Central Coast Conservatorium of Music

Symphony Central Coast | Beethoven & Tchaikovsky
2024-09-22 14:30 - 16:30 (Australia/Sydney) | Central Coast Grammar School, Erina Heights, NSW, Australia
Beethoven and Tchaikovsky – Masterful!
Rising star and Central Coast Conservatorium student, violinist Kaito Deed, joins Symphony Central Coast as soloist for Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concert, in a concert that also includes Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony at Central Coast Grammar School on 22 September.
Soloist Kaito was the winner of the Adjudicator’s and People’s Choice Awards at the 2023 Symphony Central Coast Prodigies competition. Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto – a work for solo performer and orchestra, demands a mastery of technical, analytical, aural and inter-personal skills. It was initially met with mixed reviews but has since become a favourite among soloists and audiences. With lyric, folk-like melodies, a heroic cadenza, and a lively dance to conclude, this work is spirited and joyous, with bags of character.
Tickets from $20
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Vocal Department Classical Concert
2024-09-20 19:00 - 21:00 | Robert Knox Hall, 45 Mann Street, Gosford, NSW, 2250, Australia
Enjoy an intimate evening of classical arias, duets and more performed by Central Coast Conservatorium students of all ages in Robert Knox Hall, performed with an accompanist.
Tickets, $20.
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Adult Soiree Evening
2024-09-14 19:00 - 20:30 | NSW
Adult students of the Central Coast Conservatorium of Music will take to the stage at Robert Knox Hall for an intimate concert for family and friends.
From vocalist to instrumental musicians, we are proud to have a growing cohort of adult one-to-one music students at Central Coast Conservatorium of Music. Our Adult Soiree Concerts, held once a term, give our student who are aged 18 and over an opportunity to hone their performance skills and feel the enjoyment of playing or singing in front of a live audience with accompaniment.
Hear a range of musical styles and genres, from musical showstoppers and contemporary jazz numbers to classical pieces and pop hits.
From 7pm at Robert Knox Hall, 45 Mann Street, Gosford.
The concert is free for audience members. Participants can register to take part in the concert HERE

Daniel Herscovitch | Beethoven piano concert
2024-09-08 14:30 - 16:30 | Robert Knox Hall, 45 Mann Street, Gosford, NSW, 2250, Australia
Having performed Bach’s monumental Art of Fugue on tour, Daniel Herscovitch now turns his attention to Beethoven’s almost equally monumental Hammerklavier Sonata, in this intimate concert in Gosford’s Robert Knox Hall.
The program features some of Beethoven’s most unusual works: Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in E flat major, Op. 81a – known as Les Adieux or ‘The Farewell’ – was written between 1809 and 1810 and is one of the composer’s most challenging sonatas due to the mature emotions that must be conveyed as well as the technical difficulties involved.
This will be followed by his jeu d’esprit, the 5 Variations on Rule Britannia, and finally that collection of exquisite miniatures, the 11 Bagatelles, Op.119.
The Everest in Beethoven’s sonata output, the Hammerklavier Sonata includes his most expansive and profound slow movement, which is followed by a blistering fugal finale. Regarded in Beethoven’s day as unplayable, this sonata still posits unique challenges to all who attempt a performance of this masterpiece.
PROGRAM
Sonata in E flat major Op.81a (“Les adieux”)

Das Lebewohl: Adagio – Allegro
Abwesenheit: Andante espressivo
Das Wiedersehen: Vivacissimamente

Five Variations on “Rule Britannia” WoO 79
Eleven Bagatelles Op.119
Interval
Sonata in B flat major Op.106 (“Hammerklavier”)

Allegro
Scherzo: Assai vivace
Adagio sostenuto
Largo – Allegro risoluto

Tickets: $35
For tickets click HERE
About Daniel Herscovitch
Daniel Herscovitch studied with Alexander Sverjensky at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and Rosl Schmid in Munich. While based in Germany he performed extensively on the continent and in England and toured Australia three times. He also appeared at several international festivals including the Berlin Festival, the Zagreb Biennale and the Saarbrücken Tage der Neuen Musik.
Since returning to Australia he has been active in solo and chamber music, and has appeared at the Adelaide Festival of the Arts, the Mostly Mozart Festival, the New Directions Festival and the Festivals of Melbourne and Sydney. He was a regular guest artist at Roger Woodward’s Sydney Spring Festival and toured for Musica Viva and in New Zealand. He has appeared with Synergy, Flederman, the Song Company and the Australia Ensemble and has toured with The Seymour Group. He was a soloist in the first Australian performance of the Bartók Concerto for Two Pianos. He has appeared in concert with Jane Manning, Wanda Wilkomirska, Clemens Leske, Geoffrey Gartner, Vivian Choi, Carl Vine and Ole Böhn.
He has toured the USA four times, most recently performing Bach’s Art of Fugue. He visits Indonesia annually and his fifth European tour in 2019 took him to Singapore, the UK, Norway and Germany where he performed Hindemith’s Ludus Tonalis and included a residency at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.
His solo repertoire ranges from Purcell to Carter and beyond, and includes contemporary Australian, Asian, European and American works, several of which he commissioned and premiered, including works by Peter Dart and Brad Gill.
His recordings of repertoire from the 17th to the 21st centuries have been released on Tall Poppies, Toccata Classics, CSM, Continuum, Biodiversity, Heritage Records and ABC Classics labels. His recent CD on the Toccata Classics label of music by Roger Smalley was Editor’s Choice in the 2019 Awards issue of Gramophone. His recent CD of music by Peter Dart was praised in the US journal Fanfare as being “stunning” and “brilliant”. Two further CDs of music by Don Banks and Kate Moore have recently been released in the UK to critical acclaim. He is currently Associate Professor of Piano at The University of Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

