Sunday 12 May, 2024
2:30 – 4:00pm
Wolumla Memorial Hall
Acacia Quartet and international guests Emile Cantor (on viola) & Laurentiu Sbarcea (on cello) present a program of string sextets:
Antonin Dvorak – String Sextet in A major, Op. 48
Lyle Chan – String Sextet (New Work)
Johannes Brahms – String Sextet No. 2 in G major, Op. 36
Acacia Quartet
Forming in 2010, Acacia Quartet are one of Australia’s most respected string ensembles.
Having recorded twelve albums, Acacia is known for presenting versatile and inventive programs which prominently feature Australia’s leading composers. Nominated for an APRA-AMCOS Art Music ‘Award for Excellence’ (2013), and Aria Music Awards ‘Best Classical Album’, twice (2013 and 2020), Acacia are renowned recording artists with their recordings regularly featured on radio around the world.
Having toured extensively, Acacia is in high demand both locally and internationally. Locally, Acacia’s engagements include the Sydney Opera House, City Recital Hall Sydney, Melbourne Recital Hall, as well as extensive touring through regional NSW and Victoria. Internationally, Acacia had their international debut in Vancouver, Canada at the Roundhouse in June 2016 and have since followed up with performances in Europe.
Passionate supporters of young musicians, Acacia has previously worked with NSW’s Regional Youth Orchestra and are proud to share their love of music with audiences of all ages.
Laurentiu Sbarcea
Born in Rumania, he studied at the “Ciprian Porumbescu” Conservatory in Bucharest under S. Antropov after winning several awards in youth competitions. After his studies he received tuition from D. Shaffran and M. Gendron and won prizes as a cellist in international competitions such as Marktneukirchen und Colmar.
He has lived in Germany since 1984 and is second solo cellist of the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra. His teaching is as varied as his activities include audition preparation and coaching of talented young musicians. He currently teaches at the Köln Hochschule, department Aachen. Since 2014 he teaches violoncello at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Esse.
Emil Cantor
Born in 1955 in Apeldoorn (Netherlands) Emile started playing violin at the age of 4. His teachers were Qui van Woerdekom, Henk Knol and Jaap Schroeder. At 14 he started to play the viola, fascinated by its tonal beauty. From 1973 to 1975 he studied at the National Conservatory of Paris as a student of Professor Serge Collot, who has influenced him the most, and obtained Premier Prix nommé (1975).
Mr. Cantor has held solo-viola positions with the Netherland Chamber Orchestra in Amsterdam (under Szymon Goldberg and David Zinman), the Philharmonic Orchestra of Copenhagen, the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse (under Michel Plasson) and the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra in Denmark.
His work as a teacher has given him international reputation; Mr. Cantor has taught in the Trossingen and Aachen Hochschules since 1986 and has been professor for viola at the University of Mainz 1992-1999 and at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen since 1999. He is also an associated professor at the Conservatori del Liceo in Barcelona (since 2002). In addition, Emile Cantor has been a coach in the German national youth orchestra (BJO) since 1988 and teaches regularly at summer courses in Germany, Finland, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland and Sweden.