Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 10 : Record of press coverage, March 1982 - May 1984

- !!82 tl\ vintage year for Queensland ~-~ ~"-Iii . The_BrisbaneBo!anicGard:~s,AliccS1«e1. Renowned Dance Companies festivals of Music ill,;"~ ~ - ,s se1tmg for a ••arie1y of a~m•11y: ,_. In 1he aroa or dance , Brisbane will have A primary school music f<11ival featur<s a Musical presentations frum 11~ -0rcnesIra1 several s~cial treats lo look forward 10. wide range of musical 1al( nl , con 1sting of in~ FOR thrH wHlls from Sunday, Sept-ber 19, Brtsbane 1 • becomH the fnttval capital of me wortd. That'• when Fnttval '82 la atased - the cultural and entertainment com, plement to the XII Commonwealth Gllmn. There will be a huge and 5lunning array of thins• to see and do, many places to visil, uni• que rvenu to savour and leisure ac1ivi1ics to remember. Thero has never been a festival like it in Australia before, and there is unlikely to be one like 11 again in an adul1's lifr lime. It will indeed bring together many facets of life from many countries in a great sharing or heritaae thal Is 1he Commonweallh or Na– tions. It's a celebration of a rich mixture of cultures that have one common bond. The concept of such a Commonweallh Fes1ival was moo1ed at Edmonton games in 1978. It was felt that some coun1ries might no1 be strong in spon, or may be unable 10 field teams of a1hlc1es. Bui, clearly, each had a cultural contribution to make. This year, at Festival '82, 1he cullural con– tribulion Jo the friendly aames has achi<Yed remarkable proportions. The Participant• Festival '82 is the Cc,mmonwe1,:1h and Warana Festival. Approprialely, Warana Is also celebra1in8,its 21st binhday, adding 10 1hc si8nificance of 1his special year. Festival '82 has been made possible by fun– ding from Brisbane Cily Council, Queensland Governmenl, 1he Australian Government through ils Aumalia Council and significant financial con1ribu1ion by the corporate communily. Each Commonweallh coun1ry is par– ticipating in some way. Australian Slates arc represented, and a big Queensland and Brisbane component is involved. A calendar is planned of visual aml perfor– ming arts, crafts presen1a1ions and demonstra– tions, community parlicipation events, car– nival and pagcanlry - day and night. Most events will be free, only I hose staged in theatres being sold. Where to 10 Al some time during Festival '82, most parts of Brisbane will panicipate - and so will sur– rounding areas such as Gold Coast, Toowoomba, Redcliffe, Redlands, and the Sunshine Coast. Within 1he suburban area, major shopping centres and communily centres will have events. The city centre ilself will be a hive of aclivi– ty, u1ilising these areas, prcdominan1ly; The Clem Jones Gardens, on the soulh bank of the Brisbane Rivet, will be the venue for Festii-a/ Fair, 1he mardi sras, aquatics compo– nent, ,·ommencins from Saturday, Sep/ember 25: The nearby and beauliful Queensland Arl Oaller_y houses the imporlant Commonweallh visual arts e.,hibi1ions s11,·h as "Com– monweallh Costumes, Masks and Jrn·dlery ", and many 01hers: Alber/ Park Ampirheatre, off Wickham Tcrra,-e. Ci1y is where Shak<-.,pcarc's las1 piny "The Tempest", is prcsenred und,•r the siurs: Kins George Square, in from of Cir.v Hall, in the firs, wed has a "Musicfesr" prollram for /un,·h 1ime passers b.v and in 1he subse• quenl r"·o wt'<'ks, local, interstaie and im,rna– rional performers will appear ai lunch, mid aflernoon and nisht; The new Queen Sir«/ Mall, day and nigh/ has performances by small groups of strolling minstrels, buskers, masidans, jazz groups, dancers and musidans, bo1h from A us1ralia and other Commonw,al1h countries; The Brisbane Communirv Arts Centre, Ed– ward Srrt'<'I, will becom, 1he workshop ceplre for craf/S people and prcsen1a1ion area for a mu/tiiud, of era fr lypcs: The Commonwcalrh Film frs1ival will be held in ilS cinema and film makers will cond11c1 seminars 1herc; shell, watched by aud1onces s111Ing on g,asc;y The Human Vein Dan e Thcauc frum strumcntalisu., otal 0 101:..ts, ensemble , sl~sShows wnh can-.nsr;es hung openau oet• Canberra will present i1s program of " Undi::' bands and orchestras - a !long and dancr ween palm trees. and pieces ol sculplu1e dol• ihe Skin" and "L•s Noces". fe" ival presented over '"'0 n1glt1s following an The SyJ11ey Dence ompany will present adjudkalion proces which "'ill lake pla e dur- 1~,1:,r ~"e~i~S11a11ons by lccal and ove1seas two new Ballets created by Barry Moreland ing the preceding weeks. experls, and ils acclaimed artistic director, Graham A Festi al or Music by JOO children from 1hc Concourse o ·Elegances. Murphy. The Company will play al Her Ma- Bayside area ill play in the Botanic Garden, The consuuct,on of a "Fes11val Fantasy" - jesty's Theatrr and audiences can be a sured and the b«t of Australian ountry Mus,c IS !