The National Portrait Gallery will host the final CSO Australian Series concert on 25 October. Photo: Martin Ollman
A concert at the National Portrait Gallery on 25 October will complement an exhibition showcasing a dynamic suite of new portraits commissioned to celebrate the NPG’s 20th year.
Part of a unique collaboration between the NPG and the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, Triple Concerto is the final 2018 Australian Series concert, presented by Singapore Airlines, and will accompany the Gallery’s 20/20 exhibition.
This concert will see three of Australia’s most outstanding musicians showcase their skill and personal stories each through a piece of music written just for them. Rock-star bassoonist Matthew Kneale, harpist extraordinaire Meriel Owen, and the brilliant clarinettist David Rowden will all perform as soloists accompanied by the innovative Omega Ensemble.
NPG Curator Professor Matthew Hindson said: “If you come to the National Portrait Gallery, of course you expect to see portraits. In our final concert, we have three musical portraits featuring different instruments.”
Each soloist has been matched with a composer. The piece featuring the bassoon is by one of Australia’s emerging and highly sought after composers Holly Harrison. The beautiful work for harp is by Stuart Greenbaum. Following his recent success with opera in Germany, the final piece for clarinet has been written by Cyrus Meurant.
The Omega Ensemble is Veronique Serret (violin), Airena Nakamura (violin), Neil Thompson (viola), and Paul Stender (cello).
The NPG says that the portrait subjects – leaders and individualists invited by the Gallery – have been judiciously matched with artists, leading to the creation of distinctive contemporary artworks encompassing a variety of techniques and approaches to portraiture.
The subject of each commissioned portrait is an Australian who is recognised for the notable contributions they have made to society, across a range of fields, and include basketballer Andrew Gaze, playwright Louis Nowra, novelist and medical doctor Peter Goldsworthy, quantum physicist and Australian of the Year for 2018 Michelle Simmons, Queensland rugby great Tony Shaw, ballet dancer Li Cunxin and musician Richard Tognetti.
The exhibition runs from 20 October 2018 until Sunday 10 February 2019.
Triple Concerto is on Thursday 25 October, 2018 in the Gordon Darling Hall, NPG, 6:30 – 7:30 pm. A private out-of-hours viewing of the exhibition is included.
For more information visit cso.org.au or call CSO Direct on 6262 6772.
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