Music

JOIN ‘THE JUBILANT COMMONWEALTH CHOIR’ AND BE PART OF THE THAMES DIAMOND JUBILEE PAGEANT, CELEBRATING HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN’S 60-YEAR REIGN ON SUNDAY 3 JUNE 2012

Organisers of the Thames Diamond Jubilee pageant are looking for 120 singers to perform on the river as part of the spectacular 1,000-boat flotilla, from Putney to Tower Bridge. Perform to The Queen and other members of the Royal Family, who will watch from aboard the Royal Barge, while a TV audience of hundreds of millions from around the world view the Pageant.

Directed by Mary King and Orlando Gough, learn to sing newly commissioned arrangements of an eclectic mix of songs from the British Isles (from Scarborough Fair to surprising sea shanties and Gaelic tongue-twisters). Excitingly, the choir will premiere a special new song composed by Orlando Gough with lyrics by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy. Places are limited and auditions may be necessary. All those 18 years and over welcome to apply.

TO FIND OUT MORE & REGISTER YOUR INTEREST, PLEASE CONTACT:
Janet Waugh: janet@homeliveart.com; 07792 277 049; www.thamesdiamondjubileepageant.org

Queensland’s Sunshine Coast Oriana Choir are undertaking an international tour in 2012, which will take them to Vienna, Paris, London, and also to Wales to audition for entry into the Choir of the World competition at the Llangollen Eisteddfod in July.

Sunshine Coast Oriana Choir and the Sunshine Coast Oriana Youth Choir have over seventy members aged from 8 to over 65, who come from all over the Sunshine Coast and surrounding areas to attend weekly rehearsals in Buderim. Subject to an audition, anyone can join the choirs and among the members are teachers, doctors, nurses, therapists, managers, administrators, writers, lawyers, business owners, students, musicians, artists, accountants, retirees, homemakers and more.

Oriana enjoys a wide repertoire from classical, sacred and period works to modern, contemporary and world music. They are committed to not only developing an outstanding choral group but presenting other innovative and quality music, theatre and arts opportunities.

They will be performing in London as follows

Monday 2 July, 1.15pm – 1.45pm: Dome Dais, St Paul’s Churchyard, St Paul’s Cathedral

Tuesday 3 July, 1.00pm – 1.45pm: St Martin in the Fields Church, Trafalgar Square

http://www.oriana.org.au

Australia at the Olympics 2012 Festival

The culmination of the Cultural Olympiad, the London 2012 Festival, will be the biggest festival the UK has ever seen, with artists from around the world. Australia artists and performers will be taking part in the Festival as follows. Further acts will be announced in 2012:

The renowned Legs On The Wall creates exciting physical theatre, weaving music, video, acrobatics, dance, circus and aerial imagery into large scale outdoor spectacles and theatre works, built upon extraordinary physical performance skills.

They will join forces with the UK’s Motionhouse theatre company to present The Voyage, which will be the Midlands opening of the London 2012 Festival..

This is a free event.

Performances at 10.00pm daily June 21 -24
Victoria Square, Birmingham, B3 3AA, outside Birmingham Town Hall

The South Australian Precision Dance Team will be appearing amongst an international contingent to the 2012 Big Dance festival, a program of the Cultural Olympiad. The team will participate in the Big Dance 2012 finale at Trafalgar Square on 14 July.
Dates: 5-15 July
For more information visit: www.bigdance2012.com

Australian artist Caroline Magerl will exhibit her painting The Face of St Imbecile at the fourth edition of the Parallax Art Fair - a curated international art fair. Entry is free.
More information at: www.barlowfinedrawings.com/parallaxaf.html

Theatre

The spectacular musical Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is based on the hilarious and heart-warming movie about three friends who hop aboard a battered old bus (named Priscilla) and take their show to the middle of the Australian outback.
Palace Theatre London
Info/bookings

Timberlake Wertenbaker’s Olivier Award-winning play Our Country’s Good, is based on the first fleet to Australia, which arrived in Sydney in 1788 at artsdepot, London.
Info/bookings

Events

The Bicha Gallery is featuring an exhibition by Australian artist Dr Lisa Anderson called Beneath the Architecture of Beauty. Dr Anderson's exhibition of photography and neon sculpture exploring society, decadence and the weather. The opening reception will take place at 6.30pm - 8.30pm on 12 July 2012. The exhibition will continue from 13 July to 31 July 2012. For further information please contact the Bicha Gallery: antonio@bichagallery.com or visit this website: www.bichagallery.com.

The Wellcome Collection is featuring a free exhibition 'Brains: The Mind as Matter' including the work of Australian artist Helen Pynor called 'Headache.'
Information

The Hauser & Wirth gallery will feature a series of four lifelike sculptures by Australian artist Ron Mueck in his first solo exhibition in London in over ten years.
Information

The Art of Australia exhibition at Hope Hall in Devon runs from 18 to 27 May featuring workshops, talks and films.
Information

Click here for a list of Australian organisations in the UK, some of which of host events for their members and guests.

Seminars and Lectures

The Menzies Centre for Australian Studies will host a lecture titled: 'From Botany Bay to Breathing Planet: reflections on plant diversity and global sustainability.' The lecture is free and all members of the public are welcome to attend but you will need to RSVP here. For further details about the lecture please visit this page here.
Date: Wednesday, 13 June 2012
Time: 18.15 – 20.00
Venue: Edmund J Safra Lecture Theatre, King’s Building, King’s College London, WC2R 2LS

Links

www.arts.gov.au – Australian Government, Office for the Arts

www.australiacouncil.gov.au – Australia Council for the Arts

www.ozarts.com.au – Exporting contemporary Australian arts and culture

www.indigenous.gov.au – Links to sites on Aboriginal art and culture