Woodwind Day 2020
Sunday 13 September, 2pm-5.30pm
Online
Highlights
Come and join us for an afternoon of community and collaboration online! This is a free event, open to national and international participants.
The Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music at Monash University warmly invites high school and tertiary wind players, and wind enthusiasts of all ages and levels to participate in an afternoon of collaboration, conversation and masterclasses with a great line-up of inspiring artists. Our Woodwind Day is a great opportunity to get some feedback on VCE and AMEB repertoire, to hone your audition skills and to benefit from the insights of some top performers and teachers.
We will also explore some fresh ideas for collaborating and creating music online. We offer the following free open masterclass and warm-up activities:
- Double Reed warm-ups and masterclasses with Anne Gilby, oboe, and Leesa Dean, bassoon
- Flute warm-ups and masterclasses with Peter Sheridan and Lisa-Maree Amos
- Saxophone warm-ups and masterclasses with Niels Bijl and Lachlan Davidson
- Clarinet warm-ups and masterclasses with Nicole Canham
- Special presentation and panel discussion on creative collaboration online with Aviva Endean, Lisa Clarke and student performers from the Monash Clarinet Collective and Tintern Grammar clarinet ensemble.
Featured artists
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Lisa-Maree Amos
Flute
Lisa-Maree Amos is Principal Flute with Orchestra Victoria, principal partner with the Australian Ballet, Opera Australia and Victorian Opera. In her 30+ year career, Lisa-Maree has been Guest Principal Flute with both the BBC, Boston and Pacific Symphony orchestras, working with many legendary conductors, including Seiji Ozawa, Leonard Bernstein, and Bernard Haitink. Her performances in major international Festivals including the London Proms, LA Bach Festival, Aldeburgh, and Spitalfields have received critical acclaim. As a chamber musician she has recorded and toured throughout the UK, USA, Europe and Australia. As an educator she has given masterclasses in many international univeristies, is currently on staff at MCM, and has facilitated 8 seasons of her 3-day Flute Audition masterclasses in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
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Niels Bijl
Saxophone
Melbourne based Dutch saxophonist Niels Bijl has built an impressive career as performing artist and lecturer, with affiliations with all orchestras in the Netherlands as well as the New Zealand Symphony orchestra, all major conservatories in the Netherlands and abroad (Paris, Riga, Manchester, Melbourne and others). Highlights of his career include several international music collaborations with his AXES ensemble, the Aurelia Saxophone Quartet and his participation with Sir Georg Solti’s World Orchestra for Peace, per personal request of Valeri Gergiev. Niels resides in Edithvale, Victoria, and is currently affiliated with the Sir Zelman Cowen School of music at Monash University as a visiting artist.
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Nicole Canham
Clarinet
Churchill Fellow, Nicole Canham (clarinet and tarogato), is an award-winning and versatile musician who is committed to creating transformative arts experiences, and to building new audiences for art music. Her expansive and unique artistic practice reflects her diverse creative interests which include the commissioning new music, chamber music performance, and collaborations with a range of artists from outside the world of music including theatre, film, photography, visual art and dance and arts advocacy. Nicole has performed at festivals around Australia including the Castlemaine State Festival, Four Winds and the Canberra International Music Festival, and overseas in France, Germany, the UK, USA, Mexico and Belgium. Her discography includes recordings for Move Records, ABC Classics, The Anthology of Australian Music and Tall Poppies.
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Lisa Clarke
Clarinet
Lisa Clarke has worked broadly in music and music education since graduating from the Australian National University with a Masters in Philosophy (Music performance). Lisa’s work as a performer encompasses chamber and orchestral music. As a member of ‘Clarity’ Clarinet Quartet since 2003, she has performed around Australia and featured in ABC Classic FM’s Sunday Live, and the Castlemaine and Canberra International Music Festivals. Through her work in Clarity, Lisa has also commissioned works by Peter Sculthorpe, Elena Kats-Chernin, Ruth Lee-Martin, Ian Blake and Sandra France and produced two CDs for the Move Records label. She currently works with the Melbourne Opera Orchestra as both second and principal clarinettist. Lisa is also Head of Music – Instrumental Performance at Tintern Grammar, where she loves conducting two concert bands, two jazz ensembles, taking small ensembles, teaching clarinet and saxophone and classroom music.
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Lachlan Davidson
Saxophone
Saxophonist Lachlan Davidson loves creating, teaching and performing music. He graduated with distinction from The Victorian College of the Arts in 1983. Performing solos five times with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, lead Alto sax with The Australian art Orchestra and the Daryl Mckenzie Jazz Orchestra and many T.V. (Dancing with the stars/Australia-first 15 seasons) and concert performances (Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, John Farnham, George Benson) also on many CDs and films. He also teaches Saxophone and composition at Monash University and directs The Monash University Saxophone bigband (Saxband). His published compositions include music for big-band, solo Saxophone and other woodwinds, Saxophone quartet and songs. He has also been commissioned to compose for orchestra and various mixed ensembles plus several musicals.
