We are very excited to announce that as part of our participation in the Australian Festival of Chamber Music Advanced Winterschool we will be teaming up with online magazine, Re:hearsal Magazine, to bring you a behind the scenes look at the week ahead!

Starting this weekend we will be coordinating a social-media takeover and posting videos, photos and other content from the festival through the Re:hearsal Magazine facebook page and instagram (@rehearsal_magazine). Make sure you like and follow those pages for the most up-to-date content.

We will also be contributing a series of three articles to the magazine's "My Rehearsal Room" page. These articles will provide a more in depth exploration or our experience at the festival and our process of preparation and improvement throughout the week. The first article is online and available HERE.

Re:hearsal Magazine is a fantastic resource for tertiary students and young musicians hoping to learn more about the wider music industry. With a panel of expert mentors, they are there to answer your questions and offer some great insights in the world of music-making and self-improvement. Head to www.rehearsalmagazine.com and have a look through their vertiable trove of informative articles!

Ensemble Goldentree are very excited to announce that we will be travelling to Townsville, Queensland again to participate in the Australian Festival of Chamber Music Advanced Winterschool! This was a major highlight for the ensemble in 2015, exposing us to some of the best chamber musicians in Australia and the world in an immersive week of learning and exploration. This year we will be travelling as a duet (no piano!) with some very unique and challenging repertoire for horn and soprano. The festival runs from 29 July - 6 August, during which we will receive expert coaching, masterclasses and performance opportunities. We are very much looking forward to sharing this experience with you! Next week we will be making a very special announcement about how you can get a behind-the-scenes look at what we'll be doing at the festival - so stay tuned!

My first experience of Concert Conversations with Piers Lane certainly did not disappoint: “inside goss”, stories of life-shaping experiences, very high caliber performances and pumpkin scones. The pumpkins scones were most DEFINITLEY a highlight!

Valda Wilson, Soprano led our second private coaching of the program with a particular focus on the voice. Positive feedback has re-assured us all that our hard work is paying off. This may seem an obvious conclusion, but it can be hard to know if your intentions are being conveyed and interpreted truly by an audience. Such feedback can also help greatly with those pesky negative voices!

In the true style of musical lineage, Valda gave me some very helpful technical ideas and imagery offered to her by other singers and teachers. Through our time with her, she helped me to refine a number of aspects of our performance, including the frequent compromises in our repertoire: the creation of a beautiful sound and clear delivery of text, and balance within the ensemble of timbres, lines and text.

The evening concerts today were devoted to the music of JS Bach, with one addition of CPE Bach with some truly dazzling performances. It is immediately satisfying and inspiring to watch musicians so accomplished in their particular instrumental disciplines perform with such technical clarity and vibrancy. Watching them turn out a concerto, fugue or cantata with such ease inspires one to want to practice more, with a very clear purpose!

This morning we were treated to a master-class by internationally renowned harpsichordist, fortepianist and organist Neal Peres Da Costa. Several ensembles and soloists shared pieces by J.S. Bach, which led to some fascinating insights on baroque style, ornamentation, harmony and pulse. Neal was very generous with his time and shared a vast wealth of knowledge of 17th and 18th century music in particular. It was great to see performers loosen up as they experimented with playing passages in different ways, with Neal encouraging us to appear as though we are playing the notes for the first time in a seemingly improvisatory way. I was listening particularly closely as I’ll be playing a Bach Fantasia and fugue for my LMusA exam later this year!

There were no concerts today as the artists were given a well-deserved day-off from performing. This meant that after the masterclass we were free to explore the sights of Townsville, so we headed to the beach! There was a bit of a cool breeze so very few people were swimming, but we still enjoyed relaxing in the shade of palm trees, testing our Frisbee skills in the wind and sampling some interesting ice cream flavours including caramelised fig! I think we could get used to this lifestyle.

Today was our first public performance at the festival, presenting Schubert’s Auf dem Strom in masterclass with pianist David Selig. David was energetic and honestly enthusiastic about the music we were performing. His knowledge of the repertoire, and of the German language, was impressive and he was very encouraging, with some very useful advice on how to better interpret the music and produce a more engaging performance. Even in the short time allowed to us, it was a fantastic opportunity to polish and refine our work in front of an appreciative audience. We were touched by the positive feedback from those watching, who were impressed not only by the initial performance, but also by the opportunity to witness such a knowledgeable musician as David working to take us up another level.

