Astra Chamber Music Society
Encyclopedia
The Astra Chamber Music Society is a concert organisation for choral music and contemporary performance, based in Melbourne
, Australia
and under the musical direction of John McCaughey.
Astra presents an annual series of concerts based around the work of the Astra Choir. The concerts present new and original work from all musical periods, ranging from medieval tropes and Vietnamese work songs through recent European and American music to newly commissioned Australian compositions. Each Astra program is planned as an event that engages the audience with the stimulus of contrasting materials, extending from the sound of voices to combinations with instruments, electro-acoustics, text and theatre.
Astra also publishes CD recordings of the work of the Astra Choir and associated artists. It also has a continuing project to publish scores of the works of the influential Australian composer, performer and educator Keith Humble.
In 1958, George Logie-Smith
became Musical Director, extending the orchestra to include men and a larger wind section and founding the Astra Choir. Over a period of 20 years, he developed links with Australian composers as well as giving performance of choral and chamber orchestral repertoire rarely heard at that time (for example the Bach Passions, Stravinsky's Les Noces, and works by Bartok, Britten, Penderecki et al.)
Since John McCaughey became Musical Director in 1978, the Astra Choir has provided the principal focus of concerts, joined by many of Australia's leading contemporary instrumental performers as guests.
Robert Smallwood was Director of Astra in the period 1983-4, and other guest directors (Joan Pollock, Graeme Leak, Kenneth Gaburo
, Sue Healey, Anne Thompson, William Henderson and Allan Walker) have extended the Choir's work into the domains of film, dance and improvisation.
Since 1978, Astra has performed over 1280 individual works by about 430 composers (170 of them Australian) in almost 70 different venues throughout Melbourne and regional Victoria.
, Diana Gibson and a number of private benefactors.
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and under the musical direction of John McCaughey.
Astra presents an annual series of concerts based around the work of the Astra Choir. The concerts present new and original work from all musical periods, ranging from medieval tropes and Vietnamese work songs through recent European and American music to newly commissioned Australian compositions. Each Astra program is planned as an event that engages the audience with the stimulus of contrasting materials, extending from the sound of voices to combinations with instruments, electro-acoustics, text and theatre.
Astra also publishes CD recordings of the work of the Astra Choir and associated artists. It also has a continuing project to publish scores of the works of the influential Australian composer, performer and educator Keith Humble.
History
Astra was formed in 1951 as an orchestra of women musicians under the direction of Madame Asta Flack, a violinist and conductor who had migrated to Australia from Lithuania.In 1958, George Logie-Smith
George Logie-Smith
George Logie-Smith OBE was an Australian orchestra and choral conductor, music examiner, and music educator.He was born in Melbourne, to parents who had migrated to Australia from Scotland before he was born...
became Musical Director, extending the orchestra to include men and a larger wind section and founding the Astra Choir. Over a period of 20 years, he developed links with Australian composers as well as giving performance of choral and chamber orchestral repertoire rarely heard at that time (for example the Bach Passions, Stravinsky's Les Noces, and works by Bartok, Britten, Penderecki et al.)
Since John McCaughey became Musical Director in 1978, the Astra Choir has provided the principal focus of concerts, joined by many of Australia's leading contemporary instrumental performers as guests.
Robert Smallwood was Director of Astra in the period 1983-4, and other guest directors (Joan Pollock, Graeme Leak, Kenneth Gaburo
Kenneth Gaburo
-Life:Gaburo was born in Somerville, New Jersey. He served as a professor of music at the University of Illinois, the University of California, San Diego, and the University of Iowa. His notable students include James Tenney and Allen Strange...
, Sue Healey, Anne Thompson, William Henderson and Allan Walker) have extended the Choir's work into the domains of film, dance and improvisation.
Since 1978, Astra has performed over 1280 individual works by about 430 composers (170 of them Australian) in almost 70 different venues throughout Melbourne and regional Victoria.
Funding
Astra is funded by the Australia Council for the Arts, Arts Victoria, the William Angliss TrustJacobena Angliss
Dame Jacobena Angliss, DBE was an Australian philanthropist, arts supporter, and community worker.She was born in Epping, Victoria as Jacobena Victoria Alice Grutzner, daughter of Jacob and Frances Grutzner. Jacobena Grutzner married butcher and meat exporter William Charles Angliss at St...
, Diana Gibson and a number of private benefactors.
Awards
Astra's contribution to musical and performing life in Australia has been recognised by numerous awards and commissions including:- Sidney Myer Performing Arts AwardSidney Myer Performing Arts AwardsThe Sidney Myer Performing Arts Awards honour Sidney Myer a Jewish Australian businessman and philanthropist who established what is now the Myer Foundation. These awards seek to enhance the status of the performing arts in Australia and recognise outstanding achievement in drama, comedy, dance,...
1987http://www.myerfoundation.org.au/_115.asp - Australian Music CentreAustralian Music CentreThe Australian Music Centre fosters the development of an Australian music community by providing specialist support to its membership of performers, composers, sound artists, educators, students, and music specialists across Australia and throughout the world.The AMC is the Australian national...
's 1998 National Award for the Best Australian Composition (for Lawrence Whiffin's 'Murchitt - a Daydream'), http://www.amcoz.com.au/projects/awards/about_the_awards.htm#national - Australian Music Centre's 2000 National and Victorian Awards for Outstanding Contribution to Australian Music to Astra's Director, John McCaughey http://www.amcoz.com.au/projects/awards/about_the_awards.htm#national