The NCV Factor: A Night of Entertainment

Over the last five years NCV has developed quite a bit of tradition in the area of music. Starting in 2010 as an evening of primarily classical music, NCV’s Music Night has morphed into a more contemporary talent quest, in the tradition of the X Factor (but without the scathing feedback from the judges!).

This semester we were treated to performances (among others) of the Maroon 5 hit “Harder to Breathe”, Nena’s cold war classic “99 Luftballons”, Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man” and Nat King Cole’s “Unforgettable”. There was also a shout out to the retiring Federal Member for Kingsford Smith Peter Garrett, with the NCV Band performing Midnight Oil’s classic “Beds Are Burning”.

The NCV Choir went retro with renditions of the ABBA hits “Thank You for the Music” and “Mamma Mia”. The night was great fun, with the NCV Band now turning it’s attention to the Inter Residence Band Night at the Roundhouse in mid September.

The NCV Factor: A Night of Entertainment

The NCV Factor

After the success of NCV Talent Night earlier in semester, the talented people of NCV reconvened with another event to showcase the depth and breadth of talent in the NCV community.  Residents were treated to an extravaganza of solo and group performances, including singing, dancing, singing, juggling, singing, rap, and, in the words of the comperes Robindro Chatterji and Monish Maharaj, more singing! NCV residents Tamara Certain, Juan Lyn Ang, Ria Dev, Ahsan Kabir Murad and Rhonda Siu performed solos from artists as diverse as Shakespeare’s Sister and Christina Perri, while the NCV Band gave a sterling rendition of Train’s “Drops of Jupiter”. Erin Hauer and Natalia Novozhilova performed dance solos, while Cecilia White delivered a recital of her own poetry.

The NCV Choir sang Fun’s “We are Young” with great gusto, and Theresa Crossing and Wangari Muchiri performed a duet, as did Joni Mok and Kanayarat Sanoran. Comperes Robindro Chatterji and Monish Maharaj performed an astonishing rap rendition of “Fox in Socks”, a special tribute to the Dean’s daughter who turned 1 the day before.  Long time friend of NCV Stephen Chikazaza gave another wonderful vocal performance, while Michael Sturm braved a soccer injury to perform with the band in the final item of the night, announcing by text that “I will perform!”  The Master presented thank you gifts to all involved, noting the incredible amount of work put into the evening by everyone, especially by residents Pesila Ratnayake and Shamila Vijayamanohar. We are already looking forward to NCV’s Got Talent in 2013!

As usual Frank the Penguin made an appearance

The NCV Factor

NCV Music Night

Asst Dean Viv Shek on Cello

On Friday 19^th August the NCV community gathered in NCV’s Main Common Room for the second Annual NCV Music Night. The evening was organized by the NCV Music Association which oversees the NCV Choir and NCV Chamber Orchestra.

To open the night we were treated to a medley of songs from Les Miserables, performed by the NCV Choir.  After this resident Armin Chitizadeh performed a piece called “Morning Bird” on a santour, a Persian instrument played by striking strings with very fine hammers.  You could see people all around the room craning their necks to catch a glimpse of this unfamiliar instrument and Armin’s elegant striking. 

Next up were residents Joni Mok and Serena Ma, who played a lovely piano duet arrangement of Mozart’s  “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik”.  After this the evening switched (briefly) to contemporary music, with resident Kevin Phang playing three pieces on guitar (Andy McKee’s “Heather’s Song”, Tommy Emmanuel’s “Mombassa” and JZ Moolman’s “Jay’s Tap”).  Kevin is a completely home grown guitarist, having first picked up the instrument while a resident at NCV.  On top of this he also played a piece written by a former NCV resident in JZ Moolman. 

Following a short interval where residents enjoyed some drinks and nibbles, resident Hsuan Tan played two pieces on piano: Paul de Senneville’s “Triste Coeur” and “Tonight I Celebrate My Love For You” (by Michael Masser and Gerry Goffin).  Hsuan is a talented pianist who is currently undertaking a Master of Optometry.  Following Hsuan, Master of Design student Kay Chen gave a great recital of Bach’s Sonata 1035 in E minor on flute.  For her performance Kay was accompanied by Vivian Shek on piano.

