Saturday 1 Nov 2025

Holy Covenant Church, Cook 

and..

Sunday 2 Nov 2025

BUNGENDORE

Critics wrote:-

"A small but rapt audience turned out for Musica da Camera’s latest outing, a challenging program of Swiss and Australian music curated by this quarter’s invited musical director, eminent conductor Monica Buckland."

See full review here: CitiNews

See the printed program: here

Monica Buckland conducts Musica da Camera with Christine Draeger Flute soloist.          Photo: Dalice Trost 

Ian McLean wrote in the CitiNews:

"[Musica Da Camera Canberra's]  philosophy of engaging different conductors/musical directors to present each concert has ensured the maintenance of a fresh and energetic approach to music making.

"This was certainly evident in this concert with the group on this occasion led by “energiser bunny”, John Ma.....

"He led the ensemble with incredible vigour and an obvious excitement in every aspect of his playing.

"This passion translated to the audience who bopped along to stirring Menuets as if attending a concert by Pink. It was a constant delight to experience the joy evident in his music making....

"This obvious enjoyment in quality music making fully engaged a happy audience which lapped up a fun concert of absorbing music from the Baroque period."

Read the whole article here: CitiNews

Thank you to Dalice Trost for the photograph

"Performance demonstrates power of music in stirring emotions"

Musica da Camera 5 April concert was reviewed by Ian McLean, writing in CBR City News.  Some excerpts....

"Warm autumn sun shone through the large, clear-glass rear window of the Holy Covenant Church perfectly framing the 15 string players of Musica Da Camera Canberra as they began their Angels & Serenades concert.

"It was a delightful setting that was subsequently matched by delightful music from this ensemble, which was formed more than 40 years ago as a small Baroque ensemble, but has grown to encompass string music from all genres.

"... For this concert the conducting honour fell to Brad Tham, a graduate from the ANU.......Tham replaced his conductor’s baton with his violin to perform Lonely Angel ..... by Latvian composer Peteris Vasks.

"...this was an enjoyable and entertaining concert which ably demonstrated the power of music in stirring emotions"

You can read the whole review <here>

"This concert, under the musical direction of respected violist and proponent of the instrument, Robert Harris, was a rich confection of music with a twin focus on music for viola and music imbued with the rhythms of dance." writes Helen Musa in the Canberrra City News.

"Dominating the first half of the program were two works by Georg Philipp Telemann, whose repertoire along with the viola itself, has been “undeservedly underrated”, in Harris’ view.

"These  two works, Concerto for two Violas in G Major and Ouverture-Suite-in D, may have been influenced by Telemann’s eight-month visit to Paris 1737-38, which possibly explains some of the dancier flavour of the works.

"The first, with Harris and Paul Whitbread taking the lead on the viola, revelled in both the assertiveness and the mellowness of the instrument. The second work quite literally referred to dance in its mo[ve]ments, with labels such as Sarabande, Rondeau and Courante.

See Helen's complete review: CitiNews