Violist Tahlia Petrosian to perform in ANU Chamber Orchestra in Canberra

An innovator and visionary, renowned violist Tahlia Petrosian is transforming classical music in the 21^st century.

A soloist, chamber musician, creative producer and member of the world-famous Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, Tahlia is also the director of the KLASSIK underground project that started in 2016.

The idea came to Tahlia when she saw the concert hall next door in Leipzig, Germany being used as a venue for popular music and rock concerts and thought it would be a perfect place for classical music concerts.

“I think it's important for classical music to become more experimental in presenting by diversifying how we present ourselves. A lot has changed after the pandemic. While some people couldn’t wait to go back to concert halls to watch live performances, others didn’t want to go back at all. So, we need to diversify ways in which people can enjoy high-quality classical music performances.

“It is the collaboration of classical music with other art forms such as video and light installations as people don’t usually associate them with traditional classical music. A documentary on the project is being made and will be presented at the International Orchestras’ Conference in Poland later this year.”

As part of the KLASSIK underground project, Tahlia has worked with several artists including Annie-Sophie Mutter, Joshua Bell and Andris Nelsons.

Tahlia will be visiting Canberra in August 2023 for a music residency by The Australian National University (ANU) and Canberra Symphony Orchestra (CSO). She will also be performing in the Chamber Concert: Violist Tahlia Petrosian with ANU staff and students on Friday 18 August.

During the visit, Tahlia will deliver workshops for both the ANU String Performance students and the CSO Kingsland program participants, and present the Canberra Symphony Orchestra Llewellyn Series Concert Talks on 16 and 17 August giving audiences an opportunity to share her vision for the role of classical music in the contemporary world as well as deliver a workshop for CSO Kingland Fellows, all of whom are also ANU students.

The residency has been put together by flautist and senior ANU Senior Lecturer Dr Sally Walker who shares a special bond with Tahlia as both of them successfully passed the highly competitive auditions to play with the Gewandhaus Orchestra - Sally from 2003-06 and Tahlia from 2012 to the present day.

They will be playing together for the first time and performing as Concerto Soloists in Bloch’sConcertino for Flute, Viola and Strings, as a highlight of the 18 August Chamber Concert, as well as Hoffmeister’s - Duet no.1 in G for Flute and Viola, and - together with CSO Concertmaster Kirsten Williams and ANU Cello teacher Rachel Johnston - Mozart’s Flute Quartet No. 3 in C major, K.171/285b and Kats-Chernin’s Consolation.

“I am looking forward to the chamber concert performance with ANU staff and students at the ANU School of Music. It’s an enriching experience for me to make music and perform with my colleagues and friends,” Tahlia says.

“I think it's essential for all educational institutions to continue to have visiting fellows as the interaction between colleagues, the exchange of ideas and experiences is invaluable.”

For the 18 August Chamber Orchestra, Tahlia will be performing with ANU staff and students, featuring flautist Dr Sally Walker, violinist Kirsten Williams (CSO Concertmaster), Rachel Johnston (former member of Australian String Quartet) and the ANU Chamber Orchestra conducted by Tor Frømyhr (CSO Principal Violist).

Ahead of Tahlia’s upcoming Chamber Concert, Dr Sally Walker said, “We are eagerly awaiting hosting powerhouse Tahlia Petrosian in Canberra. Given Tahlia’s brilliant and innovative perspective on concert performance, we anticipate coming away from her residency inspired and perhaps thinking about the post-pandemic delivery of music a little differently.”

With a repertoire ranging from early music to works composed especially for her, most notably Elena Kats-Chernin’s “Night and Now” Concerto, performer, academic and music educator Dr Sally Walker has toured internationally with the Berlin Philharmonic and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestras. She was the Principal Flute of the Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss and has performed as Guest Principal Flute with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Kammerakademie Potsdam, Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra (on period instruments) and has a long-standing association as Guest Principal Flautist with the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

One of Australia’s leading violinists, Kirsten Williams has performed widely as a soloist, recitalist and chamber musician, in concert and on ABC radio. In 2019, she was appointed Concertmaster of the Canberra Symphony Orchestra (CSO).

