Kawai Piano Series to Be Showcased at QPAC This August

Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) proudly presents two special concerts within the annual Kawai Piano Series that will be literally 'music to the ears' of piano music lovers in QPAC's Concert Hall this August.

The first concert showcases one of Australia's best pianists, with a special ballet accompaniment, and the second will star the just announced winner of the Sydney International Piano Competition.

Head of Piano Studies at the Australian National Academy of Music, Timothy Young will perform the first concert in the series on Tuesday 7 August.

Young will challenge the audience with the virtuosic demands of Rachmaninoff's Études-Tableaux, followed by a piece from Stravinsky's Petrushka that will feature dancing by Australian Ballet rising star, Ipswich born Rudy Hawkes, choreographed by Lucas Jervis.

The second concert on Tuesday 14 August will showcase the brilliance and mastery of this year's winner of the Sydney International Piano Competition, Canadian pianist Avan Yu, who comes to QPAC fresh from winning the first place, after an exciting final round at the Sydney Opera House on Saturday 21 July.

Born in Hong Kong, 25 year old Yu was named winner of the competition, selected from 36 young international musicians in the 16 day contest. A piano student since the age of five, Yu was described as a consistent, polished and refined performer by contest commentator Gerard Willems, Associate Professor of Piano at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

The Kawai Piano Series offers audiences the opportunity to be part of a thrilling range of musical encounters showcasing pianos and piano playing at the highest level. The music presented is diverse and rich in its depth and technique.

Befitting the occasion of these two concerts, both recitals will be held in the Concert Hall in reverse mode where the audience is seated in close proximity to the performers.

Experience some of history's most seminal works for piano performed by exciting young national and international talent as part of the Kawai Piano Series. Book now at www.qpac.com.au or phone 136246.

Presented by QPAC in association with Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University

Kawai Piano Series Timothy Young and Rudy Hawkes

When: Tuesday 7 August 2012, 6.30pm
Where: Concert Hall, QPAC, Cultural Centre, South Bank, Brisbane
Tickets*: $16.50 to $26.50
Groups of 8+: $12/pp
Bookings: www.qpac.com.au or phone qtix 136 246

*Ticket price includes GST and Booking Fee. Please note transaction fees apply.

Program:
Stravinsky
Three pieces from Petrushka

Rachmaninoff
Études-Tableaux Op.39

Presented by QPAC in association with Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University

Kawai Piano Series Sydney International Piano Competition Winner's Recital

*Ticket price includes GST and Booking Fee. Please note transaction fees apply.

Program: Program to be announced shortly

Timothy Young – piano

For over ten years Timothy has been a Resident Artist and Faculty member at the Australian National Academy of Music and is currently Coordinator of Piano. In a wide-ranging repertory he performs regularly in recital as a soloist and in partnership with leading Australian and international musicians and ensembles. He is also a founding member of Ensemble Liaison, which is Ensemble in Residence at Monash University, Melbourne.

Timothy received his Bachelor of Music at the University of Melbourne with first class honours as a student of Ronald Farren-Price and Mack Jost. He then continued his studies in Europe with Lidia Baldecchi-Arcuri, receiving his Diploma with a rarely awarded distinction from the Ministry of Education and as dux of his year at the Nicolò Paganini Conservatorium in Genova, Italy.

A first prize winner of piano and chamber music competitions including the Premio Kawai-Tortona, the Palma d'Oro-Finale Ligure and the 1st Chamber Music Competition of Liguria, Timothy has performed in Italy for almost a decade. He was invited to perform works by Luciano Berio in the composer's presence and was a member of the contemporary Orfeo and Aulodia ensembles. He performed in numerous festivals including Chiavari, Bordighera, Ravello and the Accademia Chigiana in Siena.

Timothy is a Melba Artist, and has recorded many CD's. His most recent releases have received international critical acclaim and include a solo CD of the piano works of George Frederick Boyle, duos with violist Roger Benedict, violinist Ray Chen, soprano Cheryl Barker, and chamber works with Ensemble Liaison. He has also recorded with Darryl Poulsen, David Pereira and Ensemble Liaison for the Tall Poppies CD label- also to critical acclaim. For the radio Timothy has recorded for the RAI in Italy and in Australia for the MBS networks and ABC-Classic FM.