~~~r ~11~~!nm6fz:1~·aag':~ao~:,:!~::'~~~~ of an inno\'ativc and imaginative night 's planned for The Queensland ount ry Music cni,nainment. Fwival at Cleveland Showgrounds. lun. fan and Folk oncerts arc also planned for Puppet shows and melod1a1nas Jn 1981, when the New Zealand Limb) th llotanic Gardens. Riverside restaurant~ - tows ot IOOd slalls Dance Company I urcd th~ UniIed Stales, ii ~i.~1;.~ch aellcac,os ol-va11ous I/P8S can ce received an ovc, whelming response to it> The Pinnacle The nearby ~~ refresh ing band of Queensland lnstirme · youthful movcmcnl, ofTechno/ogyisvenuc ~ ~ elegance and ve ry for part of a s I y I i s h e n s, o f Commonwealth slapstick. the Limbs Wrilers' Wt'<'k will be a valued program attended by c o n t r i b u t I o 11 1 o more than 40 Festival '82. dis1inguishcd literary The Au st r a Iian figures. Youth Ballet will 1ako Another venue is ~ ~ part in a combined Banyo ~minary. youth concen at lhe A Grand Chandler ComJ)lcx. Openlns ~~ Classical The first day or Theatre Fes1ival '82 sets the mood for the entire Theatre followers No fes1ival i, complete without a parade - and Festival '82 is nc, excep1ion. Indeed the grand pageant is cen a 1he pin– nacle or its activities. ll will begin at noon on Saturday, September 25, winding ill wai• <hrough city streets in a cavalcade or fun, noat> and excitement. Heading it will be a con1ingen1 of Royal Canadian Mounted Police, whose native coun- 1ry, in 1978, hosted the Edmonton Com– monweallh Games. The theme of this cavalcade, however , will truly be Australia, SJ!Otlightlng a it will Warana's 2151 blnhday and Jlaylng tribute 10 Queensland. And ils conclusion will be at the <ite where a mardi gras begins, on the South Bank of 1he Brisbane River. 1hree week period - © will not be neglected family run in the great either. The Queensland T I I A t II Activities outdoors or Brisbane's , 82 Theatre Company will YP ea us ra an renowned Botanic Fest1·val present its production Naluralli•, the ci1y will J)iay host during thi) Gardens of "The TcmJ1es1" in and other times by things such as a great While · it is enlitled the new Alben Park Aussie picnic and historical 1011r> of its land- "Children's Day" it is ampithcatrc from marks, and by special spor1lng e\·ents. indeed for everybody. October 5. Business houses arc making special efforts A quick inventory of " happcnin~•" in• dicates the extent or ilS appeal: Performances by orchcsiras. cho11s bands. musical ensembles, Art parlic1pa1ion even1s, Dancing and theatre-in-educal!on troupes. Craft activities and displays. Presen1a11ons by drama groups. Strolling minstrels and clowns. Elhnlc arts: Puppet shows: nnd Kile making and flying And then, a,, nighl falls lhc Gardens becomes setting for a conccrl ex1ravaganza in which the enti1e spectrum of popular music, from operatic airs lo ja,.z are presenled. And, of course, a grand finale is envisaged wilh dramatic lighting and sound effects, fireworks ard cannons roarin8 - 10 set a mood of fun and exci1emen1 1ha1 the city will sustain until the end or 1he Games period. The Performing Arts Pace of the fes1ival's firsl day will be main– lained in ils performing arts schedule by local and international anim. Here is just a selection from the grand production: The Canadian Brass, a five-piece band, described as one or lhe world's greatest ensembles, and hailed as the Marx Brothers or Brass. is appearing. Their presence in Brisbane for Festival '82 is a major coup for the organisers and their ap– pearance, direct from an Alaska concert tour, on the last 1hree days of the Festival will be a filling climax 10 the international component or the Festival. Also from Canada will come Graham Townsend, billed as the Norlh American Con• tinent 's most versatile fiddler - and Hank Smith Canada's No. 5 male country vocalist and his band. The Alber1a Cultural Heritage Foundation and a Canadian Folk An Group also are appearing. From Papua New Guinea comes Sanguma, JO young musicians who have creal<d a con- 1emporary style of music unique 10 !heir coun – try, performed with originality, energy and pure enjoyment. and a Traditional Dance Group is apJlearing, too. Then 1hcre is 1he Cook Islands Cultural Dance Group, a I0 member dance group from Vanuatu, a song and dance group from the Solomons, the Bangladesh Dance Team, 1he Bhangra from India, and National Youth Ensemble of Sri Lanka. There's a big Ahoriginal and Island compo– nent in the festival of-course, and Ghana is sending a troupe . Zimbabwe iis National Dance Groups, Nigeria its National Theatre Members, Cyprus a Folkloric grouJl and Malta an Ensemble. The Royal Police Band from Tonga will cover an extensive schedule of evcnu in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Toowoomba, providing an impressive spectacle in their at– tractive parade uniforms. Fiji is sending an entire range of musical performers. A 8r0up of 4J men and women will portray the herilage and cusloms of that Island in the 'meke'. Less traditional music will be presented by the Seve Ni Cuma, a group or young Fijian men, who, with ukelele and guilar, will visit shopping centres around the city to play 10 passers by. The Indian musical innuence in fijl will be represented by six expert ins1rumen1alim play– ing sitars, san1oons, bamboo nutes and harmoniums . Al La Uoilc, lhcrc will bc a return ,ea.son of their very successful ..The Qul'cnslarid Game" and, in conjunction with the Queenslan<t l'ilm and Drama Ccnlre, will present " The Execu– tion of Steele Rudd" by Harry Reade at the New Edward Street Theatre in the Brisbane Community Arts Centre. During Festival '82 the Lyric Opera of Queensland will present Anthony Besch's famous production of Mozan·, "Cosi Fan Tulle". The Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra will per– form lraditional Chinese Compositions as well as newly composed orchestral works. By counesy of Muslca Viva Australia, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, which recently returned from ils first six week tour or Europe where it received rave reviews, will also pcrj form during Festival '82. The Queensland Symphony Orchestra, under famed Lief Segerstam, will play wi1h solo violinist, Hannelc Segcrstam. The Queensland ~ymphony Orchestra will perform several concerts in Toowoomba and Brisbane, wilh a special lu11ch1 ime appearance in SI John's Ca1hedral during the last week of Festival '82. And the Commonwealth Youlh Concerlo rrom the Uniled Kingdom is apJlearing al 1he Festival. · Local Talent Shines The Queensland Highland Dancing Associa– tion will hold the Championship finals of its Comrnonweallh Games compc1i1ion with in- 1erna1ional participation. Other musical youth organisations involved arc the Queensland Youth Orchc<tra, the Sou Wesier Conccn Band from Roma, the Australian Youth Jazz Big Band and the Woden Valley Youth Choir. A new work by Richard Mills tcomposer) and Thomas Shapcoll tlibrcll istl for massed choir and orchestra has lJccn commissioned, and will premiere at the Youth Conccr1. Canberra's Woden Valley Youth Choir toured 1he west coast of the United Slates and Canada and has also released threc L. P. 's. The choir is recognised as a leader in its field following 13 very successfu l years. The Western Australian Youth Concert Band, which provides a vehicle for young musicians 10 Jllacc their combined talents before the public lhrough regular concerl per• formances , was cslablished in 1976. It has toured and played in Europe. gaining steadily in musk-al stature. The orchestra wi ll a lso accompan y celebrated pianist, Roger Woodward in an all Beethoven program in Mayne Hall. The Queensland Conccn Brass in associa• 1io11 with the Queensland Stale and Municipal Choir, will combine brass wilh voice in lhe first Australian performance or a Cantata, "The Trumpets" by Gilbcn Vintcr. Four finalist s In the Commonwcallh Youth Concerto Competition will perform their chosen conccnos with the Queensland Youth Orchestra. The Queensland Bach Society Choir and the Toowoomba Symphon y Orchestra will com– bine for a concerl of music by Schuber! , Bach, Handel and Bruchner in St Luke's Anglican Church, Toowoomba and St John 's Cathedral in Brisbane. The Music Teachers' Association 01 Queensland presen1s an evening concer featuring instrumental and choral works, an, the soloists who have won places in the MTA( talcnl qucsl. lo develop Fc)tival ru.:1ivi1ic), ancJ many arc.· also compefing in the hc,1dccura1cd prem1,c, compe1i1ions. The Closing Time When a1 last time draws nigh for the clo c of Festival '82, a filling tribute will be paid 10 Brisbane's visitors . On lhe night of Sa1urday, October 9 - the last day of the Games - every Commonwealth country par1icipa1ing in the festival will join in a 1ribu1e by concerl performances 10 celebrate the Commonwealth. Again , like most 1hi11gs m Fe<tival '82, it will be free , and thousands of people are exJ)ected to pack the Botanic Gardens for 1his Com– monweallh presentation. Nell day - final day or Festival '82 - more 1han 40 ethnic communities of Brisbane join together in a day of feasting and fun al 1he Gardens to say farewell to lhe city's visitors. ,. •