New video uploads

Spring greetings to you all,

I thought you would like to be kept abreast of recent uploads to my Youtube channel. The first is the third movement from the premiere of the Wind Quintet No.1. I spent a lovely afternoon taking footage of the beautiful Blackheath Creek which runs through the Kanimbla Valley. It’s one of my favourite spots and I think it suits the desired mood of the piece perfectly. I hope you enjoy!

Secondly, my diehard fans will have seen that a couple of months ago I uploaded the full concert performance of my 2016 opera Chang’E and the Moon. The whole thing was painstakingly subtitled by yours truly over several days, so in the future viewers can better follow the story. In my humble opinion, it was worth the re-listen, I’m still immensely proud of it!

Many Blessings, Rowen

2 concerts in April!

Happy March Equinox everyone,

I’ve been having a busy start to 2024 with preparations for not one, but two concerts featuring my music. Firstly, on Sun April 7th at 2pm, at the Glenbrook Baptist Church, I conduct the Penrith City Choir in a performance of contemporary choral works entitled With a Voice of Singing, featuring a new chorus from my oratorio-in-progress Albert Morris.

This concert will also contain 5 world premieres of new Australian music including pieces by Jane Andino and David Morris. It also features the amazingly talented soprano Julie Jong Eun Barber, newly arrived back in Australia from Europe. Some of you will remember Julie, as having played Nightingale in the premiere of my opera Chang’E and the Moon. Julie will perform my 2017 ‘Two songs from the Dream of the Red Chamber’ which is getting its first outing as a complete set. She’ll also perform two songs by the under performed Australian composer Roy Agnew.

Tickets: $25/$20/$5

https://www.trybooking.com/CPPTI

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The following Sunday April 14th at 3pm, you can join me in concert at the Hoskins Uniting Church in Lithgow, where I’ll be supporting the world-class talent that is local pianist Julie Adam.

In May, Julie will travel to Hungary to record Béla Bartók's 'Mikrokosmos' and his delightful early piano album entitled 'For Children'. In this preview performance before she jets off, Julie will present the complete Vols 1 and 2 of 'For Children' and a small selection from Mikrokosmos, as well as the Schubert Bb impromtu. I will join Julie to sing a few songs by Brahms, Schubert, and for the first time in public, will perform my own ‘2 Songs in the Modern Style’ .

Tickets: $30/$25/$15

https://www.trybooking.com/CPWMB

All in all, some fun little projects to keep me out of trouble. I hope you will consider joining me….

Esquisses for piano

Greetings to you all, on an introspective new moon day.

Thanks to those of you who supported my recent Blackheath recital, performing with the phenomenally talented pianist Julie Adam, and mezzo-soprano, Elizabeth Cooper. In a project to push my comfort zone, Elizabeth and I sang duets, arias and lieder, wonderfully supported by Julie. One of the project’s unexpected delights was having the opportunity to premiere three new short piano “sketches” - Esquisses in French - written especially for Julie.

Before relocating to the Blue Mountains in 2010, Julie Adam studied and lived in the UK, winning early a number of prestigious awards and scholarships. Her performing career as solo pianist has taken her to Europe and the USA and she has recorded extensively as soloist and ensemble player for the BBC and the ABC. Most notably, Julie is one of the foremost interpreters of the 20th century Swiss composer Frank Martin, having recorded his entire works for piano, available here on the ABC Classics label.

In short, Julie is a world-class talent, and someone I feel very privileged to write for. The Esquisses are short works based on just a few musical ideas, minimally developed. They arose from my desire to learn to work faster; to create pieces that I wouldn’t feel I had to fuss over endlessly. “Just sketch it and move on” was the theory. In practice, I can’t be quite so cavalier as all that, but it’s nevertheless been delightfully instructive to bring my works to Julie and discover how much variety can be created within small forms.

I hope you enjoy these live recordings from the day. Please forgive the odd ambient sounds. Here are my first three Esquisses for piano.

Rowen

Sonata for Horn and Piano EP Release

Greetings to you, on a glorious winter day here in Mt Victoria. It is with much pleasure and excitement that I can announce the arrival of the new recording of my Sonata for Horn and Piano, by local studio Elkwood DXD/DSD.

