Multi-platinum, five times ARIA Award winning artist Katie Noonan returns to the spotlight with Australian Vocal Ensemble, the a cappella vocal quartet set to deliver their Tumbling Like Stars live concert in Eumundi this March.
They will feature world premiere performances from their David Malouf song cycle showcasing Australia’s finest composers, alongside new arrangements of Renaissance and Baroque greats Bach, Handel and Tomás Luis de Victoria.
Following a standout, critically acclaimed launch concert in Brisbane in 2021 and their Tasmanian premiere for The Festival of Voices, the Tumbling Like Stars tour will make its way to Katie’s hometown of Eumundi at the Eumundi School of Arts for one exquisite concert on Friday 4 March.
AVE sees Katie joined by three extraordinary, internationally renowned artists in mezzo-soprano Fiona Campbell (Perth), tenor Andrew Goodwin (Sydney) and bass-baritone Andrew O’Connor (Sydney).
“There is nothing like AVE in Australia. An elite chamber vocal ensemble of international excellence, but one that is warm and welcoming to all. We will champion new Australian works on every tour, engage with our First Nations Communities at every concert and we plan to engage with local community choirs as our touring continues,” Katie said, who said creating AVE had been a dream of hers for years.
“I want to illustrate Queensland’s integrous creative leadership by establishing Australia’s only, professional classical vocal quartet. I believe it is vital to use the human voice to tell the stories of our time and place, and to encourage our audiences to use their voice,” Katie said.
Dame Quentin Bryce said “AVE – imagination, ideas, magic; hallmarks of Katie Noonan’s contribution to our cultural life. Sparkling, enriching, inclusive in every sense, again and again she amazes with her capacity to translate dreams into reality, captivating us with the way she lifts our hearts, taps into our emotions, laughter, sometimes a raw nerve or two, an awakening, with generosity in spades.”
Katie has proven herself one of Australia’s most hardworking, versatile and prolific artists, spanning diverse genres, leading from the front as an artistic director, from the stage as an acclaimed performer and from behind the scenes, nurturing fellow performers and programmers. She has performed for royalty, national and international leaders, and blazed a trail for young women artists.
Music, for her, is a lifelong lesson and a means to change the world. And so, it begins with AVE – a world-class vocal quartet combining four of Australia’s finest vocalists.
“We aim to create an unparalleled music experience for audience members – a chance to explore new Australian composers, a chance for audiences to find their own voice and a chance to hear Indigenous songs of their own country alongside late Renaissance and Baroque masterpieces and brand new works,“ she said.
“Yes, we are dreaming big – starting a new arts organisation in the middle of a global pandemic, but as Uncle Kev Carmody so eloquently said, from little things, big things grow, and we have big and bold dreams.”
These dreams include employing singers, commissioning more than 10 Australian composers per year and recording their works, working with some 250 vocal students and 500 community singers each year, mentoring an emerging quartet, performing to over 5000 regional audience members each year and to a national metropolitan audience of over 5000 each year. It will be a full schedule.
Already she has commissioned works from Richard Tognetti, Iain Grandage, Stephen Leek, David Hirschfelder, Connor D’Netto, Thomas Green, Alice Humphries, Zac Hurren, Anne Cawrse, Jessica Wells and Robert Davidson and the proof is in the numbers – 50 per cent are Queensland composers, 30 per cent are female and 100 per cent are Australian.
Don’t miss the opportunity to enjoy this beautiful concert when AVE performs at Eumundi School of Arts on 4 March at 7pm. Tickets can be booked online through Eventbrite. For more information and the full tour schedule visit australianvocalensemble.com