Performers on the night

The next items were vocal.  Friend of NCV Steven Chikazawa sang his own composition called “Providence”, and was accompanied by his cousin Tino on guitar. After this resident Theresa Crossing sang the Rick Founds song 'Lord I lift your name on high', accompanied by Vivian Shek on piano. 

To finish off the evening, the NCV Music Association Chamber Orchestra played two Mozart pieces: "Oboe Quartet in F major, K.370 1st movement and Symphony No, 40 in G Minor, K550 1st movement.

At the end of the formalities many residents stayed on in the MCR, playing together, getting to know one another and generally having a good time.  A great night was had by all.

NCV Music Night

New Groups Building Community Life @ NCV

It has been a great thrill to see the development of a number of different groups at the NCV that have been initiated by residents with some shared interests. In recent months we have seen three new groups:

• An NCV Choir
• A Bollywood Dance group
• The NCV Orchestra

Thank you to the initiators of these various activities and the enthusiasm of all who have helped to build these wonderful groups to enrich community life.

The NCV Choir

 

Bollywood Dance Group

 

 NCV Orchestra

 

New Groups Building Community Life @ NCV

Japan Fundraising Concert

The Japanese earthquake of the 11th March and the subsequent tsunami brought images of extraordinary destruction into living rooms all around the world.  Members of the NCV community were deeply shocked at the tragedy, with several residents having family and friends in affected areas. In response to the events of 11th March, NCV resident Elina Yasumoto kindly offered to perform a fundraising concert to raise money for the victims of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

Elina is an accomplished pianist, having graduated previously from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and University of Melbourne Faculty of Music.  At the concert, which was held in the NCV Common Room on 28th March 2011, Elina performed Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor.

During the performance Phillip Shovk, who is a well known Australian pianist and a multiple prize winner at the Sydney International Piano Competition, accompanied Elina. Phillip played a piano transcription of the orchestral part of the concerto.  It was a wonderful privilege to enjoy music of this caliber here at NCV, and we are very grateful to Elina for initiating the event and to Phillip for giving of his time to support this worthy cause.  Residents dug deep into their pockets for the cause, with the concert raising almost $1,000 for victims of the earthquake and tsunami.

Japan Fundraising Concert

NCV Music Night

On the 27th August NCV hosted its Inaugural Music Night, which featured a range of different instrumental and vocal pieces performed by NCV residents.  The evening was preceded by some drinks and nibbles in the main common room, after which residents settled in for an evening of fine music.
To start the night, a choir of NCV residents sang the Jay Althouse & Sally Albrecht song “I am a small part of the world.” This was followed by the woodwind & string ensemble of Vivian Shek, Serena Ma, Kay Chen and Diane Wong, who played pieces by Haydn and Mozart. They also played one of Serena’s own compositions, “To Pop the Question”, demonstrating that NCV residents can not only play, they can also compose!

The next items were performed by resident Elina Yasumoto, who is a graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Music.  Elina played the “Regard No. X: Le Regard de l’Espirit de Joie” (from Messiaen’s “Vingt Regards sur L’Enfant Jesus”) followed by “Etude-tableau Op.39 no.5 in E-flat minor” by Rachmaninoff.  Elina also explained some of the history of the pieces before performing them, which was informative for those residents unfamiliar with the nomenclature around piano music.

In the next phase of the evening there were a series of guitar pieces performed by Kevin Phang, Roma Singhal and Sharon McGowan, punctuated by a Japanese item, “Niji”, performed by Mark Dixon (vocals), Diane Wong (piano), and Serena Ma (violin).  Kevin played two pieces by contemporary guitarist Andy McKee (“Art of Motion” & “Rylynn”) while Sharon sang the Parachute Band’s “Salvation Song”.  Kevin is a completely home grown guitarist, having first picked up the instrument while a resident at NCV, and having been initially taught by another resident! Completing this bank of songs were Roma Singhal and Sharon McGowan, who played guitar while singing a medley of contemporary songs.  Sharon and Roma involved the whole audience, who sang along to familiar tunes such as The Cranberries’ “Zombie”, The Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris” and Snow Patrol’s “Chasing Cars”.

To conclude the night Elina returned to play Liszt’s Tarantella from “Venezia e Napoli”.  During the performance the Dean’s six month old daughter Indumathi snuck down the front to watch Elina’s flying fingers. It was a fitting end to a fabulous evening, showcasing the incredible depth of talent of NCV residents.

NCV Music Night