If you’ve ever wanted to get into classical music, but the idea of sitting in a concert hall listening to Beethoven or Bach isn’t for you, head down to the City Recital Hall on June 7 for a show that will completely change the way you look at concertos.
Instead of a concertmaster in front of men and women in their best black tie, this performance will be headlined by Sonja Schebeck, a fire-taming violinist with an interest in fiery acrobatics. This will be a one-night-only performance of two Australian classical music pieces, Maninyas by Ross Edwards and the debut of Tale of the Firebird by Chloe Charody. Maninyas is considered one of Australia’s famous violin concertos, while Charody has worked with Schebeck since 2007 and has composed her piece for this very performance.
Schebeck is a graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, one of the country’s best institutes for classical music, and she has received multiple prizes including the Balmain Sinfonia Concerto Competition and Gisborne International Music Competition. Joining Schebeck onstage will be the Freestyle Orchestra, an international ensemble of musicians who play their instruments while performing circus tricks, acrobatic stunts, dance and physical theatre. Expect fire-breathing viola-players and violinists hanging from silks, complete with a range of string instruments. This is definitely not your average classical music gig.
Concertos on Fire is presented by Vivid Music, a part of the Vivid Sydney program which has over 150 shows over the course of the festival. Tickets are available now.