Reviews

Brisbane-born, but now Hobart-based Katie Yap has been busy! A Freedman Fellowship in 2022 sparked a wealth of composition, culminating in concerts in Melbourne not so long ago. In the audience was Dots+Loops Executive Director, Connor D’Netto, who vowed he would one day showcase Katie’s work in her home town. Dots+Loops (an artist-led non-profit) has a mission to encourage creative collaboration, combining classical and experimental music and bringing it to a wider community by presenting it in underground club venues and urban spaces.

Hayman Theatre’s The Watsons, a theatrical interpretation of Jane Austen’s unfinished novel, came as part of an accidental Jane Austen festival, with Plied and Prejudice playing Downstairs at the Maj, and Stirling Players Killing Katie, having Jane Austen as a theme. All three shows are offbeat and irreverent, with The Watsons a great blend of the contemporary and traditional.

Being a Ravel fan, I was interested to review this intimate concert presented in a delightful setting with tables, chairs and flickering candles, subtle lighting along with views of bubbling wine glasses and plates of culinary delights.

It graciously set the mood for an afternoon of sophistication a la Francoise, celebrating the 150th anniversary of renowned French composer Maurice Ravel's birth along with various composers connected to his lifelong experiences and artistic growth, and all complete with an on-screen translation.

James O’Donnell, Conductor, Organist and Teacher, previously Organist and Master of the Choristers at Westminster Abbey and now Professor of Organ and Sacred Music at Yale University amongst other musical activities as an international performer was guest artist this last weekend performing a relatively unknown work with a fascinating history by Belgian composer Joseph Jongen along with Saint-Saens classic Organ Symphony. Unfortunately I missed the performance of Bach’s famous Toccato and Fugue in D minor as it was only included in the concert the following day.