The Emerald Ruby | Five Short Thoughts Composer Workshop
2024-09-07 15:00 - 17:00 | Robert Knox Hall, 45 Mann Street, Gosford, NSW, 2250, Australia
The Emerald Ruby – Five Short Thoughts for Solo Flute Workshop
Central Coast Conservatorium of Music welcomes multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and ABC Classic-commissioned composer The Emerald Ruby (aka Jen Hankin) back to Robert Knox Hall for a composition and performance workshop of her debut solo flute piece Five Short Thoughts for Solo Flute.
Released as an EP/video and sheet music collection, Five Short Thoughts for Solo was composed over a period of six months in 2019. It fuses the whimsy of Irish folk with the elegance of Western classical flute. These minimal arrangements feature an outpouring of emotion through meditative melodies. A salve for the soul and balm for the ears, this collection is a soothing escape to simpler times.
“I have always been one to struggle with my mental health, and in 2019 I was having a particularly bad year,” said Jen. “I had a long string of breakups, was working harder than ever, seeing no career growth or financial return, and was generally feeling pretty lost and sad. I wrote these pieces as a response to these overwhelming feelings I was struggling with.”
The Emerald Ruby will guide five selected students through her work, with each student performing one of the five pieces in front of a live audience in Robert Knox Hall, sharing her insights on the composition and performance techniques. There will also be a Q&A session, with opportunities for audience members to ask questions.
The Five Short Thoughts are:

Treading Water
Floating Through Time, Like a Leaf on the River
Grief for a Lost Future
Thinking at the Speed of Light
Sinking into a Missed Deadline

Tickets: $20, free for CCCM students

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About the Emerald Ruby
Imbued with the ethereal textures of folk music, ornate instrumentals, and bardic storytelling, the sonic pallet of multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and ABC Classic commissioned composer The Emerald Ruby share’s musical milieu with Sufjan Stevens, Joanna Newsom and Missy Higgins. Whimsical in nature, her gentle songs are juxtaposed by dark undertones cultivated in the chaos of late-diagnosed neurodivergence.
A kaleidoscope of influences nourish every performance from this multi-genre powerhouse; The hazy virtuosity of 18th-century French flute music, chaotic abstractions of a moonlit jazz jam, and trading traditional jigs and reels at a folk session are drenched with a mood only decades of musical adventures along Australia’s east coast can inscribe.
After graduating from the University of Newcastle in 2015 under the tutelage of Sally Walker (flute), Phillip Rutherford (composition), and Colin Spiers (composition) with a Bachelor of Music (Honors) and the Maurice and Betsy Sendak award for outstanding performance, The Emerald Ruby has journey down an unconventional path, Touring and recording extensively with the rock band’s Othrship, Cacti Moon, Lachlan X morris; folk bands The Button Collective and Vanishing Shapes and Ekstasis chamber music collective. Her prolific appearances in these acts have seen her grace stages at Falls Festival, Great Southern Nights, The Lismore Lantern Parade and Bulga Beats.
Since the release of Five Short Thoughts for Solo Flute, The Emerald Ruby has toured the collection across NSW and the work has been performed by flautist/composer Keyna Wilkins (Australia) and Sarah Jeffery (Amsterdam).
The Emerald Ruby was named the 2022 Dots and Loops Composer Fellow (mentored by Sally Whitwell, Conner D’Netto, Chris Perren, Vanessa Tomlinson, and Flora Wong), premiering a new work for percussion (toy drums, rainbow glockenspiel) and electronics (double gameboy, octave pedal, and otamatone) titled “H4LT THE HUSTLE/FROLIC 4EVA” alongside internationally acclaimed percussionist Nozomi Omote.
This was followed by a commission from ABC Classic to write and record a collection of Flute duets titled “Finding Fondness” alongside internationally acclaimed flautist Sally Walker which premiered officially at the 2023 Australian Flute Festival.
2023 saw her complete a fellowship in conjunction with Accessible arts NSW and Musica Viva Australia, shaping her beloved instrumental series “Folksy Dreams” into a sculptural installation, live show and workshop series. She is an Australian Music Centre-represented composer and published by Syrinx Music.
In 2023, The Emerald Ruby released the debut track Safety House from her EP Patchwork which was featured on Sydney’s FBI radio. 2024 will feature the conclusion and releases of multiple long term projects as audio, music video and sheet music including “Finding Fondness” (flute duets), “Folksy Dreams volume 3” (instrumental folk music), Patchwork (folk songs) as well as premier new commissions for concert series Backstage Music, Maitland Regional art gallery and Kathryn Bennett.

