Bangkok Update

From the Shrewsbury International School website, where I visited and taught:

Shaun Ng recently visited from Australia to lecture students and perform in our Khunying Sumanee Memorial Hall. Shaun played both traditional and modern pieces, including a moving rendition of Danny Boy, on a seventeenth century instrument called the Viola da Gamba.

I must say, I particularly like this picture of me. :)

Concert in Bangkok

D & M Music Studio is pleased to present

A Bass Viol Recital by Shaun Ng

On Friday, September 26th, 2008

at 7.30 pm at Thai German Cultural Foundation Auditorium

on South Sathorn Road Soi 1
For more information:

D&M MUSIC STUDIO
467 Soi Mahadthai 2, Ladprao 130 Road, Bangkapi, Bangkok 10240(Thailand)
Mobile: 081-682-8000 or 086-506-8000
e-mail: dm_music_studio@yahoo.com

Mongkol Chayasirisobhon D&M MUSIC STUDIO
e-mail: dm_music_studio@yahoo.com

French Club Play

French Club Play

We are proud to announce the staging of the UWA French Play, Eugène Ionesco’s Rhinocéros, in August 2008.

A sleepy Sunday afternoon in a non-descript French village. Two old friends drinking at a café. A rampaging rhinoceros. If you saw the Rhino what would you say? Would you maintain your integrity when your friends and colleagues join the herd? And most importantly is the Rhinoceros African or Asian, one or two-horned?

► Wednesday 20 August to Saturday 23 August, 7 pm
► Dolphin Theatre, UWA
► Tickets: $12 general admission, $10 (UWA Guild and Alliance Française Members), $9 UWA French Club members
► For bookings contact Kevin Wilson at frenchclub@guild.uwa.edu.au or purchase tickets at the Alliance Française

Le club français de UWA est fier de vous présenter
Rhinocéros de Eugène Ionesco, un drame absurde en trois actes. Ne manquez pas ce grand spectacle!

Although it doesn't say so on the information flyer, the main star of this play, Ilario Colli, also composed the music for the play. I've been working with him for the past few weeks. He's asked me to conduct the music he wrote as well as record it. It's been an extremely interesting experience, watching myself turning from conductor to recording engineer. I hope I will enjoy the end result. I will be watching the play later today and performing the music in a concert on Friday.

Oberlin

Oberlin is a little town south west of Cleveland, Ohio, USA. In this little town is Oberlin College. Part of this college is a very established music conservatory. In 2008, the conservatory held its 37th Baroque Performance Institute, an event dedicated to the study and performance of baroque music. This year's theme was " Music in Paris, 1632-1764: from the birth of Lully until the death of Rameau".

I was invited by Catherina Meints (who I met in Hawaii) and Kenneth Slowik to present lecture recital based on my thesis "Le Sieur de Machy and the French Solo Viol Tradition". Details on this recital are available on older posts in the blog.


I had the opportunity take part in many viol masterclasses by Catherina Meints. Here are some pictures from when I played La Boisson by Antoine Forqueray (1672-1745), possibly the most difficult piece ever written for the viol. As you can see, from my extremely relaxed attire, Oberlin was really nice and warm. The conservatory was however freezing!



Here you can see Catherina Meints demonstrating a passage from the Forqueray piece I just played. She is playing an original bass viol by Nicolas Bertrand. She also owns a wonderful collection of original instruments. I managed to visit her home and play some of the viols in the collection.

More details on my trip in the next post.

Back from BPI and Update

I had a wonderful time at the Oberlin Conservatory's Baroque Performance Institute. Unfortunately, I did not have my notebook computer with me to document the experience. I have finally got the photos from the event and will update this blog periodically with those photos. 

I am currently writing an article for the Viola da Gamba Society of America about the BPI that should appear in their newsletter some time in the next few months. Some members of the society reported that I appeared in their previous newsletter on their article on the Pan-Pacific Gamba Gathering. I hope to post this article on the blog when I receive it. 

Next month (August), I will be conducting a chamber ensemble in a performance of modern works by a local composer. I have yet to receive the score, but I am sure it will be an extremely interesting and exciting experience. A welcome change to all that early music. 

I am in the process of arranging concerts in Bangkok, Singapore, Perth and Melbourne. I hope it all works out. 

Discography

ArtsWA Artflight

I am happy to announce that my application for the Artsflight grant from ArtsWA has been approved! I will be flying off to Oberlin in a few days time. Other than the lecture recital, 'Beginnings', I will be taking part in as many activities as I can with Catherina Meints. I have already been assigned to work on some duets by Sainte Colombe with some of her students. Also, I will be receiving some instruction on the theorbo from Lucas Harris, who tells me there is a nice theorbo by Michael Schreiner at Oberlin that I can borrow. More information and pictures to come.

Beginnings

Beginnings
A lecture recital of solo French viola da gamba pieces.

Works by Hotman, Dubuisson, Machy, Marais and Sainte Colombe.

Date: 24 June 2008 (during the Baroque Performance Institute)
Venue: Kulas Recital Hall, Oberlin Conservatory, Ohio, United States of America.

Supported by:

Le Sieur de Machy and the French Solo Viol Tradition

Baroque Performance Institute

I have been invited by Kenneth Slowik, the artistic director of the Baroque Performance Insititute at the Oberlin Conservatory, to present a lecture recital as a part of the BPI. This would be my first performaince in mainland USA. I hope to devise a lecture recital around all the famous solo 17th-century viol composers, namely Hotman, Dubuisson, Sainte Colombe, Machy and Marais. Perhaps a 'best of solo viol' concert culminating in a chaconne would go down well.

While the Oberlin Conservatory has offered me a full scholarship to the event, I will need to find my way to Cleveland International Airport all by myself. I have applied for ArtsWA's Artflight grant to help with this. I managed to get 3 excellent letters of support from Suzanne Wijsman, Stewart Smith and Miriam Morris. Special thanks to them.

If I should be succesful in acquiring the grant, I will be using this blog to document the process, including the 30 plus hour flight from Perth to Cleveland, Ohio! That would certainly be very interesting. If I have an internet connection in Oberlin Conservatory, I would definitely post from there. I expect many, many, many photos.

Concert in Sydney

Voice and Viols
March 28, 3:30pm to 5:00pm

MLC Chapel
Rowley St, Burwood NSW

Professional Tutors from the National Viol School present their annual concert. Works by Dowland, Machy & Marais. New work by Chris Berensen. Timothy Chung, Counter Tenor, Chris Berensen, harpsichord. Louis Begin, Caroline Downer, Shaun Ng & Jennifer Eriksson, viols.

For more information, click here or here.