Not only will I be playing again so soon with my Letter Loves, Biddy Connor (viola) and Zoë Barry (‘cello), but we’ll be playing with the incredible Adalita and her amazing band, accompanied by the ethereal J.P. Shilo on the grand organ in the Melbourne Town Hall!
Come and check us out for the final night of Melbourne Music Week Ex-tended.
Tickets are selling fast and are available here.
While Covid-19 keeps wreaking havoc with the Australian music industry, I have the lovely opportunity to fill in for the wonderful Julia Fredersdorff for Latitude 37’s first concert for the year, Passions of the Soul on February 11th.
We’ll be playing a programme of exciting 17th-C Italian repertoire at Melbourne Digital Concert Hall, so you can join us live or tune in online.
Concert details are here.
Live tickets available here.
Digital tickets available here.
I’ll be finally reunited with my Letter String Quartet loves for two very special live shows coming up this January with our esteemed compadre Mick Harvey.
With support from J.P. Shilo, how could you miss it!
We’ll be at Memo Music Hall on Saturday 16th January. Tickets here.
AND The Corner on Sunday 17th January. Tickets here.
At the turn of the 17th Century, the violin, a new kid on the block, was emerging as a serious instrument for musical expression.
Just as they had been at the forefront of violin building, the Italians were trailblazing virtuoso performers, travelling the courts of Europe to show off their innovative new musical toy.
In my first performance in over ten months, Harken Well is thrilled to be playing at the stunning Port Phillip Estate for the Peninsula Summer Music Festival this January. I’ll be joined by very special friends Laura Vaughan (viola da gamba) and Hannah Lane (baroque triple harp) for a programme exploring the blossoming of the violin as one of the world’s most popular instruments.
Check here for details and bookings, and be sure to support other events at the Festival too- it’s been a harrowing year for the Victoria Music Industry, and it’s amazing that the Penisula Festival is making live events happen!
With huge thanks to Creative Victoria, I was able to produce studio recordings of three of my most beloved new pieces for baroque violin by Natasha Anderson, Alexander Garsden, and Samuel Smith.
You can stream or purchase them here:
The Target Has Disappeared for baroque violin and electronics (2018), Natasha Anderson
Chaconne for baroque violin (2019), Alexander Garsden
archive for re-tune baroque violin (2017), Samuel Smith
Recorded by Neil Thomason at Head Gap.
Edited by Alexander Garsden.
Mixed by Anthony Pateras.
These recordings were created on Wurundjeri Country. The artists acknowledge and pay respect to the past, present and future Traditional Custodians and Elders of this nation.
The Australian Art Orchestra has set up a mentorship programme, which I have the honour of joining as mentor, alongside many esteemed colleagues, friends, and collaborators. Anyone interested in learning about experimental improvisation with bowed string instruments, particularly from the renaissance and baroque, sign up here!
All details can be found on AAO’s website.
The Australian Art Orchestra handed me a shining light in a dark times for artists specifically, and the world generally, giving me the opportunity to make a video for their Solo Series.
Here is my solo improvisation for baroque violin, filmed and recorded by the wonderful Leo Dale at WeFo studios in the midst of a global pandemic.
As the entire human population of the globe is aware, we are living through an unprecedented global pandemic due to the Coronavirus. In mid-March, this event effectively shut down the Australian arts industry overnight. We have no idea when we will be able to perform publicly again.
Needless to say, all my planned performing activities are on hold indefinitely. I hope to be able to share new dates with you soon. In the meantime, along with all my incredible colleagues, I’m busying myself creating and uploading digital content, and linking to existing online content.
There are hundreds of thousands of Australians employed in the creative sector who need support at this time. I encourage those of you who are able to explore online content, and ways to remunerate the creators of that content for their time and expertise.
It’s always a pleasure joining Melbourne’s Renaissance Band La Compañia, and no less so that with fellow Central Victorian country kid and tenor-extraordinaire Daniel Thomson.
Don’t miss it! Details and ticketing information can be found here.
We’re heading up to Beechworth again, for another early Italian baroque concert, but this time with two violins. My friend Tim will be joining us for this special concert raising money for Wildlife Victoria. Please come and support a good cause.
Details at Harken Well or Facebook.