Rudy Hawkes - Biography

At the age of seven, Ipswich-born Rudy joined his local dance school, where he spent several years learning jazz, tap, and contemporary ballet. He studied at the Shayne McCormick Dance Centre and Brisbane Dance Centre before joining the Queensland Dance School of Excellence. He moved to Melbourne in 2002 to take up a position at The Australian Ballet School. In 2004 Rudy was selected to participate in a student exchange to New York and Toronto, taking classes with the American Ballet Theatre's Studio Company.

He joined The Australian Ballet in 2005 and was promoted to soloist for the 2011 season. Rudy has enjoyed working with many choreographers including Wayne McGregor, Graeme Murphy and Janet Vernon, Stephen Page and Stephen Baynes.

Lucas Jervies – Biography

Lucas is a dance maker for both the classical and contemporary realms.

Lucas's choreographic engagements include commissions by The Australian Ballet - 2005, Korzo Theatre - 2007, A.R.D.T International Benefit Gala - 2008, Scapino Ballet Rotterdam - 2008, 2009 & 2010, Noverre Society Stuttgart Ballet - 2009 & 2010, JACK Productions - 2010 & 2011, The Australian Ballet School - 2010 & 2011, Co Darts University for the Arts - 2010, Milwaukee Ballet - 2011 and Expressions Dance Company - 2011. With Robert Curran, Andrew Killian and Laura Tong, three senior members of The Australian Ballet Lucas co-founded JACK Productions in Melbourne to produce independent ballet-theatre.

Lucas trained at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School, The Australian Ballet School and is currently studying Directing at The National Institute of Dramatic Art.

Avan Yu – Biography (Winner of Sydney International Piano Competition 2012)

At 25 years of age, Canadian pianist Avan Yu has performed in recital and as soloist with orchestras on four continents, consistently captivating audiences with his extraordinary musicianship. He has already performed in venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Philharmonie in Berlin, the Nacional Auditorio de Musica in Madrid, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, and the Salle Cortot in Paris. In 2012, he will make his debut at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

Avan has won prizes at national and international competitions. He was awarded the Silver Medal and the People's Choice Award at the 16th Paloma O'Shea Santander International Piano Competition in 2008. In Canada, he first came to national attention by winning first prize at the Canadian Chopin Competition at the age of seventeen, and was the only pianist to win First Prize in both the Junior and Senior Divisions of the Missouri Southern International Piano Competition.

Avan has enjoyed a long-term relationship with the Vancouver Symphony. He first performed with the orchestra at the age of fourteen. After numerous reengagements, he was invited to be the featured soloist on the orchestra's first national tour of Canada in thirty years with appearances at the Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, Place des Arts in Montreal, Ottawa's National Arts Centre and Grand Théâtre de Québec. He was their guest artist to open the 2010/11 season with Music Director Bramwell Tovey conducting. He has also performed with orchestras such as the Dresden Philharmonic (under Rafael Fruehbeck de Burgos), the National Arts Centre Orchestra (under Pinchas Zukerman), the Slovak Radio Symphony, the Real Filharmonica de Galicia, the Neue Lausitzer Philharmonie, and the Xiamen Philharmonic in China, the Morroco Philharmonic Orchestra, the Victoria Symphony, the Windsor Symphony, the Ottawa Symphony and the Symphony Nova Scotia.

In the fall of 2009, Avan performed as soloist with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa under the baton of Pinchas Zukerman, followed by an encore performance with Yo-Yo Ma. Avan then introduced the Prime Minister who made a surprise appearance onstage at the annual fundraising gala.

His performances have been broadcast on many radio and television networks including WQXR New York, CBC in Canada, China Central Television and Radio, Radiotelevisión Española und Radio Nacional de España, as well as Bayerischer Rundfunk, NDR Kultur Hamburg and the Südwestrundfunk in Germany.

Born in Hong Kong and raised in Vancouver, Avan's principal teachers have been Kut Kau Sum, Ralph Markham and Kenneth Broadway, and Klaus Hellwig at Berlin University of the Arts.