For further information on history in Brisbane, visit The Royal Historic Society of Queensland.
MUSIC IN COLONIAL BRISBANE
Modern music lovers would be astonished at how much music-making went on in Brisbane in colonial days, both from locals and from visiting artists. It covered all genres – choral, chamber, orchestral, opera, and music for bands. In this nine-part series of two-hour programs, we’ll hear music which was heard on the stage, in the home and in the street. The programs will variously focus on local music makers, visiting entertainers, venues, and there’ll be music by Australian colonial composers, many of them local. Despite a small population and conditions that today we’d consider primitive, the standards that were achieved were often remarkably gratifying. And undertakings could be very ambitious: orchestras performed symphonies, choirs performed oratorios, and opera companies staged Meyerbeer!