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Leesa Dean
Bassoon
As a professional bassoonist, Leesa was principal bassoon of the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, a founding member of the Southern Cross Soloists and has performed widely with chamber groups and symphony orchestras throughout Australia and Asia. Her teaching history encompasses junior, middle and secondary school through to tertiary level tuition, both in private lessons, group and ensemble instruction, as well as for numerous music camps and events. Leesa is currently Head of Woodwind and Director of Bands at Westbourne Grammar School.
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Aviva Endean
Clarinet
Aviva Endean is a clarinet player, improviser, composer and performance-maker. Her work with sound spans a wide variety of performance contexts including experimental and improvised music, creating immersive sonic environments, new chamber music, and cross-disciplinary collaborations. Her debut solo release ‘cinder : ember : ashes’ featuring improvisations and original compositions was released on Norwegian label SOFA in 2018 to critical acclaim, with reviews speaking to Aviva’s innovation and virtuosity, and describing the work as ‘captivating, sophisticated, stunning, miraculous’ & ‘trance-inducing’. She is the recipient of numerous Awards including the prestigious Freedman Music Fellowship, a Greenroom award for best composition for dance (Token Armies by Chunky Move) and was a finalist for the Melbourne Prize for music in 2019.
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Anne Gilby
Oboe
Oboist Anne Gilby enjoys a distinguished career as performer and educator. She held the position of principal oboist with orchestras in Germany and Australia. Positions include Principal with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and she has been guest Principal with all six Symphony Australia orchestras. Academic positions include Head of Woodwind of the Victorian College of the Arts and Lecturer in the Edith Cowan University and the Monash University School of Music Conservatorium, with students professionally engaged nationally and internationally. Current research areas include effective tuition pedagogy for very young oboists. Anne is a past Chair of the Artistic Committee of the Australian Youth Orchestra Ltd. She served on the Music Board of the Australia Council, chaired the Artistic Committee of the Victorian Opera and was the founding President of the Australasian Double Reed Society, co-hosting the IDRS 2004 Conference in Melbourne Australia.
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Peter Sheridan
Flute
Peter Sheridan maintains an active teaching and performing schedule as a ‘Low Flutes’ specialist. As a performer he has recorded on Hollywood Cinematic Soundtracks for Paramount and Warner Bros. studios and was a founding member of the vibrant Los Angeles Flute Quartet in California for almost a decade. He has toured throughout the Southwest of the United States and has appeared as a guest soloist and chamber musician for a number of festivals and flute societies throughout the globe. As a music lecturer he worked for La Sierra University (Riverside, CA) and Santa Monica College, where he was nominated “Outstanding Professor 2007.” In Melbourne he has been a soloist with the Heidelberg Wind Ensemble and performs regularly with the Melbourne Composer’s League. Sheridan is an enthusiastic conductor and leads the Monash University Flute Ensemble. He has commissioned over two hundred compositions for the low flutes, and has made nine innovative recordings with the independent record label MOVE.
Schedule
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 2.00pm | Welcome Nicole Canham |
| 2.05pm |
*The following 6 breakout sessions will be run parallel, at the same time.
Double Reed Session 1: Warm-up and masterclass Anne Gilby, Oboe Session 2: Warm-up and masterclass Leesa Dean, Bassoon |
| Flute Session 3: Warm-up and masterclass Lisa-Maree Amos Session 4: Warm-up and masterclass Peter Sheridan | |
| Saxophone Session 5: Warm-up and masterclass Lachlan Davidson Session 6: Warm-up and masterclass Niels Bijl | |
| 3.35pm | Break |
| 3.45pm | Clarinet Session 7: Creative Collaboration Aviva Endean, Lisa Clarke and Nicole Canham |
| 4.30pm | Clarinet Session 8: Warm-up and masterclass Nicole Canham |
Being involved in a masterclass is a great way to prepare for your VCE or AMEB exams and auditions and get some valuable feedback. High school and tertiary students are warmly encouraged to submit videos of solo performances for the opportunity to be selected for coaching in one of the masterclasses.
To be featured in one of the above masterclasses
- Email a video of your solo performance either as a YouTube link, Dropbox link or Google Drive link to nicole.canham@monash.edu.
- Make sure to put “Woodwind Day: Masterclass Submission” in the subject line.
- A selection of videos will be chosen to feature in these online sessions.
- All are welcome to observe and participate in the discussions.
- Entries close 5pm 6th September.
Register now for Woodwind Day
Free attendance and participation
Registration essential: a Zoom link will be provided on receipt of completed registration form
For further information, email nicole.canham@monash.edu
Location: Zoom