Join Ensemble Q on a guided journey around Britain through the eyes of the much-loved composer Ralph Vaughan Williams, exploring lesser-known masterpieces by some of the heroes of British music and sandwiched between the beauty of English folksong. This is no ‘normal’ chamber music recital though, there is running on stage, clinking of beer mugs, sounds of sea shanties and honouring the dead. This is a quirky, fascinating ride, a segue journey between each piece that creates a seamless experience through the back streets of London.

The New York Times wrote of Thomas Adès: "His music is arrestingly original… The theatrical element is written into the piece: a pianist, a cellist and a violinist, seated on stage, fend off the attempts of a wandering clarinettist to join them… All the efforts are repelled, until the work’s wistful yet quizzical ending… He has an engaging voice and audacious imagination."

Benjamin Britten’s brilliant Sinfonietta was his first published work, written for 5 winds and 5 strings at the age of 18 while he was studying at the Royal College of Music. The program also features the Phantasy Piano Quartet by Frank Bridge, String Quartet no 3 by Elizabeth Maconchy and Three Shanties for Wind Quintet by Malcolm Arnold.

Program
Vaughan Williams – Six Studies in English Folk Song (1926)
Elizabeth Maconchy – String Quartet No 3 (1938)
Thomas Adès – Catch Op 4 (1991)
Malcolm Arnold – Three Shanties for wind quintet (1943)
Bridge – Phantasy Piano Quartet (1910)
(VW5)
Britten – Sinfonietta Op 1 (1932)
Septimus Kelly – Elegy (1915)

Presented by Ensemble Q and QPAC
Recorded at QPAC’s Concert Hall for Digital Stage.

About Ensemble Q
Ensemble Q is celebrated as one of Australia’s leading ensembles. Proudly Company in Residence at QPAC, they have been selected as national and regional touring artists for Musica Viva, appear regularly throughout the year as featured artists on ABC Classic and have performed at major festivals including the Australian Festival of Chamber Music, the Queensland Music Trails’ Opera at Jimbour, Brisbane Music Festival, Brisbane Festival, Queensland Music Festival, Bellingen Music Festival, and George Town Festival in Penang.

They are regularly invited to perform at the coveted Ukaria Cultural Centre in South Australia and have a strong Sydney-based audience. Their core members are drawn from Principal and Concertmaster seats in the QSO and leading faculty of Queensland Conservatorium and University of Queensland. They conduct their major series in QPAC’s Concert Hall in partnership with QPAC, and their boutique Underground series is consistently sold out well in advance.

Ensemble Q also partners with Opera Queensland, 4MBS Classic FM, the Lisa Gasteen National Opera Program and the Queensland Choir in the formation of a training orchestra to support productions by these companies and provide paid student placements alongside the highest level professional musicians.