How about giving your friends and family an arty Christmas?! I’ve put together a list of some great prezzi ideas I’ve come across for those last minute Christmas gifts.
If you are looking for music try the fabulous box set Eileen Joyce the Complete Studio Recordings released just last month on the Decca Eloquence label. Joyce was a WA pianist and her fascinating story has been researched by Perth musicologists and released in an accompanying book Destiny: the Extraordinary Career of Eileen Joyce.
For tickets I would recommend a Fringe World gift voucher which can be sent by email – the perfect last minute solution. Fringe runs Jan 26-Feb 25th and there is a whole heap of kids events at Fringe too so a voucher could work for any age group.
Women of Note takes a fresh look at Australian history and makes startling discoveries about the lives and music of twenty women who have shaped Australia’s music history so substantially. Tit is written by yours truly and I can tell you there are limited copies of Women of Note left so contact me if you would like a signed copy before they all disappear. It is an easy read for music lovers and general readers alike.
For summer gigs I can’t go past Jordi Savall, the big international drawcard at the Perth Festival who will be starting his national tour with two concerts in Perth in February. His gigs are attracting a lot of attention as he is bringing both his early music specialist ensemble Hesperion XXI and Mexico’s Tembembe Ensamble continuo for a program of dance music that mixes 15th and 16th century European, Mexican and Latin American sounds. Savall is not your ordinary classical musician and I suspect these concerts will be more dance party than stuffy classical!
On the local scene an enthralling story is unfolding in the collaboration between WA Ballet, the Gary Lang NT Dance company and Yorta Yorta soprano Deborah Cheetham. Milnjia, Milky Way – River of Stars tells Lang’s mother’s dreamtime story through ballet and will be performed under the stars at the Quarry Ampitheatre in February. It is a fascinating cultural collaboration that is being put together with great respect and heart and will make an amazing gift.
For kids there are some great arts events coming up during the school holidays. I’m buying my nephew tickets to Spare Parts Puppet Theatre’s production of Roald Dahl’s The Twits and Spare Parts also do gift vouchers if you want more flexibility. There is also The Gruffolo at the State Theatre Centre, and We’re Going on a Bear Hunt at Subiaco Arts Centre.
Give your family and friends an arty Christmas!
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