Melbourne 2011 Advent Festival
A festival of music and the arts based around the daily cycle of a medieval community
If you had ever imagined yourself in the cloisters of a medieval monastery – surrounded by the peaceful sounds of Gregorian chant, splendid architecture, and beautiful manuscripts – then the Advent Festival will open this world to you. The festival offers the opportunity to side-step the Christmas rush and pause in Melbourne’s culturally rich oasis of Newman College.
Following the success of the inaugural Advent Festival in 2009, the 2011 Advent Festival features a diverse series of concerts, talks and displays drawing their inspiration from the cycle of eight services celebrated each day in a medieval monastery. Innovations in the 2011 festival include an exhibition and forum on the medieval manuscripts held in the State Library of Victoria and the University of Melbourne Library, a late-night performance of Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil, a monastic dinner, a rare
performance of the medieval play Filius Getronis and two services which integrate chant with the lute and the shakuhachi.
The festival will be held at Newman College, itself designed with a set of cloisters around a courtyard by Walter Burley-Griffin.
The concerts will be held in the College’s high-roofed chapel, the domed dining hall and the oratory.
The aim of the festival is to allow you to experience sacred music, art and drama as part of daily life – as it was for those in a medieval community – rather than simply attending a concert. To facilitate this, meals and accommodation are available at the College, and subscription tickets have been arranged to provide you with the opportunity to experience a series of concerts, talks and displays over the course of anything from a couple of hours to the whole weekend.
Advent is traditionally a time of contemplation and anticipation.
We warmly invite you to celebrate the beauty of this pre-Christmas period with us.
Gary Ekkel, Artistic Director.
For a detailed program and booking form, click: Advent_Brochure.