She was a member of the Royal Opera House Orchestra at Covent Garden and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, touring and recording widely. On returning to Australia, Kirsten was appointed Associate Leader of the Australian Chamber Orchestra. She has also appeared as guest Concertmaster of the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, the Sydney Philharmonia and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. From 2000 to 2019, Kirsten was Associate Concertmaster with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. In 2021, she led the Australian National University’s (ANU) Women in Music program.

"I am thrilled to welcome Tahlia to Canberra after first meeting her through the Sydney Symphony a number of years ago. To perform the exquisite Mozart Flute Quartet and stunning Elena Kats-Chenin "Consolation" with Tahlia and esteemed colleagues Sally Walker and Rachel Johnston promises to be a very special evening indeed for our Canberra audience," Kirsten said.

Meanwhile, Rachel Johnston, originally from New Zealand, played for 7 years as a member of the Australian String Quartet and has become one of Australia's best-known cellists, performing for audiences across the country as well as in the US, UK, and Europe (incidentally, she also played in a quartet with Tahlia 20 years ago).

"Tahlia is one of Australia’s most talented exports and it is terrific to have her here, bringing back the excitement of the Gewandhaus Orchestra experience to audiences and students,” Rachel said.

She has appeared at most of Australia's leading festivals and collaborated with many great classical artists from Australia and abroad such as Slava Grigoryan, Liwei Qin, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Nicolas Altstaedt, The Juilliard Quartet, Piers Lane, Sophie von Otter, Kristian Winther, Pieter Wispelweij and the Goldner Quartet.

Tor Frømyhr, Head of Strings and Senior Lecturer in Performance (Strings) at the ANU School of Music has toured extensively nationally and internationally over many years with chamber ensembles including Rialannah String Quartet, Australian Contemporary Music Ensemble, and Queensland Piano Trio as a soloist, conductor, and concertmaster with several Australian orchestras and conducted and performed in festivals throughout Australia, Scandinavia, USA, Germany, France, UK and Italy.

“For students, such interactions with Australian musicians, who have a presence in international space, is immeasurable. Once the students have that association, they become a part of the international profile of Australian musicians,” Tor said.

The ANU Chamber Orchestra has a long history dating back to the beginnings of what was originally, the Canberra School of Music. Formed by the first Director, Ernest Llewellyn in the early 1970’s, the ensemble has subsequently been directed by John Painter, Vincent Edwards, Max McBride, Barbara Gilby, David Pereira and Tor Fromyhr. Throughout the years, including being resident ensemble for Canberra International Music Festival 2008-2012 where the ensemble performed several world premieres including Peter Sculthorpe’s ‘The Shining Island” conducted by Tor Fromyhr, that was a finalist along with Sydney, Melbourne and West Australian Symphony Orchestras in the 2012 APRA Awards in the category, ‘Work of the Year – Orchestral”. The ANU Chamber Orchestra has a history of regional engagement after several years of touring under the banner of the Australian National University and the Canberra International Music Festival.

Student Pippa Newman is looking forward to Tahlia’s residency. “It's fantastic that Tahlia Petrosian is able to share her experience and expertise with the ANU School of Music, and I am very much looking forward to her residency. I'm especially excited to play in the tutti section for her performance of the Bloch Concertino, after being lucky enough to play the solo part with the ANU Chamber Orchestra and Lily Eyland earlier this year. It's a wonderful piece and it will be a privilege to play alongside Tahlia in the ANU Chamber Orchestra,” Pippa said.

Meanwhile, student James Monroe who a cellist in the ANU Chamber Orchestra and a member of the Australian Youth Orchestra said, "In addition to being a world-class chamber and solo musician, as director of KLASSIK Underground, Tahlia is on the forefront of revolutionising the way classical music is experienced. We are exhilarated by the opportunity to learn from and play with such a champion of classical performance in the 21^st century."

Book your seats and register for the concert on 18 August from 7-8:30 pm here.