March RESIDENCY: emma Sullivan
We are delighted to welcome bassist Emma Sullivan for our March Residency.
You can purchase tickets to individual concerts, links below. If you’d like to secure a ticket to all four, you can get a season pass here.
ABOUT THE RESIDENCY
Melbourne-based double bassist Emma Sullivan is thrilled to have the opportunity to be an artist-in-residence at Tempo Rubato for the month of March. Over the course of four Monday night concerts (March 7, 14, 21 & 28), Emma will present some of her favourite solo and chamber works for the double bass and will share the stage with an array of brilliant and inspiring collaborative musicians.
The residency opens with a solo bass recital focused on music composed for double bass by double bass players. Each work offers insight into the way these brilliant artists approach their instrument and the program showcases the expressive range and versatility of the double bass.
For the second recital, Emma is joined by cellist Michael Dahlenburg (Australian String Quartet) for three wonderful duos for bass and cello by Shostakovich, Edgar Meyer and Rossini. Pianist Stewart Kelly will also be a featured artist.
The third recital is a celebration of the string quintet and includes works for this instrumentation by composers from the medieval era to today. The program culminates with the delightfully operatic Gran Quintetto of Giovanni Bottesini.
The final concert of the residency is a celebration of Melbourne’s female and gender diverse bass community. This concert will feature an array of genres ranging from Melbourne Tango Orchestra to an electro-acoustic solo violone set by Chloë Sobek.
Monday 7th March
In our own words – works for solo bass
With Stewart Kelly, piano
The first concert of Emma Sullivan’s March residency at Tempo Rubato, In our own words, is a celebration of solo double bass repertoire, composed by double bassists. The works featured showcase the versatility and expressive range of the double bass and provide insight into the unique ways in which each of the featured artists approach their instrument.
Program
David Anderson
Four Short Pieces for Solo Double Bass
I Prelude
Giovanni Bottesini
Concerto No. 2 in a minor
I Allegro moderato
II Andante
Lloyd Goldstein
Deep Calls to Deep
A walk in the woods
Miloslav Gajdoš
Solo in A
Xavier Foley
Letting Go
Tuesday
David Heyes
Portrait for a Friend – A Tribute to Teppo Hauta-aho for Unaccompanied Double Bass
Teppo Hauta-aho
Kadenza
Monday 14th March:
Duos for Cello & Bass
For the second concert of her March residency at Tempo Rubato, Emma Sullivan is joined by her long-term friends and colleagues, Michael Dahlenburg (cello) and Stewart Kelly (piano). The program includes Rossini’s iconic duo for bass and cello, alongside works by Shostakovich and Edgar Meyer. The recital will also feature Amy Beach’s stunning vignettes for cello and piano.
Program
Dmitri Shostakovich
Five Pieces for 2 Violins and Piano,
arranged for Cello and Double Bass I Prelude
Amy Marcy Cheney Beach
Five Pieces for Cello and Piano
I La Captive
II Berceuse
III Mazurka
IV Dreaming
V Pastorale
Edgar Meyer
Duet No 2 for Cello & Bass
Claude Debussy
La plus que lente
Gioachino Antonio Rossini (1792 – 1863)
Duetto for Violoncello and Double Bass
I Allegro
II Andante Molto
III Allegro
Monday 21st March:
Rare gems for string quintet
The third concert of Emma Sullivan’s March residency at Tempo Rubato showcases rarely performed works for string quintet. The first half of the concert features four brilliant female composers from four different musical eras – Hildegard von Bingen (Medieval), Barbara Strozzi (Baroque), Louise Farrenc (Romantic) and Andrea Clearfield (21st century). The second half features a string quintet written by the “Paganini of the Double Bass”, Giovanni Bottesini. The expressive writing draws heavily from the Romantic Italian opera tradition.
Hildegard von Bingen,
arranged Marianne Richert Pfau
Three Antiphons,
III: De Virginum. O dulcissime amator
Louise Farrenc
Quintet for 2 Violins, Viola, Cello & Double Bass from Nonet, Opus 38
Movement III: Scherzo, vivace
Barbara Strozzi
Il Primo Libro de Madrigali, Opus 1.05: L’Usignuolo
Andrea Clearfield
String Quintet - Women of Cyprus
Giovanni Bottesini
Gran Quintetto for String Quintet in C minor, Opus 99
I Allegro moderato
II Scherzo. Allegro ma non troppo
III Adagio
IV Finale. Allegro con brio
Monday 28th March:
Women in Bass 2.0
Following the success of Women in Bass in 2019, the final concert of Emma Sullivan's March residency at Tempo Rubato is a celebration of Melbourne's female and gender diverse bass community. This concert will feature a broad array of artists and musical genres, ranging from the Melbourne Tango Orchestra (featuring bassist Chris Gelok) to an electro-acoustic solo violone set by Chloë Sobek and everything in between. The massed bass ensemble item will undoubtedly be the highlight of residency (for Emma, at least!).
About Emma Sullivan
Melbourne musician and writer Dr Emma Sullivan is the principal double bassist of Melbourne Chamber Orchestra and a regular casual musician with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. As a chamber musician, Emma has had the privilege of performing with such ensembles as the Australian Octet, Melbourne Chamber Players and Inventi Ensemble and at festivals including Music by the Springs and Port Fairy Spring Music Festival.
Emma also enjoys writing about music and is a contributor to online music magazine, Cut Common. A passionate educator, Emma relishes the opportunity to share her love of the double bass with her students. She is the proud founder of Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School Double Bass Day, which brings together bass students and educators from across Victoria. Emma’s playing and pedagogy is informed and inspired by her double bass colleagues, teachers and mentors, especially Michael Morgan, Jeff Bradetich and Thierry Barbé.