Santiago Cañón Valencia – Win 2 tickets!

Lady Southey, AC is proudly launching her signature series of concerts with the incredible Santiago Cañón Valencia. Having been hailed by critics as “a phenomenon” and “without doubt already one of the finest cellists on the world stage today”, the young virtuoso cellist Santiago, has established himself as one of the most exciting, emerging musical talents.

Santiago Cañón Valencia (born May 9, 1995 in Bogotá, Cundinamarca) is a Colombian cellist. He comes from a family of musicians (his father is a clarinetist of the Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra and his sister is a violinist). His mother started teaching him cello when he was 4 years old. When he was still 6 years old, in 2002, he gave his first concert with the Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra. He has played with the world’s best ever since.

Santiago is returning to Australia for some concert performances, to kick start this wonderful program. Marigold’s philosophy has always taken pride in nurturing talent and promoting the art of performance. Skyhigh Promotions has developed this new platform, which is named after Marigold Southey, for her continued commitment to the arts in general and young people specifically; in an effort to reach out to artists at an early point in their burgeoning careers. Artists will include young, up & coming opera singers, musicians and chamber ensembles amongst others.

Santiago will be performing alongside the Strings of the newly formed Melbourne Sinfonietta, led by Roger Jonsson, the outstanding Concertmaster who co-led the Melbourne Ring Orchestra in 2013. Roger Jonsson has held regular positions in nearly all of Sweden’s leading orchestras, including the Swedish Radio Symphony, the Baroque Orchestra, Stockholm’s New Chamber Orchestra and the Stockholm Sinfonietta. Roger has performed in many tours throughout Sweden and Europe. Roger is currently OV’s Concertmaster.

Santiago has performed concertos with orchestras in Colombia, Australia, New Zealand, China, South Africa, United States, Canada and Hungary. Recently, he was invited to perform Haydn in C Major Cello Concerto with the Moscow Soloists and Yuri Bashmet as conductor, in Bogota, Colombia. He has also been a guest artist several times at the Cartagena International Music festival and in 2015, he will play with the Mahler Chamber Soloists at the same festival.

“Santiago possesses a musical maturity that is way beyond his years. His technical precision is quite staggering and he is without doubt already one of the finest cellists on the world stage today.”      Adam Chalabi, Melbourne, October 2012, Elgar Cello Concerto with the Orchestra Victoria

“Playing the Shostakovich First Concerto, Valencia proved to be a phenomenon.”

William Dart, New Zealand Herald, March 2011

‘TO WIN’ a double ticket giveaway to see Santiago Canon perform at The Salon – Melbourne Recital Centre on the 7 April 2015 be the first to ring Kerrie on 0423 308 005 and tell me Santiago’s current age.

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 Santiago Canon Tour Dates:

Tuesday 7th April

The Salon – Melbourne Recital Centre Tickets available from: www.melbournerecital.com.au

Thursday 9th April

The Capital, Bendigo Tickets available from: www.thecapital.com.au or
03) 5434 6100

Friday 10th April

Kantor Music & Performing Arts Centre, Hamilton

Tickets available from: www.trybooking.com/GMUB

Supanova 2015

Zombies Beware… The Walking Dead’s ‘Michonne’ to Cut a Swathe Through Supanova!

SUPANOVA DATES: 

Melbourne: April 11 & 12, 2015 |Melbourne Showgrounds

Gold Coast: April 18 & 19, 2015 |Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre

It’s a feeding frenzy for fans of The Walking Dead as we reveal the katana-wielding heroine, Danai ‘Michonne’ Gurira, will be joining the Supa-Star lineup for next month’s Melbourne (11 &12 April) and Gold Coast (18 & 19 April) events.

Zimbabwean-American actress, Danai Gurira, is best known as Michonne on the television series The Walking Dead. An award-winning playwright, Danai has written for stage and screen. Prior to TWD Danai starred in film The Visitor, and played a recurring part on the Cyclone Katrina drama, Treme. Danai joined the cast of The Walking Dead in its third season in 2012 as one of the main supporting characters in the storyline.

