Melbourne Composer's League

Ceridwen Suiter

‘Shelf Life’ and ‘For a Fine and Dear Friend’ : music for Flute alone.

Shelf Life and For a Fine and Dear Friend are two independent short pieces for Solo Flute composed on separate occasions some years ago. However, as they complement each other, together these short pieces make a notable contribution to the Melbourne Composer’s League Elbow Room Spring Concert. Johanna Selleck, a remarkable Melbourne-based composer and flute-player, has kindly agreed to perform my music in this concert.


Shelf Life was inspired by a poem by Sandra Powley written in 2010.
In this poem Sandra recalls weekly childhood excursions to the local library with her father.
Warm memories of the shared experience are revealed alongside her excited anticipation of
being transported to other worlds by the books yet to be borrowed and read.

For a Fine and Dear Friend was written for a long-time partner who wanted her guests to be the entertainment for her 50th birthday celebration.
I took the opportunity to write this music in respect of some-one who clearly supported and encouraged my passion for participating in music-making, and to follow my long-abiding and continuing interest in understanding the means by which music is so connected with emotion.
Every piece of music I compose and most of my academic work, beyond the initial BMus study I undertook as a result of her enthusiasm, continues to investigate this linkage. Here is yet another example.

Concert Details: Saturday 15 October 2022

St Stephen’s Church

360 Church St, Richmond, Victoria.

Tickets available at the door : $20 full/$15 Concession

Wendy (Ceridwen) Suiter

Waiting

Waiting, a setting of text by Sue Woolfe, for live performance by Hamish Gould (counter-tenor) in concert at St James Old Cathedral, West Melbourne on April 24th 2021.

The lyrics reveal the thoughts of a handyman with chronic social anxiety, who is somewhat creepily voyeuristic, as he longs to interact with the woman he loves.

 

Creative Victoria Logo

Waiting was jointly commissioned by Panoramic Music and the Melbourne Composer’s League with funding provided by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria.

The song is composed for counter-tenor, accompanied by alto recorder, and digital samplers, all originally designed to be played live by human performers.

However, the virus times have affected the presentation of Waiting as much as anything else, in that the vocalist, Hamish Gould, wanted the concert to go ahead in any circumstances. Because of the pandemic, rehearsing and performing with other players could be problematic (given that currently Australian residents are still being infected with Covid-19).

So Hamish is live in performance and everything else is digital.

The concert begins at 4.30pm.

Ticket prices: $35 full or $20 concession.
The concert will also be live-streamed for free.

Get Tickets Here