Katie Noonan and Karin Schaupp
DatesSat 6 October 2012
Start time: 8pm
Price: $45, $35 students
SONGS OF THE SOUTHERN SKIES
KATIE NOONAN and KARIN SCHAUPP IN CONCERT
“Noonan and Schaupp will no doubt shift the way you perceive classical and contemporary music…”
Following their hugely successful tour earlier this year, two of Australia's most loved female artists – songstress Katie Noonan and classical guitarist Karin Schaupp – are teaming up once again, this time exploring music close to home and very close to their hearts. “Songs of the Southern Skies” features some of Australia and New Zealand's best classical, folk, jazz and pop songs. The songs are performed with the intimate combination of Noonan's angelic and versatile voice and Schaupp's lyrical and fiery guitar.
From the Finn Brothers, Cold Chisel, Midnight Oil, Nick Cave, The Divinyls, Sia and Gotye through to traditional folk songs and the works of Peter Sculthorpe, Elena Kats-Chernin, Matthew Hindson, Richard Charlton and the like, Noonan and Schaupp will perform some of the best songs Australia and New Zealand have produced. “We had a HUGE shortlist and it's been very hard to whittle it down to just one programme! We really are spoilt for choice in our own musical backyard” explains Schaupp.
A feast for lovers of all styles of music, this collaboration brings together two artists at the top of their game, true masters of their fields – artists who have enjoyed the challenge of stretching their musical boundaries, and become great friends along the way. Noonan has four ARIA awards and 6 x platinum album sales to her name, whilst Schaupp has been lauded around the world as one of the best classical guitarists of her generation.
“We have spent most of our professional lives in very different musical worlds, but we also share a lot of common ground, an unspoken intuitive understanding of the substance of the music, regardless of its style. Our collaboration allows us both to expand our musical worlds, but it also means we put a new spin on this music, while remaining respectful of its origin”, Schaupp says.
“… Noonan’s honeyed voice and Schaupp’s faultless mastery … the collaboration is seamless …”
What began as a chance encounter at a festival seven years ago, resulting in an impromptu performance of a couple of short songs, has now led to a significant ongoing musical partnership. "We have become great friends and simply love working together so we could not resist the opportunity to do it again! It is especially exciting to create new repertoire with our song competition and of course we are thrilled to be playing some of our finest Aussie and New Zealand musical luminaries" says Noonan.
The two artists are also giving young composers the opportunity to write for them through their art song competition, with the winner receiving prize money and having their song recorded and performed by the duo.
Noonan and Schaupp's highly successful national tour this year attracted a broad audience, from the classical aficionados who fell in love with some of the world's great pop tunes re-invented, to pop fans who discovered a new love for art songs.
“Each masters in their own right, when a pair like Noonan and Schaupp get together the expectations are set pretty high. Judging by their recent Sydney performance, it’s a challenge they met – and then exceeded.”
Noonan and Schaupp’s rendition of Sting's Roxanne from their tour EP remained in the top three of the AMRAP AIR IT charts for four weeks; and their independent EP sold out on its first pressing, and was featured regularly on ABC Classic FM and radio stations across the country. Their twenty-date Australian tour was an enormous success - both creatively and commercially - with many shows selling out.
“This was a terrific concert by two very fine performers who were very much of the same mind over the interpretation of each of the songs. If you missed it, keep your fingers crossed for a return performance or further concerts in the near future.” Barry Lenny, Glam Adelaide
“Songs of the Southern Skies” will see Noonan and Schaupp produce a full-length album for commercial release in August 2012.
Katie Noonan
“Noonan’s soaring, beautifully phrased high notes, ultra-musical communication of meaning and expressive use of the microphone and digital technologies were stunning.”
Katie Noonan's technical mastery and pure voice make her one of Australia's most versatile and beloved vocalists. A mother, singer, producer, songwriter, pianist and business woman, this 4 x ARIA Award winning and 6 x platinum selling songstress first received widespread praise as the angel-voiced songstress of indie-pop band george and has since taken audiences on sublime excursions through jazz, pop and classical music. Her various releases include her folk trio’s self titled album ‘elixir’, the No. 1 selling classical album ‘Two of a Kind’ with her mother Maggie and her gold-selling top ten solo album ‘Skin’. She has also worked with the country’s top orchestras including her recent fruitful collaboration with Richard Tognetti and the Australian Chamber Orchestra.
Noonan's affinity with jazz shone through on the ARIA award winning album, ‘Before Time Could Change Us’. Recorded with revered pianist Paul Grabowsky, it captured the breathtaking beauty and emotion that characterises her work. In Noonan's 2009 ARIA winning release ‘Blackbird’, she collaborated with an historic ensemble of iconic jazz players including Joe Lovano, Ron Carter, Lewis Nash and John Scofield.
