Last night I started a new chapter in the adventure of being a musician. I went to my first rehearsal of the Sydney Male Choir, as its new Musical Director. I take over after the 12th September, when the choir performs its final official concert under the direction of Alan Thrift (who has been the Musical Director for 20 years!) at the Sydney Town Hall as part of the 11th Annual City of Sydney concert.
This appointment, along with a couple of other affirmations, makes up a lot for the sting of being made redundant from my University position. I am very excited about the choir and its possibilities. The members have been tremendously welcoming and its very exciting to have an accompanist of the calibre of Eleanor Gair to work with. The choir is looking to expand its repertoire into Australian music as well as build on its already impressive sound and audience base. I'm am looking forward to this very much!
In other news, Laura's and my opera based on her story "The Dancing Mice and the Giants of Flanders" now has a couple of scene finished and worth being shown around. The story, which is included in the anthology Masques is a beautiful and slightly disturbing fairy story set in Flanders and celebrates the cultural life of that part of France and Belgium, particularly the giants that are the emblems of the local communities.
For an introduction to the giants as they are celebrated today, her's a great little video, despite the rather "stuffed shirt" style of narration:
More about the details of the opera as they come to hand, but we are starting on a very long and exciting journey with this one!
About Me
- Houston Dunleavy
- I was born in Northern Ireland, live in Australia, and am a composer, conductor and actor. I am Head of Composition and Production at The Australian Institute of Music and Musical Director of the Sydney Male Choir. I've been Visiting Composer at Universities and schools and my music has been performed in Australia, the USA, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, China, Italy, Ireland, Taiwan, Argentina, Mexico and Puerto Rico by many international concert artists and ensembles. My compositional interests include music for orchestra, the theatre (including dance), the voice and the church, the combination of electro-acoustic and acoustic resources especially in real time, the exploration of virtuosity and indigenous Australian music. I've conducted in festivals and concerts all over the world, as well as acted in too many professional theatre works to list here.
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