Elder Conservatorium

24/04/2025

Coming up in the Adelaide Jazz Festival this Saturday 26 April:

🎼 DJAWBREAKER
Featuring Elder Conservatorium jazz alumni Chelsea Lee (voice/synth), Django Rowe (guitar/effects), Dylan Paul (bass/effects), and Stephen Neville) drums).

📆 Saturday 26 April
📍 The Lab, ILA
⏱ Doors: 6.30pm / First Show: 7.00pm / Second Show: 8.45pm

🎤 Courtney Hooper
Featuring Elder Conservatorium jazz alumni, including Courtney Hooper (vocals)

📆 Saturday 26 April
📍 La Louisiane (89 King William Street)
⏱ Dinner: 6.00pm / Music: 7.00pm

🇪🇸 King of Spain
A seven-piece band featuring five Elder Conservatorium jazz alumni: Peter White (vocals), Miles Sly (drums), David Goodwin (keys), Milush Piochaud (bass), Max Grynchuk (trumpet), Aaron Deanshaw (trombone), and Jack Degenhart (saxophone).

📆 Satuday 26 April
📍 The Grace Emily Hotel
⏱ Doors: 6.00pm / Music: 9.00pm

More info and tickets available at https://adelaidejazzfestival.com/program-2025/.

23/04/2025

The Neeman Piano Duo are a powerhouse husband-and-wife team: their twenty fingers have sounded together since 2008, at venues across the United States, Asia and Australia. Dr Stephanie Neeman has won virtually all major piano competitions in her native Indonesia. She received her Bachelor and Master of Music at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City, and her Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Cincinnati. Dr Edward Neeman has performed across five continents, and holds a Bachelor of Music from the Australian National University, a Master of Music from the Manhattan School of Music, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The Juilliard School.

Schubert's popular Fantasia in F minor, D. 940 is complemented here with a suitably adventurous and disparate selection of works – several of which have been specifically arranged for the four-hand format by Edward Neeman.

📆 Sunday 27 April 2.30pm
📍 Elder Hall

Tickets available via the link below:
https://uofa.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/145857

22/04/2025

Coming up in the Jazz Festival this Friday 25 April:

🎤 Millie Sarah's ANZAC Day Ensemble
Fresh from her sell-out seasons at the 2025 Adelaide Fringe, award-winning jazz vocalist and Elder Conservatorium alumna Millie Sarah brings her captivating and timeless style to the AJF with a nostalgic nod to the melodies that defined an era in honour of our proud ANZAC heritage. The evening features a very special guest: local jazz legend Marlene Richards. Accompanied by an ensemble of Elder Conservatorium jazz alumni (Jackson Mack, drums; Trinity Canini, trumpet; Solomon Young, piano; and Jacob Phillips, bass), this evening promises a sublime blend of nostalgia, remembrance, and the vibrant rhythms of the swing era in honour of our ANZAC heroes.

📆 Friday 25 April
📍 Hal's Hall (Madley Rehearsal Studio), The University of Adelaide)
⏱ Doors: 6.00pm / Music: 7.00pm

🎷 Giovanni Clemente
Featuring Elder Conservatorium alumnus Giovanni Clemente (saxophone)

📆 Friday 25 April
📍 La Louisiane (89 King William Street)
⏱ Dinner: 5.00pm / Music: 6.30pm

🎺 Harrison Smith Trio
Featuring Elder Conservatorium jazz alumni Tyler Venter (guitar), Harrison Smith (trumpet), and Tasha Stevens (upright bass).

📆 Friday 25 April
📍 Ern Malley Bay (137 Magill Road)
⏱ Doors: 4.00pm / Music: 7.30pm

More info and tickets available 👇
https://adelaidejazzfestival.com/program-2025/

21/04/2025

Join us this Thursday 24 April for the opening of the Adelaide Jazz Festival! ✨🎺

‘Sabor a Cuba’ is a vibrant Afro-Cuban jazz ensemble led by Cuban trumpeter Lazaro Numa (former Elder Conservatorium jazz staff), blending Cuban classics with his own original compositions. With infectious rhythms and Lazaro’s electrifying trumpet performance, they promise an unforgettable experience that will transport you straight to the lively streets of Old Havana. The AJF is thrilled to have Lazaro performing at their opening night event, hot on the heels of his Byron Bay Bluesfest show with The Cat Empire. This is a seated event, but there’ll be room to dance, so get ready to rumba!

