From the refined European salon to fiery Latin dancefloors, the UNSW Chamber Ensembles and Tango Orchestra will take you on a dynamic musical journey.
Contrary to misconception, tango is not showy. The best tango musician is distinguished by their restraint in using effects and their ability to stretch a melody without sacrificing intonation or rhythm. Students learn to identify which effect is needed and when.
At UNSW, tango students learn from the source: Argentine tango written and scored by the maestros of the genre. Some hurdles to playing tango effectively are: unfamiliar articulation, phrasing (frasear), rubato, violin percussion (chicharra, tambor, lija, whip), and bass techniques such as syncope and arrastre. Overall, if students gain some knowledge of tango culture, while enhancing their technical skill and stage presence, a term of tango at UNSW will have been worth the effort.
Musically, this Tango Orchestra has it all: bandoneónes, violins, piano, double bass, viola and cello. As bandoneón players are scarce in Australia, flute, oboe and saxophone can be suitable substitutes – and we have those too.
Chamber music evolved from the European salon of the 18th and 19th centuries, exploring the musical possibilities of intimate conversations among individual players. The genre presupposes a high level of musical and technical expertise, with a range of responsibilities shared among parts, and this makes classical chamber music a unique challenge for modern performers. Tonight's program includes string quartet movements by Schubert and Dvořák, a violin-piano duo by Beethoven, a Debussy piano duet played by Two-Handsome, and original arrangements from the Undertale video game, played by 4-bit Guitar.
Jessie Guo // Piano
Yun Abbey Lu // Piano
Ying Shi // Piano
Maggie Ferguson // Bandoneón
John Napier // Bass
Avigahil Erlich // Violin
Julia Nadalini // Violin
Jonathan Lam // Violin
Rebecca He // Viola
Ketian Wang // Cello
Jessie Cai // Flute
Elizabeth Armour // Flute
Michael Anastassiou // Oboe
Dominique Mendoza Hurtado // Saxophone
Chi Chi Ireanus // Singer
Natalie Liu
Hayden White
Asher Tarbox
Hans Sangtoki
Thomas Wills
Nurhan Solbudak
Jason Kong
Nicholas Drozdowski
Reede Palmer
Jonathan Moran
Dylan Kontos
Caitlyn Purwa
Michael Guirgies