Christopher Lloyd: 'Doc' Brown, Back to the Future
Christopher Lloyd: ‘Doc’ Brown, Back to the Future

Celebrities include:

Christopher Lloyd: ‘Doc’ Brown, Back to the Future

Dolph Lundgren: Ivan Drago, Rocky IV

Tyler Hoechlin: Derek Hale, Teen Wolf

Ryan Hurst: Opie Winston, Sons of Anarchy, Gerry Bertier, Remember the Titans

James Cosmo: Jeor Mormont, Game of Thrones, Angus MacLeod, Highlander

Robin Lord Taylor: The Penguin, Gotham

Willa Holland: Thea Queen, Arrow, Kaitlin Cooper, The O.C.

Manu Bennett: Deathstroke, Arrow, Azog, The Hobbit

Jason David Frank: original Green/White Ranger, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

George Takei: the original Hikaru Sulu, Star Trek 

Nichelle Nichols: the original Nyota Uhura, Star Trek

Walter Koenig: the original Pavel Chekov, Star Trek

James Marsters: Spike, Buffy the Vampire SlayerAngel

Charisma Carpenter: Cordelia, Buffy the Vampire SlayerAngel

Georgina Haig: Elsa, Once Upon a Time

Sean Maguire: Robin Hood, Once Upon a TimeLeonidas, Meet the Spartans

Rachel Skarsten: Tamsin, Lost GirlBlack Canary, Birds of Prey

Martin Klebba: Marty, The Pirates of the Caribbean, Randall, Scrubs

Kevin McNally: Gibbs, The Pirates of the Caribbean, Hugo Lang, Doctor Who

Jessica DiCicco: Flame Princess, Adventure Time

Todd Haberkorn: voice actor from Soul EaterFullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Robbie Daymond: voice actor from Sailor MoonBreadwinners

Kirby Krackle: geek rock band from Seattle, USA

Tony Moore: artist – The Walking DeadFear Agent

Arthur Suydam: artist – Marvel Zombies, Deadpool, Army of Darkness

Peter F. Hamilton: author – Greg Mandel series, Night’s Dawn trilogy

John Scalzi: author – Old Man’s War series, Lock In

Dolph Lundgren: Ivan Drago, Rock IV
Dolph Lundgren: Ivan Drago, Rock IV

Also joining the event is Richard Epcar, who was voted one of the Top 20 Video Game Voice Actors of all time by IMDb, having voiced over 400 characters in games, animation and anime. Best known as the voice of Batou in Ghost in the Shell, and The Joker in several Batman-themed games, including Injustice: Gods Among Us. Some of Richard’s other notable voice credits include characters from Robotech, Digimon and Bleach.

Classically trained actress Ellyn Stern has worked as a voiceover artist, director and writer, with a career spanning across film, television and stage. Ellyn’s debut into anime voice acting was during the ‘80s on the original sci-fi series, Robotech, in which she voiced a number of characters. Ellyn’s other voice credits include Miyuki Gotou in Noein. and Haraway in Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence.

Greg Van Borssum is an Australian fight designer and weapons consultant for feature films. An accomplished athlete and martial artist, Greg recently worked as the fight choreographer for the highly anticipated Mad Max: Fury Road. He has also worked as an assistant director on the animated films, Happy Feet and Happy Feet Two.

Brisbane-based journalist-turned-author, Paula Weston will join Supanova’s Gold Coast event. Paula is the master behind The Rephaim series, containing three books: Shadows, Haze and Shimmer. The fourth and concluding book in the series, Burn, will be released this coming June.

Supa-Stars Alexander Vlahos and Steve Worland have been called away to work on some new and very exciting projects, which unfortunately means they will be unable to attend Supanova in April as planned. Both guests send their apologies to fans in Melbourne and The Gold Coast.

To see the full lineup of talented guests from the realms of film, television, anime, comics and fantasy/sci-fi writing visit our Supa-Star Guest page.

Magical Suitcase Day – Free Family Event

The Magical Getaway Foundation is hosting a free family event on the 24 May 2015 at Queensbridge Square, Southbank between 11am – 4pm.

A great treat for kids, all are invited to enjoy the day’s entertainment including magic shows, face painters, balloonist, baby animal farm, photo booth and live musical performances.

