ORIANA GIVES ITS ALL FOR BEAUTIFUL MUSIC

Oriana’s very successful and highly enjoyable Season 1 for 2023 has come to a satisfying conclusion.

Following a most well-received performance to an enthusiastic and appreciative audience at Maleny Community Centre on April 23rd, this past weekend saw Oriana Choir in fine form, delivering two concerts of contrasting but complementary music, by the master Mozart, and the brilliant young contemporary composer, Ola Gjeilo. Mozart’s “Vespers” showcases his unique creativity and genius with a stunning display of choral virtuosity, a highlight being the achingly beautiful “Laudate Dominum”. Gjeilo’s music has a beauty that is distinctive, haunting and sublime.

Audiences at St John’s Cathedral and Stella Maris Primary School were visibly moved by the performances. The Choir, under the utterly dependable guiding hand of conductor Kim Kirkman, and the peerless accompaniment of pianist extraordinaire Fay Baker and the delightful Serenity Quartet, with featured soloists Elisabeth Wallis Gaedtke, soprano; Sarah Laws, mezzo; Scott Gaedtke, tenor; and Ian Rix, bass; gave themselves totally to the joyous task of giving their audience something really special. And they succeeded.

The numbers attending these concerts were a clear confirmation that the hunger for beautiful music is very much alive and well on the Sunshine Coast. There is a spirit of companionship, both within the Choir and with its followers, that is palpable, and a testament to what a community group is able to achieve and share with the community at large, when it gives whole-heartedly.

If you were unable to see and hear Oriana Sings Mozart ‘Vespers’ and the Music of Ola Gjeilo, or you are hungry for more from this marvellous Sunshine Coast ensemble, then you have something wonderful to look forward to. On Sunday August 13th, and Sunday August 20th, at St. Rita’s College, Clayfield, and Stella Maris School, Maroochydore respectively, Oriana will present “Beneath the Southern Cross”, a programme of Australian music ‘ancient and modern’. With the heart and commitment that Oriana brings to all its endeavours, this will be yet another musical delight.