Sunday 26 March at 4pm Choral Evensong at St Jude’s Church Bowral, Brett’s new Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis setting “Evening Service in C” will be premiered by the St Jude’s Chamber Choir. This setting was commissioned for the Festal Evensong service that concludes the Bowral Autumn Music Festival. All welcome!
Sunday 12 March at 4pm Choral Communion at St Jude’s Church Bowral, Brett’s new Mass setting “St Simon Service” will be premiered. All welcome!
My new solo organ CD, called ‘Noteworthy’, recorded on the 2019 South Island Organ Company organ at St John’s Gordon, NSW is now available.
Music is by Mendelssohn, J.S. Bach, Handel, Guilmant, Howells, McKern, and others.
Available as a physical CD or download, it is available from https://soundwright.com.au/?product=noteworthy or from the church at http://stjohnsgordon.org.au/st-johns-music-association/
Two new volumes of asynchronous choral music have been published, edited by Brett and A/Prof. Diana Blom. This music is designed for live performance, OR can be performed over the web on platforms like Zoom or Skype. While an exploration of asynchronous choral techniques, this repertoire will also be useful for choirs who want to continue singing as a group activity during lockdown or socially distanced. They can be purchased as a PDF download or hardcopy at: https://www.australiancomposers.com.au/collections/print-music/products/out-of-time and https://www.australiancomposers.com.au/collections/print-music/products/copy-of-out-of-time-volume-2.
Herewith the University’s page addressing the Isabel Menton Composition Award 2017 – Brett won the Liturgical Division.
http://www.acu.edu.au/connect_with_acu/social/acu_isabel_menton_composition_award_2017
This Thursday, 22 February, Brett is playing the organ recital at St Andrew’s Cathedral Sydney 1.10-1.40pm. The programme is below. All welcome!
J.S. Bach Fugue a la Gigue
Sir George Thalben-Ball Elegy
Mendelssohn Prelude & Fugue Op.37, No.1
Brett McKern
Meditation on In Paradisum
Tuba Tune
Verset No.1
Théodore Dubois Toccata
Brett’s new choral work Joyful we Adore You (for SATB with piano or organ) has won the liturgical division of the Isobel Menton Composition Award 2017. This award his been run annually three times by the Australian Catholic University.
The work uses the hymn text made famous in the movie Sister Act and often sung to the famous tune from Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Ode to Joy. Brett’s is a completely new setting and is tuneful and approachable by amatur choirs as well as those more capable.
The socre is under exclusive use for 12 months by the University choirs before being made available for general use under the conditions of the award.
A new CD of organ music played by Kurt Ison at Christ Church St Laurence, Sydney on the Hill organ features Brett’s Voluntary on Tallis’ Canon. This piece won the inaugural RSCM ACT Composition Competition for a liturgical keyboard work, but is also appropriate for and has been used for recital. It has been played in recital at St Paul’s Cathedral, London and elsewhere.
The CD is available on ebay at https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/202154405376?ul_noapp=true for AUD$25.
The score may be purchased at: http://www.australiancomposers.com.au/authors/brett-m-mckern/voluntary-on-tallis-canon-score for AUD$12.
The Braybn Singers are premiering my new Missa Brevis commissioned by them this coming Sunday 24-x-2017 at the 9.30am Choral Mass at St John’s in Gordon NSW. Everyone welcome!
… of the Song Company concert series, Bach and Forward, which featured my Ein Feste Burg commissioned for the series, and based on Luther’s hymn and marking his 500th anniversary. This review is of the Canberra concert:
Brett McKern 