POWERED BY

Sophie Salvesani Vocal Workshop
2024-09-02 17:30 - 19:30 | Robert Knox Hall, 45 Mann Street, Gosford, NSW, 2250, Australia
Australian soprano star Sophie Salvesani, star of 2024 Opera in the Arboretum at Pearl Beach, joins us for a special vocal workshop and masterclass in Robert Knox Hall.
Sophie will perform two pieces and share her insights on preparing for opera roles. We will then invite selected vocal students from Central Coast Conservatorium to present a piece for Sophie, who will workshop with the students in front of an audience. The workshop will conclude with a Q&A, where the audience will be invited to ask Sophie questions.
Tickets: $20 (free for CCCM students)
CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS

About Sophie
Sophie Salvesani is a young, upcoming Australia soprano who made her operatic and role debut as Violetta in Opera Australia’s production of La Traviata at the Sydney Opera House in 2022. To begin 2024, Sophie returned to Violetta in Sarah Giles’ acclaimed production – a new, co-production between Opera Australia, Opera Queensland, State Opera of South Australia and West Australian Opera.
This followed both her professional and principal debut in 2019 as Maria in Opera Australia, GWB Entertainment and BB Promotion’s touring production of West Side Story, in which Sophie received praise from critics for her ability to “easily navigate the demands of the score” while ensuring “Maria’s journey from…dreamy lover to broken young woman is authentic as it is impactful” (Stage Whispers, Alex Armstrong 2019).
This production saw her tour not only Australia, but New Zealand and Germany too, in which she debuted in some of Europe’s most prestigious opera houses, Semperoper (Dresen) and Staatsoper Unter den Linden (Berlin).
Following this success, Sophie went on to play the role of Rosina in Opera Australia’s 2020 NSW School’s Tour of The Barber of Seville. During this time, Sophie was awarded the prestigious Australian Opera Awards Committee Dame Joan Sutherland Award.
With an invitation to join Opera Australia’s Young Artist Program in 2021, Sophie has since been involved in a number of productions, a highlight being her role debut as Donna Anna in their 2023 production of Don Giovanni. She has also covered the roles of Hanna Glavari in The Merry Widow, Princess Eudoxie in La Juive, Gilda in Rigoletto and most recently, Olympia in Les contes d’Hoffmann. In 2021, she was also fortunate enough to return as Maria in West Side Story, touring to both Perth and Brisbane.
On the concert stage, Sophie has performed with the Opera Australia orchestra on many occasions, most notably forHSBC Opera in the Gardens and Opera Gala at Uluru. She has also had the privilege of performing with Orchestra Victoria for BMW Opera for All, as well as with the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Dr Nicholas Milton AM for their A Star-Spangled Gala.
Sophie has recently enjoyed notable success in the finals of two of Australia’s most prestigious competitions, the Sydney Eisteddfod Opera Scholarship and the German-Australian Opera Grant. Having received 2nd place in the Sydney Eisteddfod Opera Scholarship and an encouragement award in the GAOG, she hopes to use these to undertake overseas study for the operatic stage.

Central Coast Concert Band | Winds of Change
2024-08-31 14:00 - 16:00 | Gosford Anglican Church, Gosford, NSW, 2250, Australia
The Central Coast Concert Band is thrilled to be joined by the Central Coast Conservatorium’s Symphonic Wind Ensemble and the Primary Wind Ensemble, to celebrate the times of change.

Sometimes we can only find our true direction when we follow the winds of change.

At Gosford Anglican Church, Saturday 31 August, 2-4pm.

TICKETS at https://www.trybooking.com/CTXNR
Tickets will also be available at the door.

Central Coast Philharmonia | Sunrise Mass
2024-08-17 19:30 - 21:30 | St John the Baptist Catholic Church, Blackwall Road, Woy Woy, NSW, 2256, Australia
Hear Central Coast Philharmonia Choir perform Ola Gjeilo’s stunning Sunrise Mass, accompanied by a string ensemble in this concert which will also feature Vaughan William’s Lark Ascending performed by Central Coast Youth Orchestra, plus special guests Central Coast Children’s and Youth Choir and Ebb & Flow.
The Sunrise Mass, composed by Norwegian-American choral composer Ola Gjeilo, is a masterpiece that has captured the hearts of audiences worldwide. Commissioned in 2007 and premiered in 2008, this stunning work has been performed by numerous ensembles and choruses to widespread acclaim. Gjeilo’s unique compositional style, influenced by both classical and cinematic traditions, has resulted in a piece that is both accessible and versatile. With nods to the great masters of choral music, such as Brahms, Britten, and Bach, the Sunrise Mass is a true celebration of the human voice.
The Central Coast Philharmonia are thrilled to bring this magnificent work to its upcoming concert series. This concert promises to be an unforgettable experience, with lush harmonies, soaring melodies, and a sense of spirituality that will leave you breathless. Join the choir as they come together to celebrate the beauty of choral music. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to hear one of the most captivating pieces of modern choral music.
