Concert Program

Bright shards of light reflect from the water in our shimmering celebration of PFSMF 2020 Opening Night!

The Australian World Orchestra (AWO) brings together Australia’s finest musicians from home and around the world to celebrate the brilliance of Australian classical musicians and composers. We are thrilled to celebrate the easing of Melbourne’s lockdown by bringing together an ensemble of Melbourne AWO superstars to perform in this year’s virtual PFSMF.

As challenging as 2020 has been for artists all over the world, AWO is pleased to continue their work in nurturing young Australian talent through their Academy Program by providing performance opportunities to early career and pre-professional musicians, and we welcome Hamish Gullick from ANAM to the ensemble, and introduce virtuoso saxophonist Justin Kenealy for his PFSMF debut.

Both Schubert’s Trout Quintet and Elena Kats-Chernin’s The Sunshine Journal  take the listener on journeys through theme and variations with great swings in tempi. Elena’s exuberant collection of dances was commissioned in 2015 by the Stanleys as a celebration of happiness, laughter, and sweet nostalgia, and described by Dalia Stanley as “melodies that sparkle and radiate with joy.”

Warrnambool artist Rachel Peters transports us to the South West Victorian coastline, with her vibrant landscapes of rivers, lakes, and sea. Rachel is passionate about her love of diversity – in the land, history, and communities. Her works are a way of processing her life experiences, such as visiting Cambodia, or daily walks along the cliffs of Warrnambool.

The blending of colour, shadow, and found objects in her uniquely layered work, celebrate and form a sense of place. Rachel ponders deeper things, connecting people and land to their histories, and the restoration of relationships. Works may begin with a specific geographic place or community in mind, then develop into a visual story.