📆 Thursday 24 April
📍 Meeting Hall (behind the Adelaide Town Hall), Paul Kelly Lane / 25 Pirie Street
⏱ Doors: 5.30pm / Music: 7.00pm

live jazz performances in central city venues

17/04/2025

On Tuesday, Bachelor of Music Theatre 2023 graduate Taylah Johns was announced as part of the cast for 'Dusty the Musical – In Concert', a celebration and retelling of the extraordinary life and music of British icon, Dusty Springfield, one of pop music's greatest female stars.

Dusty, the product of Australian writers John-Michael Howson, David Mitchell and Melvyn Morrow, received rave reviews for both its Australian National Tour in 2006, and again with Melbourne's Production Company in 2016, with the story of the introverted Londoner, Mary O'Brien, who defies the odds to transform herself to become a legend, synonymous with the 60's era.

'Dusty The Musical – In Concert' plays at the Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) from Thursday 5–Sunday 8 June. Congratulations, Taylah! 👏✨

17/04/2025

The City of Adelaide is celebrating Make Music Day on Saturday 21 June with a mini-festival that is big on showcasing our diverse music community, cultural hubs and performance venues. Participation by all music makers is encouraged, as we celebrate our 10th anniversary as a UNESCO City of Music, and our Live and Local program partnership with the national Live Music Office.

EOIs are being sought from venues to host a Make Music Day gig and performers to play micro-gigs to small but appreciative audience.

Expressions of Interest close Monday 21 April.

More info and apply 👇

Welcome to the City of Adelaide. We are the local government authority for Adelaide.

16/04/2025

2025 is a busy and in many ways challenging year for staff and students alike, as we navigate the complex transition towards the opening of our new Adelaide University in 2026.

Here at the Elder Conservatorium we are deeply conscious of the many proven health benefits of listening to music. Now perhaps more than ever, our concert series has the capacity to provide a sense of comfort, constancy and collegiality, allowing audiences a dedicated weekly hour in which to bask in the light of live music.

As a small gesture of support to our valued community, we are making all lunchtime concerts in our Elder Hall series FREE to attend for all University of Adelaide and University of South Australia students and staff, effective immediately. Simply present your student or staff card to front-of-house staff in the Elder Hall foyer for complimentary admission.

We look forward to welcoming you to a concert in Elder Hall soon!

See what's on:
https://able.adelaide.edu.au/music/engage/concert-series -concerts-season-one

Please note: Concerts in our Elder After Hours series; jazz series in Hal's Hall, and all Music Theatre productions ('Into the Woods', 'Ten Cents a Dance', 'How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying', and 'Elegies: A Song Cycle') will remain paid ticketed events.

16/04/2025

Elder Conservatorium PhD candidate Adam Page recently joined Andrew Ford on ABC Radio National's 'The Music Show', to discuss how he builds layers of music on the fly. You can listen to the episode via the link below:

Saxophonist, composer, improviser and master looper, Adam Page, has brought a bunch of looping pedals and instruments into our Adelaide studio to show us how he builds layers of music on the fly. Adam's just finished a run performing a live improvised score for Australian Dance Theatre’s A Quiet L...

15/04/2025

Kallan Francis (third-year Bachelor of Music, Jazz Performance Advanced, guitar) and James Ho (Bachelor of Music Honours, bass) have been selected (through audition) to be part of the celebrated Australian National Jazz Orchestra (ANJO) Youth Big Band for 2025. They will be joining other stellar musicians under 25 from across the country in concerts and workshops with guest artists Gordon Goodwin and Wayne Bergeron (from the LA-based Big Phat Band) in May in Sydney, and with Claudia Doffinger (from Germany) in October. A big congratulations to both Kallan and James! 👏

14/04/2025

The Helpmann Academy InReview Mentorship – now in its fifth year – is a partnership between Helpmann Academy and InReview that connects experienced arts writers with emerging voices to develop the next generation of arts reviewers and rebuild the practice of robust discourse and analysis of South Australian performing and visual arts.

The successful mentee will be matched with an InReview mentor and will work with them across all aspects of review writing and provide career advice. The mentorship will be conducted over eight hours per week between Monday 12 May–Monday 21 July 2025. Throughout the program, the mentee will build their skills to produce multiple reviews for publication in InReview.

Applications close on Sunday 20 April at Sunday 20 April at 11:59pm.

