Foundation Concert: Folk Melodies

By Ms Tracy Bourne, Director of Voice

The 2023 Foundation Concert celebrated the founding of Radford College with beautiful and moving repertoire from various folk traditions alongside novel arrangements of contemporary songs.

The concert opened with a performance by Camerata of whimsical and weird songs based on Grimm’s Fairy Tales by contemporary Australian composer, Luke Byrne. The Corelli String Ensemble then performed ‘jigs’, composed by Gustav Holst and based on traditional tunes. The concert concluded with a traditional, spiritual performance of Let Me Fly, arranged by Kirby Shaw, and arrangements of the two popular songs, Four Seasons in One Day and Creep by Chorale.

A highlight of the evening was the performance of Die Lorelei (Liszt) and Rusalka (Dvořák) by collegian Katrina Wiseman (Class of 2016). Katrina most recently performed as Oberto in Canberra National Opera’s Alcina by George Frideric Handel, and is a recent graduate of the ANU School of Music, receiving numerous awards and scholarships as a student and emerging professional singer. Katrina performed these two challenging songs in their original languages (Czech and German) and filled the hall with her stunning voice.

Year 12 student Robbie Potter spoke about his participation in music at Radford, from his early years in the Junior School to his participation in choirs and the College musical. He shared his experience of discovering that he was a bass singer, and the fun and camaraderie that music-making has given him in his senior years.

Thank you to all the conductors, accompanists, managers and talented Radford students for a fitting celebration of our school.