National Music Camp

1. A Long Night's Journey Into Day
(News/Latest)

...ep is a wonderful thing. Why else would we have so much of it, every day? Unfortunately, for Words About Music (WAM) participants, sleep is of secondary importance when set alongside 'the dea...

2. Like children in a lolly shop: WAM participants visit the National Library
(News/Latest)

Like excited schoolchildren on an excursion, all six Words About Music participants and two of our tutors crossed Lake Burley Griffin in our complimentary Tarago. “Look! It’s a burst wate

3. Composers in Time
(About WAM/Writings)

In this year's Musica Fever we devoted two pages to the four composers at National Music Camp. But composers are interesting people, and we found that we had more information on them than we were

4. Richard STRAUSS (1864-1949)
(About WAM/Concert Program Notes)

...inning in the summer of 1886 with Aus Italien, the young Strauss had established a reputation as a vivid musical illustrator. Don Juan was the third of his works cast as a symphonic poem, a form recen...

5. Digital Rhythm Clock
(About WAM/Writings)

For those who attempted Musica Fever's "Rhythm Clock" and would like to see how well you fared, here are the answers...   1.     Richard STRAUSS – Don Juan 2.&

6. Richard WAGNER (1813-1883)
(About WAM/Concert Program Notes)

...ely involved, to the point that Wagner composed a series of songs for Mathilde, two of which have strong musical ties to the opera. However, only Act I of Tristan und Isolde was composed during their ...

7. Ralph VAUGHAN WILLIAMS (1872-1958)
(About WAM/Concert Program Notes)

...ams spent many years searching for a distinctively English compositional voice, delving into the diverse musical traditions of his home country in the early 1900s. One of his discoveries was a hymn tu...

8. Béla BARTÓK (1881-1945)
(About WAM/Concert Program Notes)

...in May 1943 that broke the spell of lethargy. Bartók agreed to a commission from the Koussevitzky Music Foundation and in August that year began to draft the Concerto for Orchestra, his first s...

9. Philip Arkinstall: Alumni Profile
(About WAM/Writings)

Clarinet tutor (First National Music Camp 1991)   Clarinet tutor (First National Music Camp 1991)   What are your earliest memories from camp? I was sixteen when I first came to camp, in t

10. Ian Cleworth: Alumni Profile
(About WAM/Writings)

Percussion tutor (First National Music Camp 1981)   Percussion tutor (First National Music Camp 1981)   Can you describe your first camp experience? I came to camp in the years 1981-83. The

11. Kate Salvatore: Alumni Profile
(About WAM/Writings)

Arts Administration tutor (First National Music Camp, clarinet 1991)   Arts Administration tutor (First National Music Camp, clarinet 1991)   Can you describe your first camp experience? I

12. Janis Laurs: Alumni Profile
(About WAM/Writings)

Cello tutor (First National Music Camp 1963)   Cello tutor (First National Music Camp 1963)   Why are youth orchestras important? The young students remind you of passion and enthusiasm, w

13. Genevieve Lang: Alumni Profile
(About WAM/Writings)

Harp tutor and former WAM participant (First National Music Camp 1993)   Harp tutor and former WAM participant (First National Music Camp 1993)   What was a memorable AYO experience for yo

14. W. F. BACH (1710-1784)
(About WAM/Concert Program Notes)

...he pre-Classical dawn following the death of Johann Sebastian Bach in 1750, the direction of Western art music was left in the hands of the composer’s three most gifted sons. In a sense, Bach ha...

15. Elliott GYGER (born 1968)
(About WAM/Concert Program Notes)

...emiere by the Sydney Symphony, Elliott Gyger – the composition tutor at this year’s National Music Camp – has been very active as a composer. He obtained a Ph.D. in music from Harvar...

16. Anton WEBERN (1883-1945)
(About WAM/Concert Program Notes)

...908] Passacaglia in D Minor, Op. 1 [1908] Arnold Schoenberg, the composer famous for developing serial music, found two very loyal students in Anton Webern and Alban Berg. Both began composition les...

