(4.5 stars)
”After interval the Michael Haydn work was unveiled, and what a magnificent piece it proved to be. After an attractive introduction with organ weaving in between lively brass and strings, the choir enters for a jaunty Kyrie. Each of the three subsequent sections has a grandeur about the writing, aided by the three trombones and twinned trumpets and some virtuosic keyboard writing.”
Steve Moffatt, Limelight, 23 May 2022
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The 2022 Young Mannheim Symphonists NSW Intensive, presented by the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra, took place at the Santa Sabina College in Strathfield with a final concert at Hills Grammar School in Kenthurst last Saturday.
Students between the ages of 11 and 23 from right across NSW and the ACT.
The program was directed by orchestra co-artistic directors, Rachael Beesley and Nicole van Bruggen.
Participants plunged into masterpieces by Emilie Mayer, Mozart and Beethoven, and after four days of workshops, tutorials and orchestral rehearsals performed a public concert showcasing the ambitious repertoire they had prepared through the week…
The Hawkesbury Phoenix, May 2022
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Violist Suzie Kim of Point Clare was one of dozens of young people from all over the state to take part in the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra’s popular Young Mannheim Symphonists program in Sydney recently.
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Kim, 21, said it was unlike any program she had done before.
“It was quite different to what we experience at uni; that’s why a lot of students come back in successive years,” she said.
“It was a safe space to experiment with the knowledge you have.”
Kim, who attended Central Coast Grammar School, is now in her fourth year of studying for a Bachelor of Music Education degree at Sydney Conservatorium, specialising in historically performed performance.
“We take a piece from the classical period and try to replicate it as closely as we can to the composer’s intent at the time it was written,” she said.
“We learn from instruments available from around the time the piece was written and then we research context around it – when it was written, who by, and why.
“We consider the influences the composer was under and then collate all the evidence and make informed decisions on how to approach the piece.”
Central Coast News, Terry Collins, 6 May 2022
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The Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra has just presented its Young Mannheim Symphonists program, now for the second time in Brisbane, providing young Queensland musicians with the opportunity to be part of its unique youth orchestra initiative.
The 2022 QLD Intensive at St Peters Lutheran College in Indooroopilly from 10–14 April was directed by orchestra co-artistic directors, Rachael Beesley from Melbourne, and Nicole van Bruggen from Brisbane. Participants plunged into masterpieces by Emilie Mayer, Mozart and Beethoven and – after four days of workshops, tutorials and orchestral rehearsals – performed a public concert showcasing the incredibly ambitious repertoire they had prepared throughout the week.
The West End Magazine 29 April 2022
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The Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra has just presented its popular Young Mannheim Symphonists program in Sydney, culminating in a celebratory concert of Mozart, Beethoven and Mayer, in front of an enthusiastic audience.
The 2022 Young Mannheim Symphonists NSW Intensive took place at the Santa Sabina College in Strathfield, with a final concert at Hills Grammar School in Kenthurst on Saturday, April 30.
Students aged 11-23 attended from all over New South Wales and the ACT, plus three emerging artists from interstate.
Among them was cellist Nyah Cockle of Cobargo…
Bega District News, 9 May 2022
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For the first time in two years, 17-year-old musician Samantha Roberts performed alongside other young musicians to a live audience. Selected as the principal flute, Samantha performed a repertoire of Beethoven, Emilie Mayer and Mozart for the Young Mannheim Symphonists' Intensive Concert.
The concert followed a five-day intensive program which ran in Sydney from April 19 to 23, the program had previously taken place online due to COVID-19…
The Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra organised the intensive with a focus on training young musicians in historically informed performance.
Samantha said a highlight was learning how to bring the tone and colour of historical instruments into modern performance.
"Some of the professional musicians brought in their historical instruments which was really interesting," she said.
Samantha is currently in year 12 preparing major works for both music two and extension music.
Her dream is to study a bachelor of music specialising in performance at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music next year.
"I definitely want a career in music," Samantha said.
Sophie Bennett, Southern Highland News, 28 April 2022
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Amorous mischief in the Romantic & Classical orchestra’s 2022 return
“This unashamedly romantic program was a perfect vehicle for appreciating ARCO’s historically informed performance practice, with its rich, generous tone, in part derived from gut strings and unstinting vibrato. Amidst all these swoon-worthy serenades, the only thing missing were some potted aspidistras.”
Tony Way, The Age/The Sydney Morning Herald, 30 March 2022
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“Richard Gill’s dream of promoting varied and exciting music has been realised in the excellence of the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra. Last night we had an all string instrument concert which was refreshing and enlightening.”
Tony Burke, classiKON, 25 March 2022
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…the first program for the new year from Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra is a return to the music and the universal search for meaning and hope of artists and their audiences. While the rain is back in Sydney, Northern Serenades paints meadow landscapes of fresh blooms and gentle night breezes.”
“What is so joyful about watching Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra play, and what especially came through in this program of light and air, is their embodiment of the music, the clear pleasure they take in their art.
“ARCO musicians perform, creating an all-encompassing atmosphere in their concerts that is infectious. And, especially at this time, the relief of joy, hope, and new beginnings was palpable.”
