Chamber orchestra to perform

MELBOURNE based dynamic period ensemble, Genesis Baroque, is set to perform in Fish Creek this August. 

The Fish Creek Memorial Hall will play host to the chamber orchestra on Saturday August 12, thanks to Prom Recitals, a group of South Gippsland locals who are sharing their love of music and the Prom Country region through the presentation of classical music recitals. 

Genesis Baroque was founded in 2017 by artistic director and violinist, Jennifer Kirsner, and directed by baroque violinist Lucinda Moon. 

And as part of its 2023 season, the ensemble is launching a new series of performances called the Genesis Chamber Series. 

For the inaugural program in the series, Kammermusik, guest violinist Sophie Gent will join the ensemble in a program of instrumental music from the second half of the 17th century. 

Sophie Gent will perform alongside Lucinda Moon on violin, Jennifer Kirsner – violin/viola, Laura Vaughan – viola da gamba and Donald Nicolson – harpsichord.

Featuring composers from Bohemia, Germany and Austria, this highly varied music was written for the entertainment at feasts, serenades and the gathering of music-lovers, setting the ideal scene for a

Saturday afternoon in the South Gippsland town of Fish Creek. 

Sophie Gent, an Australian-born violinist, studied at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague with Ryo Terakado. 

Performing alongside Sophie will be Lucinda Moon, who has more than 30 years’ performance and recording experience, and is a highly respected and sought after Baroque violinist. 

Lucinda now records in Australia with the Elysium Ensemble, Accademia Arcadia, Latitude 37, and Van Diemen’s Band. 

She joined Genesis Baroque as musical director and concertmaster at the group’s inception in 2018. 

Lucinda will be joined on stage by Jennifer Kirsner, a Melbourne-based freelance period and modern violinist who has a passion for chamber music and has worked in diverse band settings from

Renaissance and garage bands in Melbourne to Ceilidh bands in Northern England. 

Melbourne-based viola da gamba specialist Laura Vaughan is a dynamic and well recognised member of the early music movement in Australia. 

Passionate about the unique sound world of the viol, Laura is committed to bringing this exquisite repertoire to audiences around the world. 

She is also one of the few exponents of the rare lirone and baryton. 

And finally, listed among Australia’s best classical performers by the ABC in 2019, New Zealand-born harpsichordist, synth artist, organist, composer and arranger, Donald Nicolson is a prominent figure in performance and research of the music of 17th- and 18th-century Europe, and in high demand as a keyboardist, 
composer, and arranger. 

The program features: 

Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber – Pars I from Mensa Sonora. 

Dietrich Buxtehude – Sonata in A minor Bux 272. 
Dietrich Becker – Sonata in C major, from Erster Theil Zwey-stimmiger Sonata und Suiten, 1674. 
Johann Rosenmüller – Sonata Ottava à 4. 
Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber- Pars VI from Mensa Sonora. 
Georg Muffat – Fifth Concerto in D major, Saeculum, from Auserlesene Instrumentalmusik.
The Genesis Chamber Series presents programs throughout Victoria featuring some of Melbourne’s finest historically-informed musicians in chamber works from the Baroque through to the early 20th-century performed on period instruments. 
Tickets to the Fish Creek performance are available at https://www.trybooking.com/CJHXO