Give Back & Getaway Dinner

Also on the 24 May 2015  starting at 7pm – 11.30 the Magical Getaway Foundation will be hosting a very special Gala event at the Park Hyatt, Melbourne

There will be a 3 course meal including drinks and a night jammed packed with information and entertainment.

Hosted by comedien John Barresi the night’s  entertainment will include a star studded lineup with singer / songwriter Lucy Gale and her eight piece big band Galeforce along with special guest artists’ , musical director / composer  Dominic Ross and Melbourne opera singer Brett Kaye.

This special event offers you an up close and personal view of the Magical Getaway Foundation providing extensive information about what is being done and what can be done to implement positive change.

‘It’s about kids, kindness, love, opportunity and hope’

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It is a sobering awakening to discover that current statistics, as published during Anti-Poverty Week 2014, show that 1 in 7 Australians and I in 6 children are living in poverty.

As a resident of Melbourne’s south eastern suburbs I simply do not see this reality on a day to day basis…

I discovered these facts during an interview with Rosemary Teed who is currently a Student Wellbeing Coordinator and a specialist in issues related to poverty and its ripple effect.

Throughout her vocation of over twenty years
working with children, Rosemary felt that she was putting proverbial bandaids on poverty stricken kids until she ‘bit the bullet’ and went about formalising her vision in the Magical Getaway Foundation. 

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It is important that there are experienced and dedicated people like Rosemary Teed working on the front lines who continue to rise up and manifest practical solutions to what are often spiritual maladies within our communities.

This non-for-profit organisation is about providing financially disadvantaged children and their caregivers the chance of experiencing a family holiday for the very first time in their lives.

The ultimate goal is to plant life changing ‘seeds of hope’ through positive experiences.

It’s about kids, kindness, love, opportunity and hope; the fibre of any healthy society.

First established in 2013, the Magical Getaway Foundation is hosting these two very special events on the 24 May 2015 to further illuminate their call to action and encourage sponsorship from corporate organisations, trusts, private donations and government agencies from within our community.

To find out more about this relatively new non-for-profit organisation and Sponsorship opportunities please go to www.magicalgetawayfoundation.org

For bookings to the Give Back & Get Away Gala event on 24 May 2015 at the Park Hyatt, Melbourne please call +61 419 372 629 or email info@magicalgetawayfoundation.org.

 

Dirty Dancing opening night Melbourne 2015

Wow, what a sensational opening night at John Frost’s Dirty Dancing at the Princess Theatre.

The audience was full of Melbourne’s theatre and show biz elite and the atmosphere was one of anticipation.

This is such a heartfelt and polished production that from start to finish the audience seemed spellbound by the rhythm of the live band and grace of the dancers. The absolute cleverness of the the staging and lighting also created ripples of awe in support of the pace and pitch of the story line.

Not sure about other audience members but I was emotionally charged and very aware of the legacy left by Patrick Swayce and I had it in my mind that he would have been proud of this 2015 rendition of Dirty Dancing.

 Kirby Burgess as Francis 'Baby' Houseman and Kurt Phelan as Johnny Castle.
Kirby Burgess as Francis ‘Baby’ Houseman and Kurt Phelan as Johnny Castle.

Even though I was totally absorbed throughout the musical, a couple of stand out moments were heralded by the deliciously delightful and heart stopping vocals and stage presence of Mark Vincent.

Mark, in his musical theatre debut seemed to hit the night’s crescendo with his solo performance of In the Still of the Night which was only to be topped by his later rendition of  The Time of My Life  accompanied by the extra ordinary vocals of Anna Freeland. This of course ended the show with a much deserved, tear in my eye and a standing ovation.

Mark Vincent as Billy Kostecki
Mark Vincent as Billy Kostecki

I’ve been told by insiders that John Frost known as one of the best, builds a solid foundation to support his productions and that sense of solidarity was felt in that theatre on and off stage.

Great show that is well worth the experience.

Opening Night on the Pink Carpet

images © Kerrie Pacholli

Darryn Hinch and friend
Derryn Hinch and friend
Melbourne publicist Helen Riser
Melbourne publicist Helen Riser
Heidi Victoria Victoria MP with friend
Heidi Victoria, Victorian MP with Angelo Phillipou

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rhonda Burchmore and Collette Mann
Rhonda Burchmore and Collette Mann