The Glover Concert 2004
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The 2004 John Glover concert THE JOHN GLOVER CONCERT was held on Saturday evening of 6th March in the Falls Park Pavilion. The audience were seated in the hall and surrounded by the finalist paintings. The spotlights softly glowed on the paintings and the intricate rafterwork was delicately outlined as the singers performed their magic. The programme encompassed music that John Glover would have heard during his lifetime as well as some works that were composed after his death.  The programme exhibited songs by Mozart, Handel, Brahms and Verdi. The highlight of the evening was the closing finale where all the singers performed a breathtaking version of Verdi's "Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves" as made so popular by "the three tenors". Jillian Sullivan, a noted soprano and musical director, originally from Tasmania but now residing in West Australia, brought several of her students and associates with her for the concert and festival. She brought with her Antony Hutchings (baritone), Nola Formentin (Alto) and Veronique Nicoll (Soprano). The other singers were Benjamin and Sharyn Martin, originally from Tasmania but now residing in Melbourne. Ben has a lovely tenor voice and Sharyn is a soprano. They have been in great demand for performances and are now living in Melbourne to further their singing careers. The accompanist was Angela Brinkhoff, a Tasmanian pianist who has performed extensively in many cities around Australia as soloist and accompanist. Coincidentally, she is also a cousin to lead singer Jillian Sullivan. Angela played on a Beckstein concert grand piano that was kindly lent for the occasion by a local Evandale couple. The concert was a wonderful success as it is not often such professional performers can be heard together in a small village, especially in such unique surroundings. It is envisaged that another concert will be held next year in the same venue. On the Sunday and the Monday, concerts and workshops were held in Evandale. The concerts were aimed to give local community choirs performance exposure and the chance to enjoy the variety of styles on offer. The workshops were open to members of the public and suitable for singers with no formal training or singing background. On offer was a Gospel workshop run by Maria Lurighi and Andrew Legg of the Southern Tasmanian concert choir and "Opera in a Weekend" workshop directed by Jillian Sullivan of West Australia. The Gospel workshop culminated in a concert of gospel works and was voted a great success by all participants. The community choir concerts were held in the beautiful histoic churches of Evandale and commenced with "The Meander Men" getting the audience cheering and stomping with their sea shanties, drinking songs and Irish laments. Singcognito provided a contrast with Native African songs and more modern songs by Billy Joel. The Evandale Singers in conjunction with the soloists from West Australia and Evandale's very own opera singer Diana Briffa provided yet another change of direction with exerpts from Handel's "Dixit Dominus". The Monday repertoire consisted of some young talent of the future with "The Fellas" singing a'cappella with a variety of modern songs. This group of young men from years 11 and 12 from the Launceston Grammar School were joined by their singing coach and music teacher, Mr. Geoff Clarke. The singers from the "Opera in a Weekend" also presented the results of their workshop and showed what can be achieved by singers with no formal training in such a short time and the assistance of the professional singers from West Australia.. The John Glover Society wish to thank Harpy Productions and the Evandale Singers for the organisation of a wonderful weekend for music lovers. The John Glover Society Inc. PO Box 129 EVANDALE TAS 7212 |