From the Head of Music
From the Head of Music
It is with verve and pride that we welcome you to
the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School’s
performance of Choral Fantasy.
Our 2024 music major season spans almost 300 years
of orchestral and choral music, exploring traditions
stretching back to the Baroque period through to quite
literally today. Tonight's program offers six diverse
works, each showcasing the remarkable collective
prowess of the VCASS musicians and the extraordinary
acoustics of the stunning Melbourne Recital Centre.
We open with Edward Elgar’s rousing Introduction and Allegro, Op 47,
composed for string quartet and string orchestra. Daring and rapturous, this
music demands ultimate commitment from the performers, something our
Senior Strings have been nurtured with through the expert pedagogy and
musicianship of co-directors, Rachael Beesley and Josephine Vains. Through
months of weekly rehearsals our Senior Strings have honed and re-honed
every morsel, challenged to not only conquer the technical demands of their
individual part, but more so the sometimes precariously poised ensemble
and scintillating expressive outcomes.
Our second orchestral offering comes from the hugely influential French
tone poet Claude Debussy. Although originally imagined for piano duet,
Henri Büsser’s colourful arrangement of Petite Suite has etched itself into
the regular rotation of professional orchestras around the world. Leading
the VCASS Symphony Orchestra in 2024 is Melbourne based stalwart Mark
Shiell, whose generosity as an educator and skill as a conductor permeates
this sumptuous music.
Following interval, we share our 2024 world premiere commission Give
Us Cause from the pen of VCASS alumnus Jem Herbert. As a student at
VCASS, Jem was an eclectic and curious musician, a skilled singer, pianist
and composer, and a significant contributor to the culture of the school.
It is wonderful to hear this contribution continue and we are so grateful
that Jem has turned his attention and craft back to VCASS, building on the
strong bond with Mr Tutty forged over countless hours of rehearsals and
hallway conversations.