Music lovers had the opportunity to support the education of girls in Bangalore, India, while being treated to the tones of one of Western Australia’s most talented musical families at Infant Jesus Morley Parish recently.
The concert, held on 18 October, was supported by Catholic Mission and featured The Walker Trio, made up of acclaimed WA guitarist Ray Walker and his classically trained daughters, Jessica Gethin (violin) and Sophie Curtis (cello). All members of the Trio are leading musicians in their own fields.
Ray is one of the state’s leading professional guitarists, with more than 50 years in the industry. He has performed in duos with many world class guitarists, lectures at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) and is a recipient of an award by the Perth Jazz Society for ‘Outstanding Long-Term Achievement as a Performer, Educator and Mentor’.
Jessica Gethin is an accomplished violinist and one of the foremost young women conductors in WA. She is also chief conductor of the Perth Symphony Orchestra, an energetic music educator and WAAPA lecturer.
Sophie is a professional cellist, much in demand as a soloist and orchestral and chamber music musician.
The Trio performed with such passion, natural synergy and obvious enjoyment. The audience was privileged to be treated to an eclectic and diverse range of music, from a wide variety of genres.
The audience experienced the various exciting rhythms of tango and jazz and then, in the next moment, was enchanted by the beauty of arrangements of some of the best-loved pieces in the classical repertoire.
All were the Trio’s own arrangements, from JS Bach to Khachaturian, Karl Jenkins to Riverdance, with some of Ray Walker’s original compositions.
The concert raised awareness of the crucial need to educate girls, in particular in the developing world and, through education, to provide them with the means to raise themselves out of an otherwise sure cycle of poverty, abuse and deprivation. Specifically, the concert was held in support of the work of the Sisters of St Joseph of Cluny and Daughters of St Francis de Sales in Bangalore, who are caring for and educating girls in their Archdiocese who are deprived of their basic needs and fundamental rights.
Catholic Mission Director, Francis Leong, told the eRecord that the Walker family had been supporting Catholic Mission projects for the past four years and believed this year’s focus on girl-child education in India was particularly poignant for them.
“Jessica, in particular, is keen to raise awareness of women’s rights in countries where they are not respected,” Mr Leong said. “As an accomplished leader in her own field, she is very passionate about supporting projects that will provide opportunities for women and this was reflected in the heartfelt address she delivered during the concert.”
Mr Leong is also pleased with the timing of the event which occurred at a similar time to the Synod on the Family in Rome as well as the United Nations’ International Day of the Girl Child on 11 October which aims to promotes girls’ rights and highlight gender inequalities.
The concert was generously supported by Hitachi, which loaned its state-of-the-art short-throw projectors to enhance the experience and allow better information to be shown on the cause.