L U B . S O U N D G A L L E R Y. Opening 2019

MAIN

ENTR

ANC

E

TS DRALLIM

MCM

AHONS RD

FRA

NS

TON

-FLIND

ER

S R

D

MC

MA

HO

NS

RD

timreP

timreP

timreP

tekciT

delbasiD

delbasiD

ANCORA IMPARO WAY

CAMPUS CENTRE

MENZIESBUILDING

LAWLIBRARY

RA

INFO

RE

ST

WA

LK

CHANCELLORS WALK

EX

HIB

ITIO

N W

ALK

SCEN

IC B

OU

LEVA

RD

WELLINGTON RD

Clayton Campus,Wellington Road49 Robert Blackwood Hall

49 Scenic Boulevard

55 Music AuditoriumPerforming Arts Centre55 Scenic Boulevard

55 Drama TheatrePerforming Arts Centre55 Scenic Boulevard

Peninsula Campus,McMahons Road,FrankstonGeorge Jenkins TheatreBuilding GJ

2

4

3

1

RELIGIOUSCENTRE

LEARNING & TEACHING BUILDING

4 G E O R G E J E N K I N S T H E A T R E . Building GJ

C L A Y T O N C A M P U S – W E L L I N G T O N R O A D , M O N A S H

P E N I N S U L A C A M P U S – M C M A H O N S R O A D , F R A N K S T O N

3 93 8

MLI

VE 2

018 M

LIVE 2018

MONASH.EDU/MLIVE

Documents

WELCOME TO 2018 - Monash University...successful Bob Dylan Songbook, two of Australia’s most popular and celebrated singers, Joe Camilleri and Vika Bull, will unite with 6-time ARIA