Featuring the marvelous Robert Johnson and Phillip Shovk, the album is available to purchase here in high resolution audio at NativeDSD, iTunes, Apple Music, and Tidal. Alternatively it’s available here for streaming on Spotify.

My thanks as always to the talented performers and to producer Craig Field at Elkwood Studios.

Happy listening!

A New Year's Update

As Chinese New Year is once more upon me, I thought it would be a good moment to take stock, put the seal on 2022, and to tell you about my future plans. As some of you will know, I recently decided to take a hiatus from choral conducting - in particular wrapping up 10 glorious years as the musical director of the Phoenix Choir Blue Mountains - in order to focus my energies more fully on composition. Of course, my major project for 2023 will be the completion of my new oratorio Albert Morris, however I also have a few more irons in the fire.

Fans can stay tuned for an imminent announcement about the release of a new commercial recording of my Sonata for horn and piano, soon to be available to purchase or stream at all the usual places. Recording took place last October on the stunning grounds of Elkwood Studio in Wentworth Falls, with the wonderful Robert Johnson, for whom the work was commissioned, and Phillip Shovk, who joined Rob to give the premiere performance in 2018.

And finally, I can also report on the recent success of New Music for Winds, where the premiere performance of my first wind quintet received a warm reception from the ever-generous Blackheath audience. My thanks, as always, go to the outstanding players who did such a fine job, and to the commissioners Penny and Greg for making it all possible. I will be making the sheet music for this work available from my site in short order. In the meantime, please enjoy an excerpt from the day with this recording of the 2nd movement.

Here’s to a prosperous and fulfilling Year of the Rabbit for us all!

Next Concert - New Music for Winds

After many false starts, I can finally announce the premiere of my Wind Quintet No.1, which will feature in a upcoming concert at the Blackheath Uniting Church on Sunday 30th October at 3pm. The quintet was commissioned by Penny Le Couteur and Greg Dickson and gave me valuable employment during the covid lockdown.

I’m extremely lucky to have secured the amazing talents of five truly outstanding musicians, all current or former Principals with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and the Australian Opera Orchestra. The lineup features Rosamund Plummer on flute, Conall McClure on oboe*, Frank Celata on clarinet, Matthew Wilkie on bassoon and Rob Johnson on horn. The program also includes music by Ross Edwards, Malcolm Arnold, Debussy, Francaix, Rossini and more.

Tickets $45 General Admission and $30 Hardship are available online at https://www.trybooking.com/CCSQE

*Please note, our previously advertised oboeist Linda Jane Stacy is sadly unable to perform for medical reasons, however we are extremely fortunate to have secured Conall McClure as replacement.

The Star of Bethlehem vocal scores now available

Happy New Year and welcome to 2022, everyone. I wish you all the very best for the year ahead.

The newest addition to my store is my recently published vocal scores to Josef Rheinberger’s Star of Bethlehem, bringing this delightful choral work to a new generation with my modern English translation, now available here in both choral score and vocal score editions.

Although my own choir’s plans to reprise the work last christmas was once again scuppered due to covid, congrats to Darwin’s Vocalective choir who recently gave a wonderful performance with orchestra using my new translation (and attractive vocal scores!).

Don’t forget also that my 2017 transcription of this work for Piano and Obbligato Winds accompaniment is available for your choir to purchase or hire. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me via this website if interested.

First Wind Quintet

I was supported during Australia’s first Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 by two new commissions. As well as the new oratorio Albert Morris, i was also lucky enough to write my first wind quintet thanks to a commission by generous Blackheath locals, Penny Le Couteur and Greg Dickson. We had one read-through with the players, only to have to reschedule the performance this year due to the second lockdown!

I very much look forward to being able to premiere the work in early 2022. In the meantime, to whet your appetite, here is a short excerpt from that initial readthrough…

Bulgamada 2019

I recently conducted the first Bulgamada: Big Sing. An initiative of Christine Wheeler and the Heathens Choir, Bulgamada means ‘mountain water’ in Dharug language, the indigenous language of Sydney and the Blue Mountains. Barayamari means ‘big sing’ which brought us together on 24 August, using culture, language and song to build and strengthen indigenous and non-indigenous relationships in the Blue Mountains.

Watch Christine and I talk about the project here.