Arrivederci Roma – 22nd October 2011

Be inspired by the uplifting sounds of the Gold Coast Pops Orchestra with their upcoming concert…

ARRIVEDERCI ROMA

The Gold Coast Pops Orchestra is presenting a night in Italy with wondrous sounds from some of the world’s greatest Italian composers…

Rossini, Verdi, Puccini, Resphigi and more!

Guest soloists, Rosemarie Arthars (soprano) and Yu Jixing (tenor) will be singing operatic favourites including :

E Lucevan Le Stelle from Tosca
One Fine Day from Madame Butterfly
E Il Soll Dell’ Anima from Rigoletto
Brindisi from La Traviata
and of course, the showpiece:
Arrivederci Roma by Rascel

The concert will be on Saturday 22nd October 2011 at 7.30pm at The Arts Centre Gold Coast

Surrender to the beautiful sounds of full orchestra and voice under the artistic baton of Barry Singh and be transported to a new realm in music making.

Our 65 piece orchestra has been performing concerts on the Gold Coast and Tweed region for nearly two decades.  The highly skilled musicians come together to provide entertainment and enjoyment, not only for the wider audience but also for the pleasure and reward of playing beautiful music.

The perfect blend of skillful experience and youthful energy is evident in the new Gold Coast Pops Orchestra building on the success of the Northern Rivers Symphony Orchestra.  Our musical journey has been tremendous and we would like to showcase some of our musicians that make up this fabulous group.  The spotlight for this concert will be on our longest-standing cellist Shaohua Chen-Merrett, and our newest violist Jess Webster.

Shaohua Chen-Merrett was born in Shanghai and has been playing cello since the 1960s.  She graduated with a degree in Cello Performance from the National Conservatory of Music in Beijing and was a member of the China Central Philharmonic Orchestra.  She then toured internationally with the China National Women’s Chamber Orchestra as one of its founding members.  Shaohua moved to Australia in 1996 and completed her Masters Degree in Cello Performance at the University of Queensland School of Music in 2005.  Shaohua has been the principal cellist of the NRSO for 11 years and is one of its most respected and experienced musicians.

We welcome our new recruit, 25-year-old medical student Jess Webster.  Jess started playing the viola in 2000.  She became a member of the Sydney Youth Orchestra in 2003 and performed in their concert tour in Italy.  Jess plays the viola in professional quartets as well as composes her own music, with two songs recorded on Triple J Unearthed.  Apart from her degree in Biotechnology and now studying Medicine, Jess has also published a novel and joined the Navy as a Sublieutenant.  Jess recently joined the Gold Coast Pops Orchestra as one of its newest and youngest talented members.

Come and join us for a night of unforgettable Italian music and a journey through the past into the future with a wonderful performance by the new Gold Coast Pops Orchestra!