Music and Tea at the Gallery is back for its second year of free morning concerts by emerging artists at Wollongong Art Gallery. Felicity Woodhill reports

How a fleeting conversation sparked a concert series

Music and Tea at the Gallery commenced with a brief conversation with Allan Beavis, Director of Music for the St Jude’s Music Association in Bowral. It was a vague idea to create a mini–tour for young musicians to enable them to develop their art through the opportunity to give multiple performances. Allan reached out to the community of the Southern Highlands to fund the idea. Within weeks, he had the money to support emerging artists to come and perform at St Jude’s Church Bowral. This led to discussions with Wollongong Art Gallery who agreed to host an Emerging Artist Concert Series in the BlueScope Gallery.

The support of the Gallery has given our emerging artists a great platform to share their music with our community. The community’s response to the first series was exceptional and we are delighted to present season two.

Musical Meditations

A concert is a multi-sensory experience allowing us to connect with emotions, thoughts and feelings through music. As a result, the audience shares both a collective experience and a very personal and unique response. Part of the magic of experiencing musicians perform is to be drawn into the meditative world of art-making. We are watching the performer make art in the moment. When the performer transcends into the music, live music captivates the audience and offers a powerful expression of the human soul. To perform in this manner can come naturally but also through practice.

Bulli singer Shalani Thomas who performed in November notes: "Being a part of this program is unique as it is something generally missing from the music industry. Giving younger performers a chance to perform original material for an engaged and quiet audience is a rare occurrence and a true gift! I had such an amazing time throughout the whole process of putting a set together. Working with a videographer and a sound engineer was a great learning experience!"

Creating a Program – Telling a Story

Performing and sharing music is at the heart of any good concert. However, for emerging artists weaving a story through their program adds to the musical journey of the audience and helps the artist give shape to the program.

Finding an inspiring title also helps captivate potential audiences. It lets them know about the style and mood of the music. For this season, the emerging artists were asked to take time to consider this element of their concert; the result has been impressive with titles such as; Meditations by Nightfall (harp and violin), An Odyssey of Romance (cello and piano), Wondrous Flute Melodies, Parallel Journeys (piano and violin solos) and Opera Arias and Art Songs (voice and piano).

Parallel Journeys – Piano and Violin solos

Next month’s March 2 concert will feature two 19-year-olds: local violinist Cedar Newman and Luke Bowen, who studied piano under Prof. Robert Constable and earned his LMusA (Licentiate in Music, Australia) with distinction at 15. Luke has performed extensively as a solo and orchestral pianist. Cedar’s passion for the violin has led to studies and performances in Europe and New York.

Luke and Cedar chose to home-educate at a young age to pursue their passion for music; each is a multi-instrumentalist. In addition, they share a curiosity and commitment to studies outside of music while continuing to perform. In this concert, they will perform solo repertoire and share a little of their journey with the audience. Their growth through regional music organisations, including
St Jude’s Music Association and Steel City Strings, helped inspire the series.

“St Jude’s Music Association has provided me numerous valuable performance opportunities, including recitals and a concerto, allowing me to showcase my abilities and receive valuable feedback,” Luke says.

“The Emerging Artist series extends these opportunities, providing a platform for up-and-coming musicians like myself to perform and grow in front of a supportive audience.”

February 2’s concert will be Opera Arias and Art Songs, with Daniel Kramer and David Vance. Donations welcome, 11am at WAG