Jacob was page-turning in rehearsal again this afternoon, in preparation for the evening concert at the Townsville Civic Theatre. He page-turned for both David Selig and Benjamin Martin in the first half of the concert, which included a very interesting (and challenging!) mixed ensemble piece, Vocalissimus. This work presented the same short Wallace Stevens poem in eighteen different movements, each written to display a contrasting viewpoint (recluse, formalist, lunatic etc.). We really enjoyed watching the musicians show off their versatility and the way the ensemble was able to capture so many different characters and moods.

The second half of the concert was devoted to chamber music inspired by the tango. These pieces saw unique, engaging and exceptional musicians thoroughly enjoying themselves in high energy entertaining performances. Unlike “regular” concerts, where an audience only sees the individual performers once, the festival structure allows audiences to become familiar with the performers, truly hearing and experiencing the differences and uniqueness of each individual. The festival has so far felt like a genuine community experience, as we get to know each performer more through not only their repeat appearances on stage, but also through our encounters behind the scenes.

Our early starts are paying off, with a productive rehearsal this morning on Arnold Cooke's Nocturnes. This song cycle in five parts is a new piece for us as an ensemble and seems an appropriate choice given its thematic content and the natural surroundings at present. We have been treated to some spectacular moonrises in Townsville, which have provided some literal inspiration for the first movement, The Moon. In addition, our proximity to the river and local birdlife has helped influence our textual and musical approach to the subsequent movement: Ascending We Hear The Larks, River Roses, The Owl and Boat Song.

Perhaps being surrounded by so many highly talented professional musicians has influenced our rehearsal technique, but I feel we have been taking a much more detailed approach to text and questions of ensemble balance and interaction. It has certainly been inspiring watching the creative process of some of the artists performing at the festival!

Our morning rehearsal was followed by a very interesting concert held in the St Margaret Mary Church, featuring two radically different works inspired by the seven last words of Christ (one by Haydn, the other by Eastern-European composer Sofia Gubaidulina). Both works were successfully meditative and profound and were seperated by an evocative performance of a Jewish prayer themed work (composed by Betty Olivero), and sung by Valda Wilson.

Jacob was back page-turning for the afternoon. This has proven an excellent opportunity to mingle with other artists at the festival and pick up some fascinating insights into the industry and chamber music circuit.

Alison and I took some time to explore the beachfront before returning to the rehearsal rooms for another rehearsal to finish the day, this time on Schubert's Auf dem Strom. Again, our approach has to me seemed more thorough and efficient, with the textual meaning of the work becoming more apparent to us with every extra moment spent in rehearsal.

Tomorrow we perform Auf dem Strom in our first public appearance at the festival, in masterclass with David Selig.

Festival photos and updates are posted regularly through our facebook and instagram pages.

This afternoon has been significantly more relaxed than yesterday, with no lessons or other engagements to attend. Jacob’s page-turning this morning was certainly a highlight (see Day #1 post), with the rest of our day devoted to the tasks of finding food, picking up a car and exploring as-of-yet unexplored parts of Townsville. Jacob did spend some more time in rehearsal, page-turning for more of the festival artists, but more to come on that later in the week!

With such a full schedule of artists, the logistics of rehearsal space and practice time are a challenge everyone has to cope with. Despite this, we’ve managed to get some quality time to rehearse and workshop our pieces in the spacious rooms available. With 8:30am starts, we’re certainly subscribing to the ‘early bird gets the worm’ philosophy (yes, even the soprano is rehearsing that early)!

Our day was rounded off with a beautiful evening of musical entertainment provided by the Camerata of St John’s. It was a delight to see Amy Dickson (saxophone) perform in the lead up to our coaching time with her later in the week. Island Songs, by Peter Sculthorpe, found wonderful voice in her playing and felt like a fitting musical accompaniment to the surrounding environment of Far-North Queensland.

Tomorrow looks to be another busy day as we prepare for our first public masterclass with David Selig (piano) on Monday.

