The Italian Cultural Institute of Sydney is particularly pleased to host an internationally renowned Duo, composed by the Italian pianist and composer Luciano Chessa in concert with the Sydney based oboist Ben Opie. Both musicians will perform a solo set, followed by a duo collaboration.
Composer, conductor and performer, Luciano Chessa completes a New Zealand/Cook Islands residency tour in Sydney supported by the Italian Embassy in Wellington, with a duo performance at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, where, as mentioned , will be joined by Australian master oboist Ben Opie.
Chessa will perform some of his compositions from the Wired Imagination project which was commissioned and recorded at the Audio Foundation, Auckland, New Zealand, while Opie will perform James Rushford’s Pride Prize winning work for oboe Invs Belmn.
The performance will take place at the Conservatorium’s Recital Hall East on Macquarie Street on 21 March 2023 at 7.30pm. It is recommended that the public arrive at 19.00 to allow for a comfortable turnout in the hall.
The program schedule is as follows:
1. Luciano Chessa: piano solo
• Wired Imagination
• Sicilian
• Women’s Cupric I & II
2. Ben Opie: oboe solo
• Invs Belmn (James Rushford, 6 min. Sydney premiere)
3: Luciano Chessa and Ben Opie duo
• 20 minutes duo oboe + piano, title TBA.
Luciano Chessa is a composer, conductor, audiovisual/performance artist, and music historian. Chessa’s compositions include A Heavenly Act, an opera commissioned by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Cromlech, an organ piece written for Melbourne’s Town Hall Organ; and Cena oltranzista nel castelletto al lago, an opera merging experimental theatre with reality TV. Chessa has created multiple works commissioned by the Performa Biennial. In 2014, he presented three events at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum as part of the exhibition Italian Futurism, 1909-1944: Reconstructing the Universe. Chessa’s work has appeared in Artforum, Flash Art, Art in America, and Frieze; and has been featured in the Italian issue of Marie Claire and in the September Issue of Vogue Italia. As a music historian, Chessa specializes in 20th century Italian and 21st century American repertoire. He is the author of Luigi Russolo Futurist. Noise, Visual Arts, and the Occult (2012), the first book dedicated to Russolo and his “Art of Noise.” In 2009, his Orchestra of Futurist Noise Intoners (OFNI) was hailed by the New York Times as one of the best events of the year. Chessa has conducted this project around the world at venues such as Rockefeller Center in New York, RedCat in Los Angeles, the New World Center in Miami, Radial System / Maerzmusik-Berliner Festspiele, the ArtScience Museum in Singapore, and Lisbon’s Municipal Theater. In the winter 2018, he prepared the diplomatic edition of Julius Eastman’s Symphony No. II and conducted the piece’s premiere at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall.
Ben Opie One thing unifies the body of work brought to life by revolutionary creative thinker, Ben Opie: the poetry of a beautifully curated concept. Whether as musician, producer, collaborator or artistic director, Ben Opie has – for more than 10 years – delivered on his ability to build collective momentum around a shared artistic vision. In 2018, Opie accepted his invitation to join Peninsula Summer Music Festival as its second-ever Artistic Director, taking immediate steps to broaden the festival’s impact. As Director of Inventi Ensemble, co-founded in 2013 with Melissa Doecke, Opie has commissioned dozens of new contemporary Australian works and performed at countless national venues. From workshops in Melbourne’s immigration detention centres to representing Australia at Turkey’s Flying Carpet festival to Bach performed from a ten-tonne truck, Opie’s creative thought leadership achieves what others rarely can: a meaningful and memorable combination of diversity, access and innovation. As a performer and mentor, Opie embodies this same sense of ingenuity. Alongside collaborations with artists such as Sleep D, Johannes Luebbers, Stéphanie Kabanyana Kanyandekwe, Eleanor and Raymond Dixon, Opie’s approach has secured him regular appearances with students of the Australian National Academy of Music, Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, Australian Youth Orchestra, and the Freedman Fellowship. Opie is currently Artistic Director of Peninsula Summer Music Festival, Director of the boundary-pushing Inventi Ensemble.
Tickets: Members IIC $10 – Not member $20
Bookings: HERE