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9th Peninsula Summer Music Festival
January 1, 2016 @ 1:00 pm
Enjoy a cornucopia of music from across centuries and continents as the churches, wineries and intimate spaces of Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula are filled with an abundance of sumptuous song, exquisite instrumentals and music fit for royalty.
Under the artistic direction of Julia Fredersdorff, the 9th Peninsula Summer Music Festival brings together more than 50 Australian and international artists from France, Italy, Malta, India, the Netherlands, UK and Indonesia, in 19 events over ten days of summer across the Mornington Peninsula.
The diverse program ranges from the historically rich baroque music of 17th century England, France and Italy, intimate piano recitals and contemporary jazz to fiery gypsy melodies, the intoxicating rhythms of the Middle East and the transcendental beauty of the Indian bansuri flute.
The Festival opens on New Year’s Day with the signature Hair of the Dog concert at Lindenderry at Red Hill, featuring the fiery gypsy melodies, seductive tango rhythms and inspiring three part harmonies of The Stilleto Sisters.
Superb Australian lute player Rosemary Hodgson makes a welcome return to the Festival in Airs de Coeur – an exquisite new program of rarely heard love songs popular during the reign of Louis XIII, at St Peters Anglican Church in Mornington on Saturday 2 January.
The hugely popular Twilight Jazz returns to Montalto Vineyard and Olive Grove on Sunday 3 January with two giants of Australian Jazz, Paul Grabowsky and Vince Jones, in a rare musical conversation between two masters of their craft.
Historians and music lovers alike will revel in the discovery of an extraordinary instrumental journey at The Briar’s Homestead at Mount Martha on Sunday 3 January, where guitarist Geoffrey Morris and tenor Tyrone Landau celebrate the intriguing trails of Napoleon’s Guitar from Paris to St Helena to London and finally Mount Martha where it remains today.
At the annual Peninsula Summer Garden Party – an exclusive fundraising event – rising stars of Australian music Emily Shepherd (violin) and Robert Manley (cello) deliver a program of works by Australian and European composers including Don Banks, Stuart Greenbaum, Jules Massenet and JS Bach in the delightful surrounds of the Elgee Park Winery on Monday 4 January.
The acclaimed Sutherland Trio will perform the riches of the piano trio canon at the Mooorooduc Estate on Wednesday 6 January, while the Port Phillip Estate plays host to percussionist Matt Stonehouse and friends creating a beautiful blend of frame drums, Arabic vocals, Middle Eastern rhythms and the oud playing of Yuval Ashkar on Thursday 7 January.
Alongside wineries, restaurants and churches, Fredersdorff has reached into the nooks and crannies of the Mornington Peninsula, presenting exhilarating pianist Gabi Sultana in an intimate recital at the Red Hill Baker and Providore on Tuesday 5 January, and bansuri virtuoso Vinod Prasanna in the Yoga room at Hummingbird Eco Retreat on Friday 8 January.
St Peters Catholic Church in Shoreham plays host to several concerts including Royal Consorts: Music for English Kings featuring baroque trio Latitude 37 on Tuesday 5 January; Generations with Artistic Director Julia Fredersdorff on baroque violin with her mentor, famed Italian violinist
Enrico Gatti on Wednesday 6 January; and Love’s Trials on Friday 8 January, where French soprano Myriam Arbouz makes her Australian premiere in a ravishing program of 17th century works exploring the age-old concept of love.
On the final weekend of Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 January, all eyes and ears turn to the lawns of the Church of St John the Evangelist in Flinders.
On Saturday morning, families will delight in a premiere combination of music and storytelling when Ensemble Offspring bring the classic children’s tale of Blinky Bill to life though colonial folk songs, contemporary soundscapes and narrated excerpts from the tales of everyone’s favourite koala. In the evening, the Ensemble, known for its exhilarating and dynamic music making, will transform Philip Glass’ epic and rarely performed masterpiece Music with Changing Parts in a performance bound to become an unforgettable Festival highlight.
Inside the church, on Saturday 9 January, acclaimed young pianist Lachlan Redd delivers a stirring tribute to virtuoso pianist and composer Geoffrey Tozer, before two of Australia’s leading soloists, Ben Opie (oboe) and Melissa Doecke (flute) join forces as the Inventi Ensemble to perform works ranging from JS Bach and Mozart to contemporary Australian composer Elena Kats-Chernin.
The final day of the Festival on Sunday 10 January, begins on the lawns of the Church of St John the Evangelist with Enrico Gatto and Julia Fredersdorff in Concerti Grossi, followed by a reinvention of the French suite of highly stylised dance music featuring Georgia Browne (historical flute) and Tom Foster (harpsichord) in Suite Francaise.
The Festival Finale promises a seamless blend of world, jazz and folk with music from acclaimed oud player Joseph Tawadros and his trio, which includes brother James Tawadros on percussion and Matt McMahon on piano.
PENINSULA SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL AT A GLANCE
Friday 1 January
HAIR OF THE DOG: THE STILLETO SISTERS 3 pm @ Lindenderry at Red Hill
Saturday 2 January
AIRS DE COEUR – LOVE SONGS FROM 17TH CENTURY FRANCE 7pm @ St. Peters, Mornington
Sunday 3 January
NAPOLEON’S GUITAR 1pm and 4 pm @ The Briar’s Homestead, Mount Martha
TWILIGHT JAZZ: PAUL GRABOWSKY AND VINCE JONES 7pm @ Montalto, Red Hill South
Monday 4 January
PENINSULA SUMMER GARDEN PARTY 6pm @ Elgee Park Winery, Merricks North
Tuesday 5 January
ROYAL CONSORT – MUSIC FOR ENGLISH KINGS 5pm @ St Peters, Shoreham
THE TEMPEST –PIANIST GABI SULTANA IN RECITAL 7.30pm @ Red Hill Baker, Balnarring
Wednesday 6 January
SUTHERLAND TRIO 5pm @ Morrooduc Estate
GENERATIONS – JULIA FREDERSDORFF AND ENRICO GATTI 7pm @ St Peters, Shoreham
Thursday 7 January
THE RHYTHMIC EAST 6pm @ Port Phillip Estate, Red Hill South
Friday 8 January
VINOD PRASANNA IN RECITAL 3pm @ Hummingbird Eco Retreat, Red Hill
LOVE’S TRIALS/THE ART OF LOVE/LA MUSIQUE DE L’AMOUR 7pm @ St Peters, Shoreham
Saturday 9 January
FAMILY CONCERT: BLINKY BILL 11am @ St John the Evangelist, Flinders
TOZER BY REDD 1.30pm @ St John the Evangelist, Flinders
INVENTI ENSEMBLE 4pm @ St John the Evangelist, Flinders
MUSIC WITH CHANGING PARTS 7.30pm @ the lawn of St John the Evangelist, Flinders
Sunday 10 January
CONCERT GROSSI 1pm @ the lawn of St John the Evangelist, Flinders
SUITE FRANCAISE 4pm @ Church of St John the Evangelist, Flinders
FESTIVAL FINALE: JOSEPH TAWADROS TRIO 7pm @ the lawn of St John the Evangelist, Flinders
FESTIVAL DETAILS: Dates: 1 – 10 January 2016 Venues: Across Red Hill, Flinders, Moorooduc, Shoreham, Merricks North and Mornington Tickets: online www.peninsulafestival.com.au
Cost: Separately ticketed events from $15 to $200 Website: www.peninsulafestival.com.au