Jamie's modern musical spirit

Music

The creative musical talents of past and present Elder School of Music students and staff will be on display this month in the fourth Adelaide Symphony Orchestra Master Series Concert for 2005.

The concert, titled "The Modern Spirit", will feature the world premiere of Music for an Absent Film, the latest work by Elder School of Music composition graduate Jamie Messenger.

Jamie graduated in 2003 with First Class Honours in composition and studied under renowned Australian composer Graeme Koehne.

Also performing at the concert will be the Elder School of Music's Chamber Choir, along with other local choirs Adelaide Voices and the Adelaide Chamber Singers. All three choirs are directed by Carl Crossin, who is Director of Choral Music, Head of the Music Studies Program and Lecturer in Conducting at the Elder School of Music.

Jamie said Music for an Absent Film is a commissioned work for orchestra and chorus, and was inspired primarily by his passion for film soundtracks, as well as his recent travelling experiences in Europe and Africa.

"I wanted to write a piece which had the same power to conjure up images and evoke a feeling in the listeners that a film soundtrack does," he said. "What I love about film soundtracks is that they evoke such a wide variety of emotions ranging from excitement, fear, sadness and passion to happiness," he said.

In the same way that a movie tells a story, Jamie has tried to create a range of different atmospheres throughout the piece. He hopes that the audience will respond positively.

"I hope that throughout the piece it evokes a mood and images in your mind and maybe even fires up your imagination to carry you out of the theatre at the end of the concert," he said.

Music for an Absent Film will open the program, which includes Mozart's Posthorn Serenade, and two works by contemporary Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, Cantus in Memoriam Britten and Te Deum.

Tickets for "The Modern Spirit" are available for all full-time students for $9 (including BASS fee) at the venue 30 minutes before the performance.

Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
Malaysia Airlines Master Series 4:
THE MODERN SPIRIT
Adelaide Town Hall.
Thursday, June 2 at 6.30pm, Friday, June 3 at 8pm, Saturday June 4 at 6.30pm,
Tickets: From $42 / Conc $38 (C Res). Book at BASS 131 246.