17. Henry PURCELL (1659-1695)
(About WAM/Concert Program Notes)

... of England’s finest composers who, in a short life, excelled with a distinctive and idiosyncratic musical voice across a broad range of genres. As was common in the 17th century, his compositio...

18. The Definitive 1949 National Music Camp Crossword: Answers
(About WAM/Writings)

The answers to "The Definitive 1949 National Music Camp Crossword" as found in Musica Fever 2010, page 6.

19. Radio Feature: Inside Bartok’s Concerto for Orchestra
(Gallery/Audio)

...o;s interval feature attempts to tell the story behind this remarkable work, as well as delving into the music itself. Voices heard on this feature include students Elizabeth Hubbard, Glenn Christense...

20. Radio Feature: Who Comes to Camp?
(Gallery/Audio)

...ry 2010 WAM2010_radiofeature_wk1 Who Comes to Camp? was produced by the students in the Words About Music program, and explores the many different backgrounds of  ‘campers’, both...

21. Banquet in six courses: a report on the first Staff Concert
(News/Latest)

... the night’s work before the performances even began. This was the first of the two Staff Chamber Music Concerts held during the 2010 National Music Camp. With the plethora of styles, influence...

22. A Night Not To Be Missed... Or Else
(News/Latest)

On Friday night, our National Music Camp (NMC) participants were treated to a special screening of two DVD features in Manning Clark Hall. The first, a documentary from 1949, gave a snapshot of the s

23. New Dog Learns Old Tricks
(Snippets/Snippets)

...bern - looked up to by many as modernism’s flag-bearer, leading the charge to break all links with musical tradition – actually had a strong interest in Renaissance music. Before he began ...

24. A Gripping Death
(Snippets/Snippets)

...e reports go so far as to claim that she clung to his body the whole time. At this year’s National Music Camp, the Bishop Orchestra will be performing the ‘Prelude and Liebestod (Love Deat...

25. The Rich List
(Snippets/Snippets)

...een due more to poor budgeting than poor returns. But what about composers who combined their genius for music with business acumen? We tend to think of composers as rather tortured souls, struggling ...

26. The Power of Rhythm
(News/Latest)

...o; heartbeats. We can’t escape from rhythm,” said Tim White with a smile during his Meet the Music Director session at this year’s National Music Camp [NMC]. As principal percussioni...

27. ‘Hip-hips cost extra’
(Snippets/Snippets)

... paying royalty fees, Hollywood movies typically avoid using the tune. People have birthdays at National Music Camp every year… but although we are all musicians, the rendition of this song is ...

28. Ross EDWARDS (born 1943)
(About WAM/Concert Program Notes)

...ed composers, whose works are regularly performed within our country and overseas. While elements of his music can be traced to numerous cultures around the world (including Buddhist, Aboriginal, Indo...

29. An orchestral appetiser
(Gallery/Video Gallery)

Individual parts lie open on music stands, pencils are sharpened, the orchestra is tuned and the musicians quietly await their conductor to lead them to the music – it’s time for another r

30. Here comes the sun
(News/Latest)

A new National Music Camp record was set just after lunch on Monday, with a total of zero square centimetres of sunburn reportedly suffered during the taking of the Camp Photo.   A new National

31. Bedrich SMETANA (1824-1884)
(About WAM/Concert Program Notes)

...f the Symphonic Poem. Through this form, where poetic or illustrative concepts could be depicted through music, Smetana was to produce his best-known expression of nationalistic pride. Upon his retur...

32. Pyotr Il’yich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840-1893)
(About WAM/Concert Program Notes)

...or ordered that he separate from Antonina. Although he warned people against reading too much into his music, Tchaikovsky’s major works from this period – his opera Eugene Onegin, concer...

33. Josef SUK (1874-1935)
(About WAM/Concert Program Notes)

...s after Suk’s death, it is time to acknowledge Suk’s status as a leading figure of the Czech musical scene of his day. Suk performed actively as violinist in the renowned Czech Quartet fro...

