The Fremantle Chamber Orchestra (FCO) will fill the resonant spaces of the Redemptorist Monastery in North Perth with the glorious sounds of symphonic music on Sunday 14 March, showcasing the extraordinary talent of WA musicians.
“We believe music has to touch your heart, rip you off your seats or help you get lost in your intimate thoughts, and above all, it has to be beautiful (as personal as that may be),” FCO Director Hans Hug said.
“We are performing at the Redemptorist Monastery once again as we treasure its outstanding acoustics and airy serenity, perched high on the ridge and with oodles of parking.
“We are immensely grateful for the support of the entire Redemptorist community at the Monastery,” he added.
Jen Winley will be conducting FCO for the second time with verve and expertise that Mr Hug says is not usually found in young conductors.
Ms Winley completed a Bachelor of Music Performance in Percussion at Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), graduating at the top of her class in 1999. She then moved to Melbourne.
For the next five years, she frequently worked with the Melbourne Symphony on both percussion and timpani, including tours to China and Russia and regularly with Orchestra Victoria. Ms Winley was in high demand as a freelance musician. She worked with the Academy of Melbourne, Adelaide Symphony, Tasmanian Symphony and WA Symphony (WASO) orchestras and did regular chamber music performances.
Ms Winley is passionate about music education and completed her Education degree in 2008. Since returning to Perth, she has been working as a music educator and ensemble director at All Saints College.
“I am also very excited that the amazing violinist Rebecca Glorie who crucially helped FCO emerge in 2005, is back as concertmaster together with some of the most accomplished WA musicians,” Mr Hug said.
The opening piece, František Xaver Richter’s early classic Symphony in G major, is a jolly starter and leads to Saverio Mercadante’s fantastic Flute Concerto in E Minor featuring flautist Michael Howell.
Mr Howell made his soloist debut with the FCO in October 2020, performing Mozart’s Flute Concerto No 1. A live recording of this performance is available on Mr Howell’s YouTube page.
Mercadante’s piece packs an abundance of sweet melodies, virtuosity, and drama. The romantic theme continues in Puccini’s luscious Crisantemi, followed by the rarely heard Serenade for Strings by Mieczysław Karłowicz.
The concert finishes with Mozart’s Divertimento K137, brimming with charm and wit.
Hans Hug, a passionate cellist, started the FCO in 2005, accompanying guitarist Milica Ilic, who had just graduated from the University of Western Australia (UWA).
The audience’s response was overwhelmingly positive, and given that there was no other chamber orchestra in WA (at that time), Hans decided that the orchestra should continue.
FCO provides performance experience to young professional musicians, advanced UWA and WAAPA students, WASO casuals, and freelancers and aims to enrich a broad audience through classical music.
“We try to create opportunities for young musicians to gain valuable performance experience and orchestral playing skills, and for outstanding musicians (of any age) to get the opportunity to perform a solo, something they otherwise wouldn’t get in WA,” Mr Hugg said.
Tickets are available for purchase at the door one hour before the concert. For further information, call 9335 6980 or 0438 933 250 or click here: www.fremantlechamberorchestra.com