Opus Now #33 returns on Sunday August 24th
Doors and drinks from @ 1:30pm
Start time 2pm
Dear friends,
It’s been a minute—we’ve missed you!
We’re excited to reconnect through music and conversation, and we’d love for you to join us for a special Opus Now concert at the College Tower of St John’s College (USYD) on Sunday, August 24th at 2pm. Bring a friend (or a few!)—everyone is welcome, and we’d love to share this music with as many as possible.
We know it’s short notice to get your ducks in a row, but don’t worry—we’ll also be back with a completely different programme on September 28th.
THE MUSIC
We begin the concert with the music of Caterina Assandra (1590–1618), a musical prodigy whose only path to a life in composition was through the convent. Her Motetti à due e tre voci, Op. 2, features an unusually independent bass line and harmonies that bring sacred texts to life with striking emotional intensity. Though firmly rooted in liturgical tradition, her music subtly pushed boundaries—expressive, progressive, and quietly radical behind cloistered walls. A selection of her motets will be performed as instrumental arrangements by Ben Hoadley, scored for classical-period bassoon and string quartet on gut strings. The quartet includes local legends Anna da Silva Chen, Beatrice Colombis (violins) and Marlena Stanhope (viola), as well as Chris Pidcock (cello), and Ben Hoadley on classical bassoon.
We are delighted to welcome Shota Matsumura, a sound artist and trumpet improviser merging acoustic breath-based gesture with field, ecological, and plant‑science contexts. His honours research at the University of Sydney enriches his creative practice, weaving ecological inquiry with meditative sound ritual. He joins us for a performance of his recent ethereal and mediative album perennial, where he produces ultra‑quiet trumpet tones (30–40 dB), recorded in single, unedited takes—with inhalations removed—resonated purely via breath and gently amplified and processed. To hear his album performed live will be a truly unforgettable experience!
And finally we welcome pianist Lee Dionne, who has been making waves alongside flautist Rosie Gallagher through their captivating Hayes St Studio concert series. Lee takes on one of the most poetic works in the repertoire: Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto. The late Alfred Brendel described this concerto as Beethoven’s most intimate—"it never shouts, it sings." For Brendel, a deep sense of solitude and inwardness runs through the entire work, setting it apart with its quiet, lyrical power.
In keeping with that spirit of intimacy, we present the concerto in a rare chamber arrangement for solo piano and string quintet that widely performed in its time. It reflects a rich but now largely lost tradition of domestic music-making—when bigger works like this could be heard not in grand concert halls, but in the warmth of a salon, drawing room or college tower!
Preparation and performance for this concert will take place on Gadigal land, and we pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. "Keep the fire burning! Blak, Loud and Proud."
OPUS NOW #33
Tickets: Adults $35 + a drink online and at the door, FT Students $20 + a drink on arrival
Please book your tickets in advance here
When: 2-3:30pm (Doors 1:30pm) Sunday August 24th
Where: The college tower, St John's College, 10 Missenden Rd, Camperdown
Access:
PEDESTRIAN ENTRY
Access is accessible through the Missenden Rd Gates, which lead to the Tower door entrance of the College.
Free parking is available on the College premises for this event.
The College gates on Parramatta Rd will be open for parking. To enter these gates please be heading westbound (away from the City) on Parramatta Rd to be able to use this entrance.
Alternatively, Point Parking (commercial car park) is just to the south of the College's Missenden Road frontage, or there is also metered on-street parking.
ARTISTS
Lee Dionne piano
Shota Matsumura trumpet
Ben Hoardley period bassoon
Anna da Silva Chen and Beatrice Colombis, violin
Marlena Stanhope viola
Chris Pidcock cello
PROGRAMME
Caterina Assandra (1590–1618)
Motetti à due e tre voci, Op. 2 (selections)
Joseph Linke (1783–1837)
Variations for cello and string quartet Op. 3
Shota Matsumura
Perennial (2024)
Ludwig van Beethoven
Concerto for Pianoforte and Orchestra no. 4 in G major op. 58 (1805), arranged for piano and string quintet, attributed to Franz Alexander Pössinger (1808)
I Allegro moderato
II Andante con moto
III Rondo (Vivace)
Tickets and info:
https://opusnow33.eventbrite.com.au/
Shota Matsumura is a Japan-born artist and trumpet player currently based in Australia, known for sound-based works conceived across varied contexts. He frequently collaborates with artists across disciplines and is currently—or recently—an honours student affiliated with the Plant Ecophysiology and Ecosystem Processes Lab at the University of Sydney.
Sounds: https://shotamatsumura.bandcamp.com/
Marlena Stanhope is an Australian violist known for her work across orchestral, chamber, and contemporary classical settings. She has performed with the Sydney Youth Orchestra and Queensland Symphony Orchestra and has been featured at festivals such as SPEC Music Festival. Her chamber appearances include regional tours with Bach to the Bush and collaborations on new works, including Petite Suite Française written for her by composer David Stanhope. She has pursued further musical studies in Germany, performing with the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover's orchestra, and continues to appear regularly in ensemble and solo contexts around Australia.
Sounds: https://soundcloud.com/ben-hoadley-140395867/nightflower?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Lee Dionne is an American pianist and collaborative artist now based in Sydney, Australia. He is a co‑founder and director of Hayes Street Studio, an intimate music venue established in 2023 by Lee and flautist Rosie Gallagher. With years of experience as a founding member and touring pianist of the critically acclaimed Merz Trio (2017–2023)—winners of the 2021 Naumburg Award and top honors at the Fischoff, Chesapeake, and Concert Artist Guild Competitions—Lee has collaborated widely in the US and internationally.
Lee has performed at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and the Philharmonie in Bratislava, and has worked with ensembles like Cantata Profana and Ensemble Connect (a Carnegie Hall–Juilliard partnership). His work in Australia includes presentations by Musica Viva, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Sydney Writers’ Festival, ABC Classic, and Fine Music Sydney.
Academically, Lee holds a DMA in Piano Performance and a Master of Music from the Yale School of Music (2018), as well as a BA in Comparative Literature from Yale College (2011). His principal mentors have included Boris Berman, Vivian Weilerstein, Wei‑Yi Yang, Matti Raekallio, Seth Knopp, Patricia Zander, and Wilma Machover. Before relocating to Australia, he completed DAAD-funded study at the Musikhochschule in Hannover, Germany, where he earned a Soloist Diploma alongside his doctoral work. In 2025, he joined the faculty of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music as a lecturer in solo piano, collaborative piano, and chamber music.
Sounds: https://www.hayesstreetstudio.com/lee-dionne?utm_source=chatgpt.com