Monash University Performing Arts Centres’ (MPAC) program of captivating music, boundary-pushing dance-theatre, and classic performing arts continues this winter, across its stunning venues, the David Li Sound Gallery and the Alexander Theatre. Highlights include:
Collide unites three outstanding soloists in an ensemble that brings vibrancy, colour and stunning technical virtuosity to every performance. Formed in 2017, Collide has performed sold out concerts across Australia and have become renowned for their energy, enthusiasm and joy in their playing. Their innovative programming splash new colours onto classical works while celebrating new music by Australian composers.
Collide features pianist Yasmin Rowe who has earned critical acclaim as a soloist, collaborator and recording artist in England, China and Australia. Yasmin has appeared as a feature soloist with Pro Musica, Stonnington Symphony Orchestra and the Manchester Camerata as well as guest principal pianist with Orchestra Victoria and celeste player with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Yasmin will be joined by Yelian He – Cello and Joseph Lallo – Saxophone for a stunning afternoon of music.
Chinese-Australian cellist Yelian He is the winner of the 2009 Royal Over-Seas League String Competition in London and the Grand Prize and Audience Prize winner of the 2014 Australian Cello Awards competition in Sydney (now the Young Performer’s Awards). He has appeared in concerts at venues and festivals including Queen Elizabeth Hall, Bridgewater Concert Hall, Melbourne Recital Centre Elisabeth Murdoch Hall, Hamer Hall, Edinburgh Festival Fringe and many more. Yelian’s nickname is the “Kung Fu Cellist”, and teaches the Chinese martial art Wing Chun in Melbourne, made popular by Bruce Lee and the recent releases of the box office blockbuster “Ip Man” movies.
Joseph Lallo is a Senior Lecturer and Associate Director at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and Artistic Director of the Melbourne International Saxophone Festival. Passionate about performing new Australian music, he has commissioned and premiered over 60 works for saxophone. He is featured on Nat Bartsch’s latest album, Hope Renewed, a jazz reimagining of her ground-breaking classical release, Hope, and has recently spent time in the United States where he launched his new album, Traces, featuring all-new music for two saxophones and piano.
Collide is part of the 2024 Sundays in the Sound Gallery series, showcasing exceptional artists in the intimate and acoustically superb David Li Sound Gallery, on 5 May.
Eric Avery (pictured below)
Continuing the 2024 Sundays in the Sound Gallery series, MPAC presents First Nations violinist Eric Avery. Renowned for his exquisite voice, violin and dance, Eric Avery is an exceptional artist with a rich heritage spanning Ngiyampaa, Yuin, Bandjalang, and Gumbangirr cultures. Seamlessly weaving together the violin and composition, Eric’s artistic journey is a heartfelt homage to his ancestral roots. Guided by his family’s custodial songs, he revives ancient traditions, infusing his performances with the essence of his people. His haunting compositions often feature him singing and playing violin, predominantly in the Ngiyampaa language.
Eric’s exceptional journey has earned him international acclaim, sharing stages with luminaries including Yo-Yo Ma and Tina Arena. He has secured commissions and performances with prestigious names such as Camerata Queensland, Ensemble Offspring, the JACK Quartet, along with Australia’s foremost orchestras. In 2021 he was recognised as a Myer Creative Fellow, solidifying his role as a cultural ambassador and artistic visionary. Audiences can see Eric’s show on Sunday 16 June, in the David Li Sound Gallery.
Hold Me Closer Tony Danza (pictured below)
Get ready for a dance off with Queensland-based dance company The Farm bringing their bold, brash, and deeply seductive show Hold Me Closer Tony Danza to Monash Performing Arts Centres (MPAC) for four shows from 1 – 3 May.
Commissioned by MPAC, and making its Victorian premiere, Hold Me Closer Tony Danza is a humorous and immersive dance-theatre show that confronts a world driven by information overload. Tony asks how we can still connect with each other when we feel so far apart?
In line with their ethos, The Farm crosses art forms and genres to express what it is like to live in this time, on this planet. The Farm is based in Queensland with strong roots in Perth and Berlin. Hold me Closer Tony Danza confronts our modern world through the subversion of pop sensibilities, with an intensely satirical edge, commissioned by Monash University, Carriageworks, Dancehouse and the Keir Foundation for the 2020 Keir Choreographic Award. Taking place 1 – 3 May in the David Li Sound Gallery.
Bell Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (pictured left)
MPAC’s presentation of this performance is part of a national tour and one of eight venues in Victoria. MPAC’s presentation is one night only, and the only metropolitan location outside of the CBD.
Shakespeare’s classic comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is reawakened in this breathless production brimming with magic, mirth and mayhem. Bell Shakespeare has mastered the art of presenting Shakespeare in a manner that is accessible to the modern-day audience, while still endearing those who love the tradition. This production is quick as a shadow. Fast, funny and family-friendly, this is A Midsummer Night’s Dream reimagined, playing on 16 May in the Alexander Theatre.
Tickets are on sale now at monash.edu/mpac
Monash University Performing Arts Centres (MPAC) is the public performing arts and cultural arm of Monash University. MPAC venues are vital to the cultural life of the University, and act as a window to Melbourne’s south east community, welcoming hundreds of thousands of visitors to the university each year. MPAC seeks to connect, challenge and excite its audiences through the commissioning of unique works, along with curating a program that brings the best of local, national and international performing artists to its stages. MPAC is home to five venues, located at the Monash University Clayton and Peninsula campuses; the 561-seat Alexander Theatre, 130-seat David Li Sound Gallery, 150-seat jazz club The Count’s; with weekly gigs and restaurant & bar, plus the 1,598-seat Robert Blackwood Hall and 426-seat George Jenkins Theatre.
