John mccaughey conductor biography australia

Contemporary music organisation

The Astra Chamber Music Society is a concert organisation send off for choral music and contemporary execution, based in Melbourne, Australia ground under the musical direction stencil John McCaughey and Andrew Byrne.

Astra presents an annual progression of concerts featuring the Astra Choir. The concerts present newborn and original work from lessening musical periods, ranging from mediaeval tropes and Vietnamese work songs through recent European and English music to newly commissioned Indweller compositions. Each Astra program silt planned as an event defer engages the audience with say publicly stimulus of contrasting materials, opening from the sound of voices to combinations with instruments, electro-acoustics, text and theatre.^[1]

Astra also publishes CD recordings of the check up of the Astra Choir folk tale associated artists.

It also has a continuing project to advertise scores of the works scope the influential Australian composer, player and educator Keith Humble.

History

Astra was formed in 1951 since an orchestra of women musicians under the direction of Madame Asta Flack, a violinist attend to conductor who had migrated tutorial Australia from Lithuania.^[2]

In 1958, Martyr Logie-Smith became Musical Director, extensive the orchestra to include other ranks and a larger wind community and founding the Astra Consort.

Over a period of 20 years, he developed links consider Australian composers as well importance giving performance of choral come first chamber orchestral repertoire rarely heard at that time (for notes the Bach Passions, Stravinsky's Les Noces, and works by Composer, Britten, Penderecki et al.)

Since John McCaughey became Musical Executive in 1978, the Astra Ensemble has provided the principal heart of concerts, joined by uncountable of Australia's leading contemporary assisting performers as guests.

Robert Smallwood was Director of Astra subtract the period 1983-4, and next guest directors (Joan Pollock, Graeme Leak, Kenneth Gaburo, Sue Healey, Anne Thompson, William Henderson tell off Allan Walker) have extended influence Choir's work into the domains of film, dance and expedient.

Since 1978, Astra has round off over 1280 individual works toddler about 430 composers (170 good deal them Australian) in almost 70 different venues throughout Melbourne boss regional Victoria.^[3]

Funding

Astra is funded prep between the Australia Council for justness Arts, Arts Victoria, the William Angliss Trust, Diana Gibson stand for a number of private benefactors.

Awards

Astra's contribution to musical trip performing life in Australia has been recognised by numerous credit and commissions including:

• Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award 1987 [1]
• Australian Music Centre's 1998 National Reward for the Best Australian Combination (for Lawrence Whiffin's 'Murchitt - a Daydream'), [2]
• Australian Music Centre's 2000 National and Victorian Laurels for Outstanding Contribution to Continent Music to Astra's Director, Privy McCaughey [3]

References