Night Writes 26 March 2022
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⭐⭐⭐⭐ “An absolute tonic during dark times... Music where no section of the ensemble can hide, and these players set an impressive standard which never wavered throughout the evening."
Greg Keane, Limelight, 25 March 2022
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The Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra begins its 2022 Concert Season with the Northern Serenades tour which will take the orchestra from Kenthurst, NSW (20 March) via Newcastle (22 March) and Sydney (23 March) to Brisbane (26 March) and, finally, Melbourne (29 March)
Northern Serenades is a dream come true for lovers of string music. In the late-19th century, the serenade was the vehicle for exquisite writing by some of the biggest names of the era, including Edward Elgar and Hugo Wolf. These relatively brief pieces, among them some very well-known works, are filled with tuneful music that highlights the expressive way that string players were performing at the time.
The Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra’s co-artistic director Rachael Beesley who will direct this program from the violin, is looking forward to reinvigorating the full expressive potential of this late-19th and early-20th century repertoire…
Sounds Like Sydney 23 March 2022
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The Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra is returning to the Hills and is sure to impress.
Featuring the work of Elgar, Holst, Schumann, Wolf and Herbert, the Sunday afternoon 4pm concert at Hills Grammar School, Kenthurst is the orchestra’s first of the year and first of the series which will continue on to Newcastle City Hall, Sydney’s City Recital Hall, the Queensland Conservatorium in Brisbane and the Melbourne Recital Centre…
Hills to Hawkesbury Community News, March 2022
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Shauna Beesley shares her experience of arranging Robert Schumann’s Fantasiestücke, Op.73. The Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra will present the world premiere of this arrangement in March 2022 as part of the Northern Serenades tour.
“I had arranged Frauenliebe und Leben as a birthday present for my sister Rachael Beesley. It seemed that, when it was performed in 2021, the audience response was very positive. Subsequently, Rachael and Nicole were looking at other repertoire suitable for the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra, and asked me to arrange Fantasiestücke for them as a commission.
I didn’t know these pieces beforehand. So my first port of call was to learn the music by playing it, and then begin to decide how an arrangement for strings might work.
Over the course of several weeks, I put together a version for strings and clarinet. Since the decision to have a solo violin instead of clarinet, I’ve rearranged the accompanying parts for 1 violin, 2 violas, cello and bass…
CutCommon, 26 January 2022
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“A unique brand of classical music will return to stages across Australia this year following the announcement of a $560,000 Federal Government grant by Federal Member for Fairfax, Ted O’Brien, who made the funding grant official at a morning tea and recital last week at the Peregian Springs ‘The Pool Cafe’. A group of talented young musicians from the Young Mannheim Symphonists, mentored by the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra performed for a small audience…
The Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra will use the funding boost to significantly expand their national tour in 2022 and build their education capacity.”
Coolum Advertiser, 19-25 January
“…The Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra received a $560,000 Federal Government grant, announced by Ted O’Brien MP at Peregian Springs on Tuesday.
The funding will allow the orchestra to expand its national tour and offer education and training to the next generation of musicians.
General Manager and Co-Artistic Director of the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra, Nicole van Bruggen said it would help the music industry bounce back from the impacts of COVID.
‘Freelance musicians and arts workers have been really struggling over the past two years,’ she said.
‘This announcement is not only going to put food on their table, it also acknowledges that small and agile organisations such as the Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra are in a key position to pull the music industry out of the reality of this pandemic.’ …”
Sunshine Coast News, 12 January 2021
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“The Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra brings sweetness and light to its line-up with late-19th-century serenades from Elgar, Wolf and Holst (alongside a new arrangement of Robert Schumann’s Fantasiestücke by Shauna Beesley). The orchestra celebrates Vienna’s chamber music history with pieces by Eybler and Schubert, before an all-Mozart celebration later in the year. There’s even an Australian premiere of Michael Haydn’s Litaniae Lauretanae MH71 with The Vocal Consort and Australian Boys Choir.”
Paul Ballam-Cross, Limelight
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“The Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra has announced its 2022 season, which sees the HIP ensemble expand their geographical footprint, with mainstage performances in Brisbane and South Australia planned in addition to concerts in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and regional NSW, Victoria and Queensland.”
Hugh Robertson, Limelight
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“I really loved what you could do with this instrument: play chromatically, sustain notes via rolls, play the foundations of many chords orchestrally (or any part of a chord), produce thunderous energy and power as well as the gentlest of musical moments…”
Brian Nixon, Limelight
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⭐⭐⭐⭐"The entire performance was charming."
"Greatest Mozart II featured two works, beginning with Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet in A, KV478. Nicole van Bruggen played a beautifully seductive, mellifluous basset clarinet, supported by Rachael Beesley and Anna McMichael on violins, with Simon Oswell on viola and Daniel Yeadon on cello."
Clinton White, Limelight
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"The slow second movement [of the Berwald Septet] allowed for some gorgeous clarinet and violin phrases, and the prestissimo really sparkled!"
Clive Lane, classikOn
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