What are the sonic possibilities when the oldest wind instrument in the world – the digeridoo – teams up with instruments that found their final form only two centuries ago? And who better than distinguished artist William Barton, award-winning clarinetist and composer Paul Dean, plus the stellar line-up of Ensemble Q, to explore that question?
Ensemble Q is a group powered by the passion and fizz of curiosity and underpinned by the virtuosic integrity of some of Australia’s finest musicians. It might just be the perfect playground for making music. Their ear-catching program includes new works from William Barton and Paul Dean alongside hand-picked masterpieces by Brahms and Ligeti which promise to wrap audiences in a multi-faceted kaleidoscope of sound.
'[Ensemble Q was] quite possibly the best performance I’ve seen all year, and an astonishing feat of music-making.. frankly, this was a jaw-dropping performance.' – Limelight
'The possibilities are extraordinary. [William Barton] is a great man. He radiates.'
– Sir Simon Rattle, Artistic Director, Berlin Philharmonic
Ensemble Q
ALISON MITCHELL flute
HUW JONES oboe
PAUL DEAN co-artistic director and clarinet
DAVID MITCHELL bassoon
PETER LUFF horn
TRISH DEAN co-artistic director and cello
PHOEBE RUSSELL double bass
and
WILLIAM BARTON voice, didgeridoo / composer
William BARTON New work (2024)
BRAHMS Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38 (arr. Breuer)
LIGETI Six Bagatelles
Paul DEAN Concerto for Cello and Wind Quintet