34. I got rhythm
(News/Latest)

... better metaphor could describe the ideal relationship between players in an ensemble? And yet, for most musicians, this relationship is rarely achieved, such is the secluded nature of instrumental pr...

35. John ADAMS (born 1947)
(About WAM/Concert Program Notes)

...slinky, sentimental strings, but laden with all manner of unpredictable gestures and effects, giving the music a wistful but ironic flavour. Halfway through, the pulse slows reluctantly as the music l...

36. Sergey PROKOFIEV (1891-1953)
(About WAM/Concert Program Notes)

... The ballet’s production was marred by artistic complications as well. The dancers proclaimed the music ‘undanceable’, and demanded extensive rewrites. In addition – and perha...

37. “We’re ready for you”: student cricket captain Pauperis
(News/Latest)

With only one day to go until National Music Camp’s infamous staff versus students cricket match, the pitch has been prepared, the bales have been found and the double-headed coin set aside for

38. What a Suk!
(Snippets/Snippets)

At 2010 National Music Camp, 75 years after Czech composer Josef Suk’s death, we are celebrating his life with the performance of one of his most loved pieces - the Serenade for Strings in E-fl

39. Shh...the maestro is (de)composing
(Snippets/Snippets)

Two composers featured at this year’s National Music Camp suffered particularly grisly deaths. Two composers featured at this year’s National Music Camp suffered particularly grisly deat

40. Czech your baggage on arrival
(Snippets/Snippets)

...dau) in its planes after they land. Smetana’s work will be performed in the first week of National Music Camp. Czech Airlines plays the main theme from Bedrich Smetana’s Vltava (The Molda...

41. “What did you have for breakfast?”
(News/Latest)

... the answer to this question perfectly well (having sat together at breakfast time), the six Words About Music participants found themselves asking each other this question at the beginning of our ses...

42. Interpreting Words
(News/Latest)

“Naturally the Words About Music [WAM] course covers words about music. But words can also be for music,” declared Gordon Williams, one of our WAM tutors. “Let’s not underesti

43. Ronald Gaynor: An Orchestral Personality
(About WAM/2010 Participants)

...viola – an instrument that often stands alone, carrying an independent (and essential) line in the music, and one that is inevitably noticed when it emerges from the orchestral texture. “I...

44. David Lang: When Two Worlds Collide
(About WAM/2010 Participants)

This is not the first time David Lang has come to National Music Camp, having participated last year as a composer. As soon as David began playing the piano and trumpet he discovered his desire to wr

45. Anne-Marie Mousley: An Opening Book
(About WAM/2010 Participants)

...es is like being swept up in an exhilarating story, such is her enthusiasm. When asked what draws her to music, she talks passionately of the stories that music itself can tell. “I love its abil...

46. Claire Tomlin: Consuming Passions
(About WAM/2010 Participants)

... I love most about it." The trial separation came about when Claire decided to defer her Master in Music at the end of 2009. “I just wasn’t enjoying the experience”, Claire can...

47. Hugh Davidson: “There are things you were born to do”
(About WAM/2010 Participants)

2010 Words About Music participant Hugh Davidson admits that this cliché sounds a bit pretentious, but for him, a career in music is the only option. 2010 Words About Music participant Hugh Da

48. Jessica Williams: To Be Published!
(About WAM/2010 Participants)

...d most things in between. However, of all her loved composers, Jessica says that the dramatic and moving music of Beethoven - the product of the tortured romantic artist - has the most impact on her. ...

49. Wednesday 13 January, 5:30pm
(News/Concerts)

Wednesday 13 January - 5.30pm   National Music Camp Percussion Ensemble Fritz HAUSER - Die Welle  Iannis XENAKIS - Peaux  Peter SCULTHORPE - How The Stars Were Ma

50. Thursday 14 January, 5:30pm
(News/Concerts)

  Thursday 14 January - 5.30pm   National Music Camp Brass Ensemble Repertoire TBA