With her band The Captains (Cameron Deyell, Stu Hunter and Declan Kelly) Katie’s 2010 release ‘Emperor’s Box’ saw the songstress sail towards a lush and organic band sound, with her trademark strong and inspired personal stories.
For this album, Katie co wrote with a host of Anzac luminaries including Tim Finn, Don Walker, Sia Furler, Josh Pyke, Tom Shapcott and her fellow ‘Captains’ band mates. Co -produced by Katie and Grammy award winning producer Nick Didia this album was widely acclaimed, with Rolling Stone Magazine’s 4 star review saying “it is a joy to hear Noonan return to the more traditional pop of Emperor’s Box, albeit with a sumptuous and skewed take on the art form that combines the experimental beauty of Sigur Ros and Radiohead with the dark, dreamy atmospherics of 27”.
Katie’s sublime folk/jazz trio of 14 years Elixir recently released their long awaited second album 'First Seed Ripening'. Reflective, brooding and ravishingly beautiful, Elixir features Katie’s saxophonist husband Zac Hurren (winner of the National Jazz Award 2009) and Steven Magnusson, regarded by many as Australia's finest jazz guitarist (Paul Grabowsky, Paul Kelly, Vince Jones). 'First Seed Ripening' is largely inspired by the words of legendary Australian poet Thomas Shapcott. The album spent over 13 weeks at Number 1 on the Australian Jazz Charts and won the ARIA for Best Jazz Album 2011.
Katie is never content to rest in her comfort zone and in 2011 alone she has collaborated with a wonderfully diverse range of artists – including The Sydney Dance Company for the World Premiere of ‘LANDFORMS’ and Australian composer Elena Kats- Chernin for the World Premiere of ‘The Little Green Road to Fairyland’ for the Queensland Music.
Karin Schaupp
“… a flawless performance, the like of which I have not heard before…”
Karin Schaupp is one of the most outstanding guitarists on the international scene, her playing hailed by the German press as “so perfect, so complete, that it seems like a miracle”. As one of Australia’s most broadcast instrumentalists, she is sought after internationally as a recitalist, soloist and festival guest, making countless television and radio appearances. Her unique stage presence and magical, passionate playing have inspired many composers to write works especially for her.
Karin’s guitar training began with her mother Isolde Schaupp at the age of five and she first performed in public the following year. In her teens she won prizes at international competitions Italy and Spain and then completed her tertiary music studies at The University of Queensland with First Class Honours, a Masters degree and as the recipient of a University Gold Medal. In 2003 she was awarded the Music Council of Australia Freedman Fellowship in recognition of her achievements.
Karin has released six highly acclaimed solo CDs for Warner Music International and ABC Classics, as well as various award- winning ensemble and orchestral albums. Recent releases include Spain (2009) featuring works by Rodrigo and Bacarisse with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, and Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s Romancero Gitano with the choir Cantillation; Cradle Songs (2010), a collection of exquisite lullabies from around the world, all arranged for solo guitar; and the ARIA award- nominated album Fandango (2011), recorded with Flinders Quartet. She has also made world premiere recordings of many significant contemporary works, including Ross Edwards’ Guitar Concerto with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.
“By combining the lapidary precision of Williams with the expressiveness of Bream, Schaupp here brings us an Aranjuez fit to stand alongside the best of them…”
Karin’s collaborations have included the ARIA award-winning Saffire, The Australian Guitar Quartet with Slava Grigoryan, Gareth Koch and Leonard Grigoryan; the World Guitar Trio, with Carlos Barbosa-Lima and Christopher McGuire; ongoing duos with Genevieve Lacey and Katie Noonan, and a recent collaboration with Flinders Quartet.
Following extensive professional drama training, Karin recently extended her performance activities to the theatrical stage. Combining her love of music and passion for acting, Karin starred in some 150 performances of Lotte’s Gift, a play written especially for Karin by David Williamson, Australia’s best-known and most prolific playwright. The work tours regularly in Australia, and enjoyed its international premiere with a four-week season at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2009.
Other performance highlights include concertos with the London Philharmonic Orchestra (UK) in London’s Royal Festival Hall, the Springfield Symphony Orchestra (USA), the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, and performances at the World Expo (Aichi, Japan), Hong Kong Arts Festival, and APEC Summit in Sydney, Australia.
“…Refreshingly different from many other guitarists in her wide range of colour and voluptuously free-flowing expression on the instrument, her skills were dazzling…”
