To celebrate the 30th anniversary of its foundation, the Australian Institute of Macedonian Studies (AIMS), in collaboration with the Greek Community of Melbourne and Victoria and the Pan-Macedonian Association presents the musical concert Alexander the Great: Pioneering Multiculturalism.
The concert will take place on Wednesday 26 October at 8.00 pm in one of the world’s finest music halls, the Melbourne Recital Centre, or Elizabeth Murdoch Hall. The hall is renowned for its architectural style and acoustic perfection.
The music has been written specifically for this concert by the well-known Melburnian composer Christos Ioannidis. Some of Christos’ most popular compositions include Free Besieged, Massa Confusa, Syphonia Polyethnic and Southern Landscape.
The current piece sweeps a great narrative arc, celebrating Alexander the Great’s life and achievements in promoting the Hellenic ideals within a vast multicultural empire. An important theme of the concert is Alexander’s role in pioneering multiculturalism and nurturing an intermingling of Greek civilisation, language and traditions with those of Asia.
The music will be performed by the Camerata Chamber Orchestra, consisting of 23 musicians who are managed by one of Australia’s leading conductors and music educators, Douglas Heywood OAM.
In 1995 Douglas was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in recognition of his service to music education and community music, and in 2013 he was named Hobson’s Bay Australia Day Citizen of the Year for “making an outstanding contribution to the artistic and cultural life of the city and services to the community of Hobsons Bay”.
The 52-member Camerata Chorus includes multi-award-winning baritone Adrian McEniery and nationally- renowned soprano Lauren Savrasov (Oldham).
An event program will be distributed for free to all guests. This program will include lyrics to the songs and excerpts from the poetry that will be recited during the performance in both Greek and English.
This is a unique opportunity to commemorate a great historical figure and to celebrate his vision of multiculturalism and harmony, a vision that is more relevant than ever to our own contemporary society.
Tickets to this event are priced at $90 (A reserve) and $70 (B reserve), and are available for sale either on the website of the Melbourne Recital Centre or by contacting info@aims.edu.au