11 May, 2016
Town Hall celebrates History Month with an organ recital
Just in time to celebrate the Adelaide Town Hall’s 150th birthday this year, a free community organ recital is programmed for Tuesday 24 May at 1pm as part of History Month.
Beauty & Power, featuring award winning South Australian organist Joshua Van Konkelenberg is the first community organ recital session since 2011 and Lord Mayor Martin Haese is pleased to invite people to join in an afternoon of organ music indulgence.
“The Adelaide Town Hall Auditorium is world-renowned for its brilliant acoustics and grand organ. This makes it the perfect venue for an organ recital, and for people to enjoy an afternoon of classical music,” said Martin.
“City of Adelaide became a UNESCO City of Music last year and this organ recital is just one way we are demonstrating our commitment to our Live Music Action Plan.
“The event is free, so anyone can join the audience in the beautiful Adelaide Town Hall Auditorium – what better way to spend an afternoon?” he said.
Award winning organist, Joshua Van Konkelenberg is a young South Australian and a regular performer at St Peter’s Cathedral.
He is a talented musician with an impressive resume of academic achievements, and accolades both in Australia and overseas.
Joshua’s performance will include works by JS Bach, Edward Elgar, Charles-Marie Widor and Cesar Franck and should not be missed.
Last week the Lady Mayoress Genevieve Theseira-Haese hosted a History Festival morning tea: ‘Our Past, Present and Future’ in the Banqueting Room at Town Hall with over 140 attendees raising almost $3,000 dollars for city-based charities The Magdalene Centre, The Mary Potter Foundation and MOSH Australia.
Other upcoming History Festival activities at the Town Hall include free tours, a virtual reality concert series by the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, and an interactive storytelling by Mayoress Agnes Wright. For the full program of 150th anniversary events and activities go to www.adelaidetownhall.com.au
About Joshua
Joshua van Konkelenberg studied piano at the University of Adelaide from 2001 to 2003, and the Australian National Academy of Music. In 2004, he gained First Class Honours in Composition, while also being Organ Scholar and Assistant Organist at Saint Peter’s Cathedral in Adelaide.
He moved to Melbourne in 2006 and worked as a freelance pianist before being appointed College Organist and Music Tutor at Trinity College. Relocating to London to study organ and improvisation at the Royal College of Music he earned the Master of Music with distinction in 2012, he also completed the Ph.D. in Composition at the University of Adelaide.
Joshua was awarded the Walford E Davies Prize for Dux of the Organ Faculty at the Royal College of Music, and has received grants from the Australia Council for the Arts and the Ian Potter Cultural Trust, an University of Adelaide Medal for Outstanding Academic Achievement, and an Australian Postgraduate Award. He currently teaches in Adelaide and Melbourne.
NOTES:
J S Bach (1685-1750) was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist and violinist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time. His organ works include the famous Toccata and Fuge in D Minor and Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, the Great Eighteen Chorale Preludes and Organ Mass.
Edward Elgar (1857–1934) was an English composer whose late 19th century works were characterised by bold tunes, striking colour effects and a mastery of large forms. He is accredited with inspiring a renaissance of English music.
Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937) was a French organist, composer and teacher. He is best remembered for his 10 symphonies for organ. Many individual movements from his organ symphonies have become standard elements in recital repertory including “Toccota” from the Fifth
Cesar Franck (1822-1890) was a Belgian-French Romantic composer and organist. His Symphony in D Minor, Piano Quintet in F Minor, String Quartet in D Minor and his organ pieces marked him as one of the post powerful French composers of the second half of the 19th century.