Liberation International Music Festival 2012
Wednesday 9th May – Sunday 13th May 2012
A breathtaking array of international musicians performed at stunning venues across the island for the fourth Liberation International Music Festival (visit www.liberationjersey.com to see the full programme of events that took place). The festival is run by Music In Action in association with the Jersey Academy of Music, and the academy was the centre for all rehearsals, accommodation, and educational work. The educational aspect of the festival fell into three main areas:
Friday 11th May, Noirmont Command Bunker – in the weeks leading up to the festival, four academy students wrote short string quartets based on the four movements of Gorecki’s String Quartet no.2. They had the incredible experience of working with the visiting string quartet of Harriet Mackenzie and Alexander Sitkovetsky, violins, Jennifer Stumm, viola, and Guy Johnston, cello, on their pieces before hearing them performed in the dramatic setting of the Noirmont Command Bunker. This was an incredibly powerful event, and an inspirational experience for all involved.
Saturday 12th May, Liberation Masterclasses – local young instrumentalists and singers had the opportunity to receive on-stage tuition from Victoria Simmonds and Mark Stone (vocal), Wu Qian (piano), and Alexander Sitkovetsky (violin), during a morning of musical masterclasses at the academy. The event also attracted members of the public and concluded with a short performance given by all involved.
Piano Masterclass with Wu Qian
Saturday 12 May, Pre-Concert Young Musicians Platform – the final educational event of the festival gave nine young pianists the opportunity to perform on the Opera House stage, presenting the complete set of movements from Debussy’s Petite Suite for piano duet, and Chopin’s Fantasie Impromptu. Their performance formed the ‘pre-concert’ event leading to the European Union Chamber Orchestra’s concert.
Liberation International Music Festival Launch Event
Wednesday 28th March 2012
An evening of music was presented to preview the incredible programme of concerts and events planned for the 2012 Liberation International Music Festival. At this launch event local young singer Evangeline Wavell gave a haunting rendition of Michael Head’s Ships of Arcady, and young cellist Iona Russell gave a lively account of Boccherini’s Minuet in A. The stage was then handed over to visiting musicians Alexander Sitkovetsky, violin, and Wu Qian, piano (pictured below just before the performance) who performed works by Beethoven, Chopin and Sarasate to great ovation. Visit www.liberationjersey.com for information on all the events on offer, and how to obtain tickets.
Spring Project Week: Multi-Piano Extravaganza!
March 11th-15th 2012
A packed Vermont Hall created an electric ambience for this varied concert of music for many pianos performed by over forty young pianists from the academy. Four grand pianos graced the stage, and students of all different ages and levels performed alongside the academy’s teachers and guest artistes.
The concert opened with the complete set of movements from Debussy’s Petite Suite, performed by academy students from the Upper Intermediate and Advanced departments, and then followed by a lively brass fanfare from a trio of young brass students led by Pippa Lumbard. The focus then shifted to students from the Lower Intermediate and Junior departments, who performed in various multi-piano combinations of duos, trios, quartets and quintets. The music was learnt in workshop sessions earlier in the week, and using popular classical and film tunes the various elements of melody, harmony, bass line and rhythm were divided up amongst the different players.
All the young musicians did themselves proud, and for some of the youngest students this was their first ever performance in front of an audience, and particular credit goes to them for their hard work and concentration. The concert concluded with academy piano teachers Jennifer Lee and Chris George performing Manuel De Falla’s Ritual Fire Dance, setting the scene for the two visiting guest artistes – Georgina Sutton and Emmanuelle Fleurot, the Asteria Duo. Following two extremely virtuosic solo pieces, they performed together Shostakovich’s Concertino for Two Pianos, and this was a performance marked by huge energy and gripping excitement, bringing the whole event to a rousing conclusion.
Our thanks go to the Jersey Arts Trust for their sponsorship of this event.