Camerata Academica of the Antipodes

Camerata Academica of the Antipodes is an Australian chamber orchestra and vocal ensemble formed in 2014. It was founded by three Coward siblings, Imogen, Taliésin and Leon, who are all multi-instrumentalists and composers, together with various friends. Their main genre is the Baroque music of Vivaldi, Handel and Corell but includes other eras and styles, and their own compositions.

Camerata Academica of the Antipodes
OriginSydney, New South Wales, Australia
GenresBaroque
Years active2014 (2014)–present
Members
  • Imogen Coward
  • Leon Coward
  • Taliésin Coward
Websitecamerataantipodes.com.au

Background

The Coward siblings, Imogen, Taliésin and Leon were home-schooled by their parents up to university level.[1][2] Their mother, Ann Coward, is of Greek-Australian descent and they attended St George Greek Orthodox Church, Rose Bay.[3] Each sibling has completed a PhD in musicology.

Imogen (born 1986 or 1987), at 16 years-old, was studying for an external degree at the University of New England.[4] Leon (born 1991) studied at the Julian Ashton Art School and at the University of New England, and graduated with a first class honours Bachelor of Arts degree in 2013. He completed his PhD study in 2017, writing his dissertation on creating a new method for analysing film design. He used that method in the development of the film, 2BR02B: To Be or Naught To Be (2016).[1] Since 2017 Leon has been a judge for the Sydney Indie Film Festival.[5] At the age of 14 Leon promoted good reading for children and asked a local book store if he could organise events on their premises.[6]: 31  Between 2005 and 2008, he organised visits by Australian children's authors to that book store. He met Libby Hathorn through these events, and later illustrated her book Vietnam Reflections (2010).[6][7] It was a presentation gift to the Australian War Memorial and won the 2010 Poetry Prize at the Inaugural Woollahra Library Word Festival.[8]

Formation

Academica of the Antipodes were founded by the Coward siblings with fellow musicologists and multi-instrumentalists in 2014 in Sydney.[9] Imogen is the director of the orchestra and has focussed on violin, viola, cello and vocals, Taliésin mainly delivers violin, vocals and guitar, while Leon provides violin, viola, piano and baritone bass vocals.[1] Their first performance was on 31 August 2014 at St. Alban's Church Hall, Epping.[2][10] The concert raised funds for Australian Children's Music Foundation (see Don Spencer) and Brissenden Foundation.[2] Internationally the ensemble established their "distinctly recognisable culture and ethos" of the "performer as co-creator."[11]

Compositions

Coward first premiered selections from his music for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland at the Tate Liverpool's major exhibition Alice in Wonderland (November 2011 - January 2012) which celebrated the 150th anniversary of Carroll's book,[12] and later premiered "Beautiful Soup" in Sydney,[13] which scholar Timothy Harries described as "logical, as though it was 'always meant to exist'."[14]

Coward has written music for piano, strings, and voice, and performs his own piano works. His compositions have been positively received by Australian and international audiences, and regularly critiqued in the British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies publication Criticks. Esther Lie described his work as "full of new invention," leading audiences "into a world full of colour."[15] His compositional style has been frequently described as "Chopin-esque,"[2][11][14] "Neo-Romantic",[2] and exhibiting "a love of nineteenth-century music."[16] Coward frequently engages audiences' imaginations before performing, such as describing ballet sequences for '"Two Kings" suite and "Imaginary Pas De Deux".[11][16]

Original works
  • "Beautiful Soup" (lyrics from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll) - Piano & String Orchestra (2014), later re-arranged with Vocal Ensemble (2017)
  • "Sans Souci" - Piano (2017)
  • "Melody" - Piano & String Orchestra (2016)
  • "Lament" - Piano (2015)
  • "Imaginary Pas de Deux" - Piano (2015)
  • "Trio" - 2 Violins & Piano (2013)
  • "Consolation" - Piano (2013)
  • "Nocturne" - Piano (2013)
  • "The Embrace" - Piano (2012)

Arrangements

Film scores

Books
  • Vietnam Reflections written by Libby Hathorn, illustrated by Leon Coward (Sydney: Pax Press, 2010)

Awards

Sydney Indie Film Festival (Sydney, Australia)

WILDsound Fest (Toronto, Canada)

KaPow Intergalactic Film Festival (California, USA)

The Montreal International Wreath Awards Film Festival (Montreal, Canada)

The Golden Blasters Science Fiction Short Film Awards (The National Irish Science Fiction Film Festival) (Dublin, Ireland)

Fantastic Planet Film Festival (Sydney Australia)

Miami Short Film Festival (Miami, USA)

Best Short Fest (San Diego, USA)

References
  1. Masson, Sophie (19 October 2016). "2BR02B: the journey of a dystopian film–an interview with Leon Coward". Feathers of the Firebird (Interview). Archived from the original on 23 December 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  2. Harries, Timothy; Vergison, Jenny (19 September 2014). "Critiks Reviews: Music – Camerata Academica of the Antipodes". British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies. Archived from the original on 29 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  3. Coward, Ann (January–February 2014). Imogen Coward (ed.). "Arts, Food & Wine – News – Untitled12". Orthodoxy Cognate. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  4. Pritchard, Rhonda. "Homeschooling Through High School and Beyond". Home Education Association. Archived from the original on 13 May 2003. Retrieved 31 January 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "Sydney Indie 2017 – It's a Wrap!". Sydney Indie Film Festival. Archived from the original on 29 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  6. Hathorn, Libby; Coward, Leon (2010), Vietnam Reflections, Pax Press, ISBN 978-0-646-51493-2
  7. "Vietnam Reflections : Libby Hathorn : 9780646514932". Book Depository.
  8. "Awards Listings". Libby Hathorn: Author & Poet. Archived from the original on 17 October 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  9. "Camerata Academica of the Antipodes and the ACMF". Australian Children's Music Foundation (ACMF). 11 March 2015. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  10. "Greek-Australian musicians supporting charities". The Greek Australian Vema Monthly National Bi-lingual Newspaper. St Andrew's Orthodox Press. August 2014. p. 18.
  11. Harries, Timothy (14 September 2015). "Camerata Academica of the Antipodes, August 2015". Criticks. British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  12. The Endurance of Wonderland. "Alice in Wonderland" Postgraduate Symposium. Tate Liverpool, United Kingdom. 19 November 2011.
  13. Vergison, J; Black, A (25 January 2016). "Camerata Academica of the Antipodes: Corelli, Purcell, Mozart and Vivaldi". Criticks. British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  14. Harries, Timothy (21 January 2015). "Camerata Academica of the Antipodes concert: Corelli, Purcell, Bach, Nachez, Gilbert and Sullivan". Criticks. British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  15. Li, Esther (27 June 2016). "Camerata Academica of the Antipodes: Corelli, Vivaldi, Telemann and Wieniawski's Legende". Criticks. British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  16. Vergison, Jenny (16 June 2015). "Camerata Academica of the Antipodes concert: Handel, Vivaldi, Telemann, G&S". Criticks. British Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
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