SCHEHERAZADE
Luke Severn conductor
Kyla Matsuura-Miller violin & Guest Concertmaster
Cynthia Holsworth flute
Copland – Fanfare for the Common Man
Vaughan Williams – The Lark Ascending
Chaminade – Concertino in D, Op. 107
Rimsky-Korsakov – Scheherazade, Op. 35
Commencing our 3rd concert is Aaron Copland’s dramatic Fanfare for the Common Man, written in 1943 to honour ‘…the common man, after all, who was doing all the dirty work in the war and the army – he deserves a fanfare’. Scored for brass and percussion, this will start our concert with a bang.
Kyla Matsuura-Miller is a Tokyo born, Brisbane raised violinist who in 2017 was the Emerging Artist with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, 2018’s Freedman Fellowship winner and 2022’s winner of the Homophonic Pride Prize. Kyla will play the lyrical violin solo in Ralph Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending. This work, a firm favourite with audiences world-wide is inspired by a poem by George Meredith and uses folk melodies to ‘…mingle with the sounds of the earth before breaking free and soaring to ever loftier heights.’
Our concerto for this concert is the Flute concerto in D Op 107 by Cécile Chaminade, who in 1902, joined the illustrious ranks of (male)composers who wrote examination works for the Paris Conservatoire. She was known for her memorable melodies and clear textures. The orchestra will be joined by principal flautist, Cynthia Holsworth taking centre stage. Cynthia is a Bendigo resident and enjoys an outstanding reputation as musician, Musical Director and pedagogue amongst her many accomplishments.
Completing this concert is Rimsky-Korsakov’s brilliant Symphonic Suite, Scheherazade. This work features dazzling and colourful orchestration, a fascination with the Orient and a musical retelling of some of the tales told by the beguiling Scheherazade to convince her husband over 1001 nights to let her keep her head on her shoulders.