And welcomes award winning guest Conductor – Stephen Chin
All of WollCon’s String ensembles will be combing forces to present a Strings Spectacular concert for audiences in Wollongong. Hosted at the St Marys School Hall, the concert will showcase all our string ensembles, the St Mary’s String Orchestra and include a finale performance under the expert direction of award winning guest conductor Mr Stephen Chin.
Showcasing the talents of WollCon’s Primrose, Llwellyn, Powell and BlueScope Youth orchestras as well as the Meyer Double Bass ensemble, the concert is an opportunity for all string students at WollCon to experience playing together in a much larger ensemble.
“Not only do the younger students get to learn what it’s like to play alongside the older students, they develop their group playing skills and technical ability and become so much more aware of their of their role in a larger ensemble.”
Guest Conductor Stephen Chin who is based in Queensland, is the co-founder of ‘Everything String’ founded in 1997 with his wife Ann. ‘Everything String’ provides music compositions to all levels of string players to develop a diverse range of musical styles. The works are either original compositions or carefully crafted arrangements. Importantly, a main focus is to create works that are interesting for each section of the ensemble.
“I like to write multilevel works where advanced, intermediate and elementary musicians can share the wonderful experience of making music together. For this concert, the more senior players will be challenged as they will be constantly be demonstrating precision and stamina to younger players. That is a huge responsibility for them. I think the younger players will be busy keeping on top of their notes and lasting the distance for the demanding rehearsal regime.”
Stephen is no stranger to WollCon – he was involved in a similar WollCon concert in 2015 which he remembers fondly.
“It was a truly memorable experience and I really saw how vital music is in bringing so many sectors of our local communities together.”
Last year Stephen was recipient of the National Award by the Australian Strings Association (AUSTA) in recognition for his outstanding contribution to the string community throughout Australia – an award given only once every three years.
“It is going to be such a wonderful opportunity for our students to learn from Stephen, perform his pieces and have him conduct as well. It will also be a really unifying experience for the String teachers here at WollCon” Said Scott.
The finale for the concert will involve almost 100 WollCon string musicians, playing two pieces composed by Stephen: ‘Rainbow’ and ‘Lux Angelis’.
The piece called ‘Rainbow’ is loosely built around the story of Noah’s Flood. Featured in the work is the dichotomy between the energy of the raging storms and the peaceful times that one may experience after going through all of that.
The second work, entitled ‘Lux Angelis’, which translates to Angelic Light, is a juxtaposition of the forces of light and darkness that pervade our universe.
CONCERT DETAILS
Sunday 13th August from 5 pm – 6:30pm
St Mary’s School Hall, 15 Harbour Street, Wollongong
Entry is by Donation.
MORE ABOUT STEPHEN CHIN
Stephen is currently Principal String Teacher and Director of Orchestras at Brisbane Grammar School, lectures at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music (Griffith University), is State President for the Australian String Teachers’ Association Queensland and directs the BEL Ensemble at The University of Queensland.
Stephen’s undergraduate training in both violin and composition were at Sydney University under John Harding and renowned Australian composer, and Peter Sculthorpe respectively. He also holds a Master of Music degree specialising in performance and pedagogy from Queensland Conservatorium of Music Griffith University, where he has also lectured. He’s been invited to perform with such groups as The ABC Sinfonia, The Badinerie Players, The Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra, The Queensland Symphony Orchestra, The Queensland Pops Orchestra and Corda Spiritus.