For more images and updates from our experience at the festival and in Townsville you can follow us on instagram (@ensemblegoldentree) and on facebook (www.facebook.com/ensemblegoldentree)

Our first full day in Townsville certainly did not disappoint! We woke to birdsong and enjoyed our first view of the surrounding landscape. On top of this, the balcony of our accommodation is close enough to throw a fishing line into the beautiful Ross Creek! After a morning of yoga and vocal/horn warm-ups, we made our way by foot to the Townsville Civic centre; a pleasant 20 minute walk by the creek. Once there, we met the other winter-school musicians comprising of soloists, trios and quartets from all over eastern Australia. After introductions we were briefed about the week ahead as well as the perks of being a part of the Winter-school program, which includes free entry into all the concerts throughout the week performed by an array of outstanding local and international artists. After receiving a festival program and personal lanyards we were asked if anyone was happy to share a piece with the group, so we volunteered. Our performance of Winteregg’s ‘Three City Songs’ was well-received but we realised that performing in the Townsville heat is a bit of an adjustment from the conditions we’ve been playing in for the last few months!

We were joined by one of the piano trios for lunch at a local pub and all of us clicked instantly (as a side note the ‘Soup of the day’ at this pub was cold beer!) Despite this trio being from Canberra we were surprised to find numerous mutual friends between us, it’s a small world in the music world!

We were back to our rehearsal room soon after for our first coaching which was with pianist Benjamin Martin. In the hour we had with Ben he provided lots of great advice about the moods and characters required for the Winteregg movements as well as strategies to achieve these moods. He was friendly and humble but shared a great breadth of musical knowledge as well as some incredible sight-reading skills as he played excerpts of the piano part.

After our lesson we met a very friendly volunteer driver named Damian who was more than happy to give us a lift to the local shops (walking around for long periods of time in the heat is exhausting!) We picked up some groceries and walked home to a magnificent full moon on the horizon.

After a nice home-cooked dinner we headed back into the theatre for the opening night concert. The performances were diverse and brilliant to the point of being inspiring. After an acknowledgment of the traditional owners of the land with a stunning didgeridoo performance, we were treated to a Mendelssohn piano sextet, a beautiful performance by the Camerata of St Johns from Brisbane, and a recital of William Walton’s Façade-An Entertainment for cello, trumpet, saxophone, clarinet, flute, percussion and narration.

The highlight of the night for us was an accordion/violin duo titled Variations on traditional Scottish/Border Folk melodies arranged by James Crabb and played by James Crabb and Ike See. The musicality and charisma of these two players shone through and particularly showed off the capabilities of the accordion which was used for melody, harmony, accompaniment and even percussion! It was impossible not to smile and tap your foot along to this piece.

Saturday morning:

We had been advised to arrive at the rehearsal rooms at 8.30am to maximise our chances of finding an available room with a piano. We did this and it paid off! After a couple of hours of rehearsing we wandered over to the Civic Theatre for the first ‘Concert Conversations’ performance, where artists share with the audience some interesting background about their pieces before launching into them. As a piano player I had been asked to page turn for pianist and Artistic director of the festival Piers Lane at this concert. The work was a Sonata for piano and violin (transcribed for flute) by Debussy. It was an outstanding performance and I was relieved not to cause any page-turning disasters in the process!

After a busy couple of days making our final preparations for leaving we have finally landed safe and sound in Townsville! We received a blustery and cold farewell from Melbourne and were welcomed by a balmy tropical evening disembarking from the plane onto the tarmac. Thankfully, no issues with expensive instruments and luggage allowance limits!

AFCM volunteers made a great first impression, meeting us at the airport and taxiing our tired and hungry bodies to our accommodation to be greeted by our wonderful host. Whilst it was dark on arrival, we were very excited to already see some of the local wildlife from the balcony when a bandicoot appeared on its evening forage. We are certainly looking forward to waking up tomorrow to the view across Bicentennial Park and the mangroves below.

A quick dinner and cup of tea later and we’re ready to get some shut-eye before kicking of the festival tomorrow with our first coaching with pianist Benjamin Martin.

We'll be regularly posting on instagram & facebook with updates from our trip #goldentreegoestropical

Ensemble Goldentree are excited to announce that they will be travelling to Townsville, Queensland in early August 2015 for the Australian Festival of Chamber Music.

From 31st July - 8th August, Alison, Tim and Jacob will be participating in the AFCM Advanced Winterschool Masterclass program. During their stay, they will receive world-class tuition and masterclass opportunities from festival artists and will perform on Saturday 8th August in a special concert including all participants in the program.

We will be keeping a daily blog here, where we will post images and content from the festival. You can also like our facebook page and follow us on instagram (@ensemblegoldentree) for regular posts and updates.