Concordia Mandolin and Guitar Ensemble
Concordia Mandolin and Guitar Ensemble is a Melbourne plucked-strings chamber orchestra of about twenty-four players. Formed in 1978, its members perform on mandolins, mandolas, guitars, mandocello, double bass and piano accordion.
Based in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs, the ensemble has given hundreds of concerts across the city and regional Victoria, and has performed as far afield as Italy.
Its programmes move from Baroque and Classical repertoire through Romantic and contemporary works to popular arrangements, often with guest soloists that add colour to the mandolin orchestra’s distinctive sound.
On Move the group has recorded atmospheric European collections such as Salut d'Amour (MCD 080), the wide-ranging Eclectic Collection (MCD 121), and later albums including Ringing the Strings (MCD 557) and Eclipse (MCD 612), pairing arranged classics with new Australian writing for plucked strings.
Artist's website: www.concordiamandolins.org.au
Concordia Mandolin and Guitar Ensemble is featured on the following titles
Eclipse
Intended for 2020, this album and the Concordia Mandolin & Guitar Ensemble were eclipsed by the pandemic. Three years on comes Concordia’s sixth CD: chamber works by Michelle Nelson for plucked strings.
Ringing the Strings
Melbourne’s Concordia Mandolin and Guitar Orchestra present a programme of original works and arrangements for plucked strings, including music by Sculthorpe and Fauré alongside pieces by the ensemble’s own Michelle Nelson.
Flight
Concordia Mandolin and Guitar Ensemble gathers its more virtuosic, lively and passionate repertoire under the idea of flight. Flight of the Bumble Bee and Le Streghe (The Witches) lead the way; the remaining works answer with energy and vitality that suggest flights of fancy.
Forgotten Dreams
In 1999 Concordia director Basil Hawkins first heard Hadjidakis’s The Waltz of Forgotten Dreams. Struck by its atmospheric, evocative character, he shaped a programme of kindred nostalgia, including Eileen Pakenham’s Reverie and Fred Witt’s Memories of Bendigo.
Eclectic Collection
The mandolin orchestra is remarkably versatile. This recording sets out to show that range and the ensemble’s distinctive colour across a programme that moves freely between styles and cultures.
Salut d'Amour
Concordia Mandolin and Guitar Ensemble offers a warm European tour for plucked strings, crowned by Elgar's Salut d'Amour in an arrangement for mandolin orchestra.
Concordia Mandolin and Guitar Ensemble also appears on
Peter Sculthorpe
A retrospective compilation of favourite chamber works by the late Peter Sculthorpe, drawn from Move’s own catalogue. Torres Strait song, Kakadu landscapes and intimate string writing are heard in performances by leading Australian musicians.
After the Fire
Australian composer and guitarist Michelle Nelson presents After the Fire, a programme of her own chamber works. Melodic and contemporary, the music draws on Australian places and histories while remaining rooted in traditional craft.
Members of Concordia Mandolin and Guitar Ensemble
Juliette Maxwell
Juliette Maxwell is an accordionist with Melbourne’s Concordia Mandolin and Guitar Ensemble, adding solo colour and ensemble texture to programmes of arranged classics and new writing for plucked strings.
Michelle Nelson
Michelle Nelson is a composer, guitarist and creative educator committed to developing instrumental works that are contemporary in voice yet draw on traditional composition practice.