More info and apply 👇

Do you have ambitions to be an arts reviewer but don’t know where to begin?  The 2025 Helpmann Academy InReview Mentorship seeks to develop the next

12/04/2025

Looking for an unforgettable jazz experience this April? 🎷

Celebrate International Jazz Day 2025 at the Adelaide Festival Centre with an incredible night of performances. Headlining the event is the Zela Margossian Quintet, blending Armenian traditional music with contemporary jazz. Joining them is Ciara Louise Ferguson, 2024 COMA Emerging Jazz Writer's Award recipient, plus the premiere of UNESCO Adelaide and the Elder Conservatorium's Jazz Relay Composition. Celebrate 10 years of Adelaide as a UNESCO City of Music with a night of unforgettable jazz.

📆 Wednesday 30 April 6.00pm
📍 Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre

Tickets 👉 link in bio.

11/04/2025

We were absolutely captivated by the powerful performances of Zoltán Kodály’s Serenade and Amy Beach’s Piano Quintet, brought to life by the Australian String Quartet and pianist Aura Go at today’s lunchtime concert! If you’re like us and would love to hear more of their incredible performance, you’re in luck! On Friday 16 May, the Australian String Quartet returns with another exceptional program at the Elder After Hours ‘Rapture’ concert. Then, on Saturday 30 August, we welcome back Aura, this time joined by cellist Timo-Veikko (Tipi) Valve for another Elder After Hours concert - Beauty and Power. Don’t miss out!!

11/04/2025

Bachelor of Music (Jazz Performance) third-year students Maisie Aitken and Grace Northam have recently been announced as finalists for the 2025 Generations in Jazz Vocal Scholarship. Six finalists were chosen from across Australia, with selection made on the basis of the applicants meeting the eligibility criteria deemed by the judging panel to display an outstanding level of musical ability and accomplishment in musical performance. Congratulations to both of them, and best of luck for the Scholarship! 👏✨

10/04/2025

Join us for tomorrow's lunchtime concert! Experience the magnetic artistry of pianist Aura Go as she joins the University of Adelaide's Quartet-in-Residence, the Australian String Quartet, for a lunchtime concert of works by Zoltán Kodály and Amy Beach. Kodály's Serenade for Two Violins and Viola, Op. 12 is a vibrant Hungarian masterpiece rich with folkloric charm and fiery musical interplay. Amy Beach's powerful Piano Quintet in F-sharp minor, Op. 67 is celebrated for its lush Romantic textures and dramatic scope. Aura Go's virtuosic touch breathes life into this deeply expressive work, delivering both tenderness and intensity in equal measure.

📆 Friday 11 April 1.10pm
📍 Elder Hall

Tickets available at 👇
https://uofa.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/145757

10/04/2025

We currently have the pleasure of hosting internationally acclaimed Swedish guitar virtuoso Georg Gulyás for a two-week residency at the Elder Conservatorium. Our undergraduate and Open Music Academy (OMA) students have already worked through a wide range of solo and ensemble repertoire with Georg and are looking forward to more fun and learning during week two of his residency. Aside from presenting his research in our postgraduate seminar, Georg will also be playing a solo recital in Elder Hall this Saturday!

🎼 Dances and Dialogues
📆 Saturday 12 April 6.30pm
📍 Elder Hall

Tickets 👇
https://uofa.sales.ticketsearch.com/sales/salesevent/145851

09/04/2025

What a treat! Well done to our amazingly talented performers for a superb concert today! 🫶🏻❤️❤️ Elder Conservatorium - Jazz

09/04/2025

Julian Ferraretto - director

* All works composed by Billy Strayhorn*

1. Isfahan
2. Lush Life
3. Johnny Come Lately

Marina Olijnyk - vocals
Rhys Thorpe - trumpet
Daisy Davidson - tenor saxophone
Paolo Guttilla - tenor saxophone
Nat Brice - piano
Chris Allen - double bass
Tom Johnson - drums

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
4. Raincheck
5. Day Dream
6. Upper Manhattan Medical Group

Kieran Beasley - vocals
Will Davies - tenor saxophone
Will Morley - trombone
James Ho - double bass
Kallan Francis - guitar
Bailey Hall - drums

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
7. Take The A-Train
(Perform by both ensembles)

09/04/2025

Elder Conservatorium Honours conducting graduate Chris Day was recently appointed to the role of Lecturer in Music (Concert Band Conducting) at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. This is a wonderful achievement, and another example of the strength of our conducting program, led by Associate Professor Luke Dollman.

Chris is currently preparing for the inaugural Concert Band performance tonight (this Wednesday 9 April at 7.00pm) in the Kenneth Myer Auditorium at The Ian Potter Southbank Centre. The program showcases the vibrant array of colours available to the wind band, featuring classics of the repertoire alongside contemporary Australian works, including 'Sunburst' by our Adjunct Lecturer in Composition, Dr Anne Cawrse.

Congratulations, Chris! 👏