Southern Cross Soloists Announce 2018 Concert Season

Mark your diaries now as acclaimed classical music ensemble the Southern Cross Soloists announce their 2018 season at Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC), with three specially curated Sunday afternoon concerts in February, July and November.

Comprising Australia's finest new generation of leading instrumentalists, each Soloist embodies the virtuosic and emotional range of their craft, while playing together as one in concert, conjuring truly memorable visual and aural experiences.

The Soloists will welcome new musicians, US cello soloist, Meta Weiss and European based flute soloist, Lina Andonovska in 2018 as they bid farewell to Pat Murphy, who has recently been appointed cello soloist with the Tin Alley String Quartet and Emma Sholl, who will welcome her new baby early in the year.

Southern Cross Soloists Creative Director, Tania Frazer said the Soloists' 2018 season program continues to challenge preconceptions of chamber music, masterfully blurring lines between genres, and bringing fresh new energy and meaning to music by some of the world's greatest past and living composers.

"We are delighted one of our concerts at QPAC will feature Miroslav Petkov, Principal Trumpet of the world renowned orchestra, The Royal Concertgebouw and considered one of the most dynamic trumpet soloists in the world today.

The Soloists will open the New Year in a spirit of reinvention, as they reimagine works by classical music greats; Vivaldi, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky and Ravel on Sunday 25 February 2018.

The concert titled Reimaginations will serve up a smorgasbord of musical delights, from Tchaikovsky's Mozart-inspired Rococo Variations, featuring new Southern

Cross Soloists cello soloist Meta Weiss, to Stravinsky's baroque-inspired Pulcinella Suite, and a refreshed version of Matthew Hindson's rock and roll oboe piece

Rush in honour of his 50th birthday, all finishing with Ravel's quirky and whirling tribute to the Viennese waltz, La Valse.

This concert will also feature the world premiere of leading composer and ABC broadcaster Julian Day's mesmerizing new immersive work for Southern Cross Soloists, Resound: Above and Beyond.

On Sunday 22 July 2018 Southern Cross Soloists will introduce Australian audiences to Miroslav Petkov, of The Royal Concertgebouw in their second concert entitled Star of the Concertgebouw.

Beginning with the precipitous virtuosity of the piccolo trumpet in Bach's second Brandenburg concerto, this concert will take audiences on a journey of emotion through Copland's melancholic Quiet City, and Prokofiev's passionate Romeo and Juliet suites.

Bulgarian composer Georgii Cherkin's foot-stamping Sevdana and Bulgarian Dance will lead into the ensemble's tribute to the great Leonard Bernstein's 100th anniversary, with Hindson's Homage to Bernstein, and Bernstein's own West Side Story.

The tempo increases with the final concert on Sunday 28 October 2018, The Virtuosos.

Audiences will be dazzled by displays of agile artistry when Southern Cross Soloists take them on a whirlwind program applauding pure virtuosity. From the lightning-fast fingers of flautist Lina Andonovska in Paganini's Caprice to the thrilling heights of Rossini's clarinet tour de force, this concert only continues to highlight the ensemble's spirited talent with Kodály's feverish Dances of Galanta, Žebeljan's folk inspired Three Goat's Ears and Rachmaninov's stunning variations for piano that channel the devilish soul of Paganini.

A special feature of this finale concert will be the world premiere of a new work by renowned Australian film composer, Bryony Marks.

"Transporting chamber music into the 21st century, the Soloists continue to deliver dynamic concert experiences of pure joy and exuberant energy in the intimate reverse mode of Queensland Performing Arts Centre's glorious Concert Hall," said Ms Frazer.

"In 2018 we invite you to experience this exciting season of concerts at QPAC that promise to thrill and awaken the spirit, and also celebrate the outstanding creative voices of Australian composers with new works by Matthew Hindson, Bryony Marks, Julian Day and Lachlan Skipworth.

"Also new in 2018, the Soloists will partner with Avid Reader Books for SXS Coffee Conversations. These free events will take place on the Friday night before each of our QPAC concerts and will be a fascinating opportunity for the audience to meet the 2018 guest virtuosos, composers and Soloists and gain insights about their lives and musical careers," said Ms Frazer.

A company in residence at QPAC, Southern Cross Soloists have earned a well-deserved reputation for artistic excellence. A flagship small arts company, both nationally and internationally, the Soloists have cultivated an Australian musical identity through their innovative performances and collaborations with virtuoso musicians from around the world.

Tickets for Southern Cross Soloists' 2018 season at QPAC are now on sale. To book go to www.qpac.com.au or phone 136 246.