Featuring artistic director and co-founder, Jenny Duck-Chong, alongside an extended cast of Halcyon friends and familiars, 25 years of craft, collaboration and creation are at the heart of this celebration of art music. The Dance of Life is a celebration of existence in all its varied shades, and a tribute to Halcyon’s longevity, as well as the rich diversity of music and people that have characterised its history.
A collection of intimate chamber music, from Elliott Carter’s spectral atmospheres to Ross Edwards’ lush depictions of nature, the duet is the starring form of the program. Halcyon’s ensemble, a chameleon in its configuration, evolves and blooms across the program, the narrator of life from its smallest corners to its largest, most symbolic networks. As it blossoms, life is reflected in the smallest flutter of insect wings in Rachel Clement’s fracture, to the spellbinding glow of the moon in Rósa Lind Page’s ‘Claire de Lune.’
The culmination of the program, Elliott Gyger’s This Kind of Life, is a nod to both these moments of simplicity and to the significance of connection and friendship. This culinary narrative, a series of letters between chef Julia Child and her pen-pal, Avis DeVoto, is part of a long history of collaborations between Elliott Gyger and Jenny Duck-Chong, friends since university. Commissioned by one of Halcyon’s most significant supporters, Ian Dickson, for his partner Reg Holloway as a birthday gift, the piece was premiered in Halcyon’s 20th year and Elliott’s 50th.
Each of the works in The Dance of Life are as much a celebration of the growth and perseverance of the ensemble as they are a testament to the cultivated circle of musicians, artists and people who have become part of Halcyon’s community. Join Halcyon for a jam-packed concert of reminiscence and celebration.
The program features works by Kaija Saariaho, Rósa Lind Page, Rachel Clement, Alisha Redmond, Elliott Carter, Nigel Butterley, David Lumsdaine, Ross Edwards and Elliott Gyger.
PROGRAM
Nigel Butterley Nature Changes at the Speed of Life... (2014)
Ross Edwards The Forest from Five Senses (2012)
Elliott Carter Alba (1952) from Poems of Louis Zukofsky (2008)
David Lumsdaine Fire in Leaf and Grass (1990)
Alicia Redmond a dance with a jelly-fish (2022)
Rachel Clement fracture (2000)
Kaija Saariaho Ariel's Hail from The Tempest Songbook (2000)
Rósa Lind Page Claire de lune from Apollinairesongs (2007)
Elliott Gyger This Kind of Life: a culinary correspondance (2018)
Artists
Jane Sheldon soprano, Jenny Duck-Chong mezzo soprano, Jane Bishop flute, John Lewis clarinet, James Larsen cello, Rowan Phemister harp, Jo Allan piano, Jack Symonds conductor
The Dance of Life
Friday 20 October at 7pm
Choirs Rehearsal Studio, Walsh Bay Arts Precinct
Wharf 4/5, 15 Hickson Rd Dawes Point
The Choirs Rehearsal Studio can be found behind the STC Box Office, in the breezeway, opposite the Sydney Dance Company.
The 324 and 325 bus runs directly to Wharf 4/5 on Hickson Rd from near Town Hall.
Tickets $50/$35 senior concession/$30 student concession
Click here to buy. Online ticket sales close at 3pm on the day of the concert. Tickets will then only be via the door.
All enquiries: info@halcyonartmusic.com.au
Image: ‘Fireworks’ © Kathryn Cooper.
’Fireworks’ depicts a flock of starlings reacting to a bird of prey. Click on the link to learn more about it. Or read more about her fascinating work with starling murmurations here.
