Romantic Reveries

Join us for an afternoon of musical splendour featuring works from the Romantic era to the 20th century. The program opens with Wagner’s rousing overture to his early opera ‘Rienzi,’ followed by the enchanting Nocturne from Mendelssohn’s incidental music for ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream.’

Viola soloist Jamie Miles joins us to play Hindemith’s poignant ‘Trauermusik’ for solo viola, a piece composed as a tribute to the passing of King George V. He will then captivate you with his rendition of Paganini’s thrilling and virtuosic ‘Sonata per la Grand Viola’, showcasing the often-overlooked viola as a solo instrument. The afternoon concludes with Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 2 – a vibrant and spirited work which uses local folk melodies to create a distinctly Russian nationalist flavour.

Enjoy this diverse program of romance and reverie featuring both familiar favourites and lesser-known gems.

Soloist: Jamie Miles, Viola

Nineteen-year-old violist Jamie Miles is a second-year student at both the Australian National Academy of Music and the University of Melbourne (BMus), studying with Caroline Henbest. From 2021-2023, he was principal violist of the flagship Australian Youth Orchestra, and in 2023 was winner of the Melbourne Recital Centre (MRC) Bach Competition. Jamie was the only Australian competitor in the prestigious German Broadcasting Association (ARD) International Viola Competition in Munich in September 2023. In 2024, he was a finalist in the MRC Great Romantics Competition, and in 2022, he claimed second prize in the 3MBS Victorian Young Performer of the Year Awards. He was a featured performer in the 2024 Bendigo Chamber Music Festival and the 2024 Australian Youth Orchestra (AYO) Momentum Tour.

As a keen composer, Jamie has won several local competitions, including the Australian Guild of Music’s ‘UNLOCK’D’ contest, winning the Solo Instrument category. His Suite for Solo Viola has recently been included in the AMEB syllabus for ‘Certificate of Performance’ level. Jamie plays an 1899 Béla Szepessy viola, generously on loan from Thomas Chawner.

 

Conductor: Willem van der Vis