Nola Lauch is a Kirrae-wurrung/Bundjalung woman who lives on the Mornington Peninsula. Nola is a visual artist, singer and songwriter who is committed to celebrating and sharing Aboriginal music, art and culture. In 2017 Nola received a regional NAIDOC Artist of the Year award in recognition of her songwriting and live performances. Nola fronts Jalgany, entertaining audiences with her powerful and soulful vocal style. ‘Jalgany’ is a Yugambeh language word meaning Aboriginal woman.
PENINSULA SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL 2023 Presenting 21 events, the annual Peninsula Summer Music Festival will ring in the New Year with a deliciously diverse program of contemporary and classical music permeating the vibrant and beautiful Mornington Peninsula, its hot springs, wine estates and church gardens from Sunday 1 to Thursday 19 January 2023.
This year acclaimed flautist and co-director of Inventi Ensemble Melissa Doecke joined colleague Ben Opie as Co-Artistic Directors of the Peninsula Summer Music Festival 2023. Melissa says she’s looking forward to delivering her first PSM Festival with Ben.
“The past three years have shown us how strong we are as a community,” Melissa says. We've pivoted, adapted, created and innovated. Now it's time to reconnect and share music as we have always known it - as well as see the exciting ways that we've grown.”
New Year’s Day begins with the Hair of the Dog: Sambado! a beguiling afternoon sojourn through Brazil’s seductive rhythms. Sweet music merges street and salon to cajole and delight. Doug de Vries (guitar) leads a captivating ensemble featuring Josh Bridges (cavaquinho & voice), Tamil Rogeon (violin) and Diana May Clark (voice & percussion), and new Artistic Director Melissa Doecke (flute) in the gardens of St John’s Anglican Church.
The New Year’s public holiday on Monday 2 January features two free outdoor music events at Balnarring Civic Reserve.
Monday morning’s interactive family show The Wild Adventures of Peer Gynt with Inventi will lead the audience on a journey of discovery, learning about instruments, imaginative storytelling, and the wonder of music. Leading innovators of chamber music, The Inventi Ensemble is among the most prolific chamber ensembles in Australia, with more than 80 diverse concerts presented in their 2022 season.
On Monday afternoon, players from across the region will come together for Summer Tango with Peninsula Chamber Musicians - a delightfully varied program strongly influenced by country and place. Summer Tango journeys from Dvorak’s rich Czech heritage to Piazzolla’s Argentine tango influences and features soprano Katrina Waters.
The Mornington Peninsula’s acclaimed wineries offer yet another perfect backdrop to enjoy fine music. On Tuesday 3 January, the gorgeous courtyard of Main Ridge Estate hosts two delightful performances from winners of the 2019 Music Victoria Award for ‘Best Intercultural Act’, Perolas. The trio of Liana Perillo, Fabian Aravalés and Louis Spencely blend modal jazz, soul, soundscapes and Latin exotica to form an all-encompassing sensory musical experience.
Thursday 5 January is a day of Music and Dance at Moorooduc Estates with one of Australia’s most eminent pianists and teachers, Stephen McIntyre delivers an exuberant program of Chopin, Liszt and Ravel, among others.
Festival highlight events at Port Phillip Estate offer a sumptuous three course meal followed by a one-hour concert featuring Artamidae Quartet on Thursday 12 January, and acclaimed British recorder player Anna Stegmann bringing the festival to a magnificent close with Fantasy & Design on Thursday 19 January 2023.
St John’s Anglican Church in Flinders plays host over the year’s first full weekend with a series of five stunning recitals of recitals of gorgeous familiar classical and baroque repertoire against exciting new works by local artists.
On Saturday 7 January, the outstanding winner of the MRC Great Romantics competition, Reuben Tsang will perform a program of virtuosic piano works, featuring the epic work by Rachmaninoff, Etude-Tableaux Op.39 Nos.1-9. That afternoon Orpheus Trio presents a diverse program combining rarely heard discoveries alongside well-known masterworks from Spain’s Enrique Fernández Arbós, Victorian composer Gordon Kerry and Czech composer Dvorák.
On Saturday night spend An Evening with Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, performing two wonderful string octets: Jennifer Higdon’s Quiet Art and Mendelssohn’s Octet. The program will include the Festival’s Artistic Directors Melissa Doecke (flute) and Ben Opie (oboe) performing the ebullient Concerto for Flute and Oboe by Salieri, in his day a highly celebrated composer of opera.
Sunday afternoon at St John’s, Accademia Arcadia perform Rameau’s five chamber works for harpsichord, violin, and viola da gamba. The recital features a replica mid-18th-century French harpsichord made by William Dowd of Boston in 1976. The works are harpsichord concertos whose orchestral component has been reduced to an absolute minimum of one treble instrument and one base instrument.
The weekend at St John’s draws to a close with an intimate Sunday evening of solo jazz piano in Twilight Jazz with multi-award-winning Australian pianist, composer and improviser Andrea Keller.
Peninsula Hot Springs add a live music dimension to their experiences during the Festival with performances from winner of the prestigious Adelaide International Guitar Competition in 2021, Clancy McLeod (Mon 2 Jan); the inter-cultural expression of ZÖJ featuring Gelareh Pour on voice and Persian kamancheh with Brian O’Dwyer on drum kit (Wed 4 Jan), and the hugely talented ANAM ensemble Artamidae String Quartet (Wed 11 Jan).
Also appearing at the Springs (Fri 6 Jan) and in a private concert for members of the Willum Warrain Aboriginal Association (Tue 3 Jan), local Peninsula musicians and First Nations singer/songwriter Nola Lauch will pay tribute to her late Uncle Archie Roach with her band Jalgany as they join forces with Inventi Ensemble for an exciting new collaboration. Discover new sounds, a fusion of the gorgeous chamber music of Inventi with original works by Nola.
The inextricable link between music and art will be captured in two fascinating workshops on Monday 9 January. The Life Drawing Workshop featuring Inventi Ensemble explores how to visually represent music and musicians as the music happens. The resulting artworks will be exhibited in the afternoon performance Art and Music with Inventi Ensemble featuring music by JC Bach, Mozart and Grieg.
Co-Artistic Director Ben Opie is looking forward to his 6th Peninsula Summer Music Festival. “On behalf of Melissa, myself and all the wonderful musicians performing at the 2023 Peninsula Summer Music Festival, I extended a warm welcome to past festival audiences and an open invitation to lovers of fine music in all its guises who are looking for a music-filled start to 2023,” says Ben.
Friday January 6th - 7pm Jalgany x Inventi Ensemble Peninsula Hot Springs, 140 Springs Ln, Fingal Nola Lauch - local Peninsula musician and First Nations singer / songwriter - with her band Jalgany join forces with Inventi Ensemble for this exciting new collaboration as part of PSMF 2023. Discover new sounds, a fusion of the gorgeous chamber music of Inventi with original works by Nola. The Jalgany x Inventi Ensemble performance is included with Peninsula Hot Springs Revitalise Bath House bathing entry. Please ensure you select the correct day and time for this performance. PRIVATE EVENT: Jalgany x Inventi Ensemble Willum Warrain Aboriginal Association Nola Lauch - local Peninsula musician and First Nations singer / songwriter - with her band Jalgany joins forces with Inventi Ensemble for this exciting new collaboration as part of PSMF 2023. Nb. This event is available to members of the Willum Warrain community. Please contact Willum Warrain if you are interested in becoming a member. If you are not a member, please purchase tickets to the repeat performance of ‘Jalgany x Inventi Ensemble’ event at Peninsula Hot Springs on January 6th.