News - report on Festival

This article, written by Keys Artistic Director Lyn Carr, was originally published in the Australian Music Centre's Update No. 145

On Sunday October 8th the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre became a bustling world of expectation as performers, composers and an interested audience gathered to celebrate Australian composition, a major component of the Keys National Festival for Australian Music. The climax was, of course, the winners presentation concert held in the evening, but the entire day saw a sense of purpose. Audiences witnessed fine performances from young musicians who were discovering new repertoire, expressing their own creativity and living their dreams. The Keys National Festival for Australian Music is undoubtedly unlocking the doors to Australian talent.

It was significant that winners in sections of competitive performance and composition came from Brisbane, Melbourne, Ingham, Rockhampton, Mooranbah, Gold Coast, and Toowoomba – reflecting the growth of this award-winning event over the past four years. The adjudicators, experienced and respected in their field, echoed previous sentiments that Keys is a unique and inspiring platform for our young artists to fine tune their performances and proudly showcase their talents at a professional level.

Of particular interest were the junior, intermediate and advanced compositions – these were performed with confidence and enthusiasm. The winning Junior Composition, Sirroco from Suite Arabesque, composed by 13 year old Alex Raineri, showed a maturity beyond the composer’s years. Lisa Cheney’s Lullaby – which won the Intermediate Vocal Composition category – displayed her considerable creative musical ability, highlighting an instinctive understanding and emotional insight for one so young. Rachel Merton, winner of the Advanced Composition category, showed a fine developing sense of structure and balance in her composition Reflections (violin and piano).

Pianoforte and vocal sections uncovered a depth of untapped and engaging talent, which augurs well for the future of Australian contemporary classical music. Repertoire was varied, showing willingness by young performers to discover the diversity that is the music of our time and place.

Three inspiring workshops complemented the program on the day, ‘Inspiring Performance’ conducted by Gillian Wills, ‘Key tools for the Digital Composer’ conducted by Karen Henderson, and ‘Piano Art’ conducted by Glen Carter-Varney which displayed original paintings, the inspiration for Glen’s newest suite of piano works, Summer Dreaming.

I look forward to the 2008 Keys Festival for Australian Music, which promises to continue to build and foster links in the Australian Music community.