The Annual

 Glebe Music Festival

In conjunction with The Glebe Society Inc

The Tall Poppeas
Singers: Anna Fraser, Hester Hannah, Inara Molinari, Danielle Grant
Musicians: Joanna Tondys (Harpsichord), Clara Blazer (Baroque Cello) ,
Esther Cheng (Baroque Violin)

First half

Second Half

THE TALL POPPEAS- BIOGRAPHY - 2006

Artistic Director: Inara Molinari
Resident Director: Leonie Cambage
Singers: Anna Fraser; Lyndsey Gartside, Hester Hannah; Inara Molinari, Danielle Grant

Described by one Sydney critic as "possible up and coming female rivals of the Song Company", The Tall Poppeas, established in 2001, has rapidly proved itself as one of Sydney's more adventurous and entertaining vocal ensembles. The group's name, based on the heroine of Monteverdi's opera The Coronation of Poppea, encapsulates its essence and aims - the performance of baroque repertoire, with a focus on music composed for three women; exploration of music by rarely performed composers, especially female; and our Australian origin, in playing on the expression "tall poppy syndrome".

Under the artistic direction of Inara Molinari, an impressive series of innovative programmes have been presented: Beyond The Moon- a poetic and vocal exploration of female composers and writers; Luscious Luzzaschi- featuring repertoire composed for three women by Luzzaschi and his male counterparts; Too Hot for Handel? - a joyous vocal duel between the works of Handel and his rival Bononcini in which the audience votes for their favourite; and Troppo Amore - an original, fully-staged show written by the group's Resident Director Leonie Cambage, which combines our specialty repertoire with a modern tale about three women in love with one man, who turns out to be Cupid! As a commitment to bringing this music to a wider audience, The Tall Poppeas has appeared at Sydney's Newtown Festival, The Norton Street Italian Festa, Glenbrook Music Festival, Darlinghurst Theatre's In the Raw Festival, the Melbourne Fringe Festival, as well as singing in more traditional venues such as St. Francis of Assisi Church, St. Scholastica's Chapel, The Sydney Conservatorium of Music and more recently, The Eileen Joyce Studio at UWA in Perth.

The group also prides itself on providing performance and artistic opportunities for emerging musicians and artists, and for our final concert this year, we will perform works especially commissioned for the group by young Australian composers. The Tall Poppeas singers bring a wealth of stage and concert experience to the group's endeavours having performed with companies in Australia such as Opera Australia, OzOpera, Cantillation, Pinchgut Opera, Hunter Opera and Sydney Symphony, as well as performances in the UK and USA.
For more information on the group visit: www.thetallpoppeas.com or phone (02) 9929-0363.

Anna Fraser, Soprano
Trained: Sydney Conservatorium of Music, New England Conservatory in Boston.
Regular performer with Cantillation, ACO Voices, and soloist with Pinchgut Opera (L'orfeo, Dardanus), recipient of many scholarships allowing graduate vocal studies and performances in Boston and the UK.

Inara Molinari, Mezzo Soprano
Trained: Diploma of Operatic Art, Opera Studio, Sydney Conservatorium; winner Bud Brown scholarship, Italian Government Scholarship for overseas study & Covent Garden Finalist.
Performer with Opera Australia, Cantillation, OzOpera, Pocket Opera, (San Francisco), and San Francisco Early Music Society.

Danielle Grant, Soprano
Trained: Sydney Conservatorium of Music, BMus.with Merit.
Regular performer with Cantillation and previously with the Philharmonia Motet Choir and Australian Opera Chorus. Also performs with Dolcezze, a voice and harp duo.

Hester Hannah, Soprano
Trained: Queensland Conservatorium of Music
Performer with Opera Australia and Hunter Opera (Countess, Marriage of Figaro) which toured to Lightning Ridge, and numerous roles in London following her McDonald's Operatic Aria win.

MUSICIANS

Clara Blazer, Baroque Cello
Trained: Sydney University, B. Mus. & Honours Degree majoring on the baroque cello.
Has taught at numerous schools, has conducted the Western Youth String Orchestra, studies baroque cello with Tim Blomfield and has commenced performing the cello sonatas of composer Geminiani with new ensemble Suonare. Clara made her debut with The Tall Poppeas at the 2004 Melbourne Fringe Festival.

Esther Cheng, Baroque Violin
Trained: University of Sydney, Bachelor of Music (1st class Honours), University Medal and the Frank Albert IV Prize.
Esther has performed with Sydney University Symphony Orchestra as a soloist, the Manly-Warringah Choir Orchestra, Willoughby Symphony Orchestra, Ku-ring-gai Philharmonic Orchestra, Bourbaki Ensemble & string quartet Sound of Melody. She has also played with The Renaissance Players from 1999 - 2004.

Joanna Tondys, Harpsichord
Trained: State Music Schools in Sieradz, and Zdunska Wola, Poland. Sydney Conservatorium of Music studying with Neal Peres da Costa. In Poland she founded the early music ensemble, Proavitus, for which she played continuo, performing at Zywiec Early Music Festival and in 1996, Proavitus won first prize at the Festival Competition. Joanna frequently returns to Europe where she participates in harpsichord master classes with internationally renowned early musicians Lilianna Stawarz and Nicholas Parle.