Astra

Media and métier of contrasting kinds form a trilogy of events with new creations in SEPTEMBER, NOVEMBER and DECEMBER. The three performance landscapes bring different traditions into play: – the symphonic dimension of Graham Hair’s hour-long work in the first event; interactive cross-disciplinary performances between music, film and theatre in the second; solo virtuosity and chamber music in the third, set in an environment of new choral composition.

The September 16 concert celebrates the 75th year of Graham Hair, prominent Australian composer of the last half-century and Emeritus Professor at the University of Glasgow. His choral symphony The Great Circle sets a specially-crafted poem by Canberra poet Alan Gould in two large movements. Part I, “Into the South” is premiered in a chamber version with soloists, choir, 2 pianos and percussion. Shorter pieces give glimpses of the wealth of influences around Hair’s composing: Josquin, Stravinsky, Milton Babbitt and Roger Sessions.