Clemens leske biography samples

Stephanie Acraman

Voice

Coordinator - Voice

A highly sought after voice and stagecraft teacher Stephanie Acraman has taught through leading institutions in Australia and New Zealand, developing young artists in preparation for careers in the performing arts in classical, music theatre, jazz and contemporary music genres. 

An experienced arts leader, previous roles include Artistic Director for Co-Opera (South Australia) and Senior Lecturer, Head of Voice and Head of Performance Studies at the University of Waikato Conservatorium of Music (NZ) where she developed a leading course in classical and music theatre studies. Stephanie also conducts masterclasses with organisations such as State Theatre Company South Australia, State Opera South Australia, New Zealand Opera, Flinders Drama Centre, ANATS and various schools with a particular focus on regional connections.

Stephanie also teaches at the Elder Conservatorium of Music for the Classical and Music Theatre degree courses, and through Studio Voice a South Australian and online based studio for which Stephanie is the Director.

Artists Stephanie has worked with are now engaged in professional positions, young artist programmes and institutions around the world, including the Jette Parker Program, Manhattan School of Music, Curtis Institute of Music, Royal Central School of Speech and Drama London, Mountview Drama School London, New Zealand Opera, Opera Australia, Berlin Opera Academy, Opera North, Royal Opera Company (London), University of Cincinnati College of Music, National Opera Studio, St. Gallen Konzert and Theater, many being awarded with scholarships and awards.

As an artist Stephanie has performed extensively in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, Italy, Vietnam and beyond in many genres including Opera, Oratorio, Lieder and Art Song Recital, Dance, Musical Theatre, Jazz, CD and Live Radio Broadcast Recordings with piano, orchestra or big band.

Blackdown Farm is home to the Out West Piano Fest and is regarded as one of NSW’s most significant properties and one of the finest examples of Australian Heritage Architecture. The homestead is surrounded by 17 acres of beautifully maintained gardens and fields.

It dates back to April 1822 when Thomas Hawkins, a naval officer and pioneer settler, was appointed the commissarial storekeeper at Bathurst, travelling from Sydney to Bathurst selecting a 2000-acre land parcel which he called Blackdown. Accompanied by his wife, seven children and nine convicts, the original homestead was built by Hawkins in 1823-1824 and it remains part of the main homestead residence today. Additional outbuildings were constructed over time, including a mill, stables, coach house and servants’ quarters.

In approximately 1836, Blackdown became the site of the first vineyard west of the Blue Mountains and around the same time, many of the trees were planted, including the entrance avenue of English elms and Atlantic cedars. Over the course of time, with different owners the gardens were expanded.

In 1989 the owners at the time undertook a major restoration of the homestead, returning Blackdown to its near original condition, and planned and laid out the extensive Georgian gardens. The most recent restoration of the property was in 2008 by renowned architects Clive Lucas Stapleton and Partners of Sydney when it was owned by Australian artist Tim Storrier. The cavernous artist studio will be the sole venue for all concerts in the Out West Piano Fest.

One of the most beautiful features of Blackdown is the extensive gardens within 17 hectares of planted and maintained parkland. The Out Fest Piano Fest will stage a long table lunch under the crab-apple tree walkway linking the homestead to the in-ground pool and clay tennis court. The organic vegetable garden is filled with raspberries, strawberries, artichokes, asparagus and rhubarb and adjoined by a fruit orchard w

Category:Classical, New Music

Artist(s): Daniel Herscovitch and Clemens Leske (pianos), Jenny Duck-Chong (mezzo-soprano),  Geoffrey Gartner (cello), Sally Walker (flute/ piccolo), Alison Pratt (marimbas), Brad Gill (percussion)

Label: Toccata Classics TOCC 0592

https://toccataclassics.com

Reviewed by: Gwen Bennett

“Although well-known in some musical circles, Peter Dart is not a household name. This ear-opening CD clearly demonstrates that he should be.”

Peter Dart’s considerable background in music as performer, teacher and composer is    outlined in his biographical essay entitled Life as a Series of Discoveries: born in 1953, studies with Meale, Sculthorpe and Banks led to early successes then, disillusioned with the current trends of serialism and minimalism, he turned to clarinet performance in concert and opera orchestras. Another life change saw him as  head of music at Trinity Grammar School (Sydney), teaching, writing music and completing a PhD degree. Later, an about-turn to train for pastoral ministry. In all this  time, his music had been “simmering”, but little evidence of his compositional skills had reached the wider public. Until now.

Triptych (2011), a brilliant work for two pianos, will surprise and delight the listener with its dynamism, imagination and creativity. Inspired by texts from Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, the three movements are described as “panels” or “sound pictures”, as befits the visual nature of the title. The first of these, “Sirens”, begins softly then builds up, delicate filigrees alternating with agitated surges of sound, reminding us of     those seductive water maidens who lure sailors to their doom. The music is vivid and  invigorating. The second panel, “Circles”, depicts dancing girls on Achilles’ shield as described in the Iliad, energetic and exuberant in their almost perpetual movement with occasional rests from their activities; it’s quite jazzy in spots.

SONATA PROJECT 1

Yundi Li

Concert Hall, Queensland Performing Arts Centre

Wednesday November 1 at 7:30 pm

Yundi Li, laureate in 2000 at the Chopin Competition in Warsaw and the youngest performer to win that distinguished event, began a world tour in 2019. In that year, he presented sonatas by Schubert, Chopin and Rachmaninov. He’s back again with a new, all-Mozart program: the K. 331 in A Major with the Rondo alla turca finale; the just-as-popular K. 310 in A minor; and the K. 457 in C minor which prefigures Beethoven’s Pathetique, they say. These latter two exhaust Mozart’s output of keyboard sonatas in minor keys. As well, Li will give us the hefty Fantasia in C minor K 475 which was published simultaneously with the K. 457 work. That’s quite a solid night, exhibiting the kind of concentration that most artists avoid, and it’s particularly interesting coming from an artist not known for his Mozart. Li has recorded the delectable K. 330 Sonata in C Major and he played the A Major Concerto K. 488 with the Staatskapelle Dresden during a 2017 tour of Germany and China. But his most sustained efforts have gone into Chopin with a little spattering of Liszt. Tickets range from $59 to $179; mind you, I tried booking just now and was met with an ‘error’ message every time I followed directions to make a reservation. Nevertheless, what I do know is that QPAC will still charge its disproportionate booking fee, no matter where your seat is.

INAUGURAL PADEREWSKI TOUR

Friends of Chopin

Old Museum, Bowen Hills

Saturday November 4 at 7 pm

A group that’s new to me, the Friends are commemorating (a bit early) the Australian 1904 tour by Paderewski, the famous pianist/composer/prime minister of Poland who was the most famous of the post-Liszt virtuosi who came to this country to be met with a wave of riotous enthusiasm. As with most events presented at the Old Museum, details are there on the website, but scant.