Concert collab to premiere pieces

CLASSICAL compositions both new and old will be celebrated as part a concert hosted by members of a growing grassroots organisation.

Set to be held on two weekends early next month, performers with classical initiative Expressions Music will soon put on the Spring Chamber Music Recital.

The initiative’s founder Michael Davey will be among the concerts’ three performers, and said it’ll feature two debuting pieces from an established Ballarat composer.

“We’ll have two premiering pieces by Jack Stacey, Ballarat’s very own pianist and composer, and there’ll also be a sonata by Johannes Brahms,” he said.

“On the first concert there’ll be the F Minor sonata, and the next concert there’ll be the E Flat sonata, both at the end and for viola. That’s the difference between the two concerts.

“The other piece on both days will be Addinsell’s Warsaw Concerto which Jack’s arranged for solo piano.”

With Davey on viola and Stacey on piano, the duo will be joined by Davey’s wife Emily on violin.

Expressions Music was founded in early 2021 with the aim of fostering classical musicmaking in the region.

Rather than being a ticketed event, entry into both performances will be by donation, with funds to go back into the organisation’s regular initiatives, classes, and concerts.

Davey said the upcoming performances will be a showcase of Expressions Music’s mission statement.

“It’s really about fostering and encouraging amateur musicmaking in Ballarat and beyond,” he said. “Music is one of those things that adds to our culture and without strong roots.

“By having these concerts entry by donation, it’s giving people a bit of a blueprint to learn an instrument to be able to put on a concert wherever they choose to do it.

“It’s about encouraging people to make music and to get people to come along so we try to make it equitable.”

Auspiced by Arts Access Victoria, the concert was the result of a Creative Inspiration Grant through the City of Ballarat and Regional Arts Victoria.

The Spring Chamber Music Recital concerts will take place at Ballarat Anglican Church’s Synod Hall on Sunday 3 and Sunday 10 September, with both concerts running from 2pm to 3.30pm.