Dear Friends,
It is lovely to welcome you all here tonight as we celebrate the long awaited unveiling of June Mendoza’s new portrait of twins, Peter and Leslie MacLeod Miller.
We welcome back Ross Alley as our Master of Ceremonies and thank him for generously donating his time and expertise to present another of his bespoke concerts for us. As ever, we welcome his ongoing support. Tait Awardee, Chad Vindin returns as the Musical Director, and is this evening's accompanist. Now a Professor at the Royal Academy of Music, we are delighted that our association with Chad continues in this way.
We will hear from Tait Patron, June Mendoza AO OBE, about the portrait and, in light of this month’s sad news, she will share some special memories of her time painting HM Queen Elizabeth II.
We look forward to being entertained by some of our new awardees, and are very grateful to Leslie MacLeod Miller, who has generously invited us into his home and allowed us to mount tonight’s concert. Thank you!
To our Friends, many individual sponsors and loyal supporters: we are so pleased to see your sponsorship growing year on year. This year’s awardees are listed in tonight's programme another exciting group of talented young artists we are supporting.
Next year we hope to increase our awards funding again...thank you for making this happen! We can’t do this without you.
We look forward to seeing you at our 30th Anniversary Concert at Australia House on November 30th. It will be an event not to be missed a great celebration for all. Book now!
Isla Baring OAM Chairman, The Tait Memorial Trust
“Laudamus Te”
Programme
from Gloria in D
Antonio Vivaldi (Georgia/Katherine)
“Sull’aria…che soave zeffiretto” Le nozze di Figaro
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Georgia/Katherine)
“Herbstlied”
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (Chloe/Katherine)
Solo de concours
André Messager (Magdalenna Krstevska)
“Evening Prayer”
Hänsel und Gretel
Engelbert Humperdinck (Georgia/Chloe)
“Barcarolle”
Les contes d’Hoffmann
Jacques Offenbach (Georgia/Chloe)
Flower Duet Lakmé
Léo Delibes (Chloe/Katherine)
“The Shepherd on the Rock”
Franz Schubert (Cassandra, Magdalenna, Chad)
June Mendoza AO OBE, artist
June Mendoza AO OBE RP ROI HonSWA is a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and is considered to be one of the world's foremost portrait painters and undertakes commissions for portrait painting on a wide range of subjects. June was born in Melbourne, Australia to an artistic family, pianist, composer Dot (née) Mendoza and musician John Morton. June focused on an art career from twelve years of age, then moving on to life drawing at fourteen.
By seventeen June was illustrating book jackets, magazine illustrations, town planning exhibition artwork, record sleeves, some portraits and the adventure comic strip Devil Doone. Mendoza immigrated to England in the early 1950s and worked for Hulton Press producing illustrations and comics for Eagle’s companion title Girl. After five years June transitioned into full time portraiture with subjects including Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh; Sammy Davis Jr; Sean Connery; Princess Diana; HM Queen Elizabeth II (five times); HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother; Sir William McMahon; Prince Edward; Baroness Margaret Thatcher; Sir John Major; Sir John Gorton (official Parliamentary portrait acquired 1972 the first and only official portrait of an Australian Prime Minister by a woman artist).
Leanne Benjamin AM OBE and June Mendoza AO OBE
Ross Alley, a New Zealander, graduated from Victoria University of Wellington following which he became sole pianist for the Royal NZ School of Dance and was Musical Director for many shows in the capital city. Moving to Melbourne in 1979 he worked for the Australian Ballet School and Company before arriving in London where, for his first ten years, he was a pianist at the Royal Ballet School and Music Tutor to its Teacher Training Course. In 1990 he was appointed as a music lecturer for Birkbeck College, University of London which also led to a wide range of other lecturing experience, becoming a frequent speaker at the Royal Opera House giving over 70 talks on opera & ballet music. Over the years he has given numerous pre performance talks and informative lectures at the English National Opera, Wigmore Hall, Wagner Society, Symphony Hall Birmingham, the Gustav Mahler Society, NADFAS, Kenwood, Artstur and the London Jewish Cultural Centre. Ross also organises his own private lecture series on opera which take place each day of the week in various venues around London, the longest of which has been running for almost 30 years.
Chad Vindin Winner of the prestigious accompanist prize at the Royal Overseas League Competition, the Ludmilla Andrew Russian Song Accompanist Prize at the Royal Academy of Music, and the Maureen Lehane Vocal Awards Accompanist’s Prize at the Wigmore Hall, Chad is one of the rising young stars of the international accompaniment world. Born in Australia, Chad first studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music before moving to London. He now maintains a full workload as a staff pianist and vocal coach at both the Royal College and Royal Academy of Music and performs regularly across the UK and internationally. He is a founding member of the Sydney Chamber Opera Company and performed with OperaUpClose in their Olivier Award winning production of La Bohème.. His studies were generously supported by the Thornton Foundation, and is grateful to have received further support from the Leverhulme Trust, the Ian Potter Cultural Trust, and the Reizenstein scholarship.
Georgia Melville is a young Australian soprano, currently based in London. Georgia is in her second year of a Master of Performance at the Royal College of Music, studying with Janis Kelly and Simon Lepper. She is generously supported in the UK by the Helen Rachael Mackaness Trust Scholarship, the Josephine Baker Trust and the Tait Memorial Trust. Georgia wasrecentlynamedawinningfinalistintheJoan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge Foundation’s 2021 Bel Canto Award, where she was awarded the Megan Evans OAM Encouragement Award.
Chloe Harris is a young Australian mezzo soprano, and a First Class Honours graduate of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. Chloe is currently studying an intensive Masters of Art in Performance at the Royal Academy of Music in London. In her short time at the Academy, Chloe has become a member of the Academy’s prestigious Song Circle, and is an approved singer for the Josephine Baker Trust. Chloe is thrilled to have recently accepted an offer with the Royal Academy Opera, the two year Advanced Diploma in Opera began in September 2022.
A passionate and dynamic performer, Melbourne born clarinetist Magdalenna Krstevska is steadily paving her way as one of Australia’s leading young musicians. She has performed as a soloist, recitalist, chamber musician and orchestral clarinetist in renowned music halls across Australia, the UK, Europe and China. Magdalenna completed a Master of Performance with Distinction at the Royal College of Music, London in July 2021. Magdalenna teachers are Timothy Lines, Peter Sparks and Richard Hosford. She is thrilled to be a 2022/23 Tait Memorial Trust Award recipient.
English Australian Soprano KatherineAllen made her debut at the Sydney Opera House as Paquette in Bernstein’s Candide. She has since performed in the Chorus of Don Giovanni (Opera Australia), as Josephine in HMS Pinafore (Hayes Theatre Company) and as Adele in Die Fledermaus (Lyric Opera Studio Weimar). Her recent orchestral solo engagements include Mahler’s 4th Symphony and Mozart’s Great Mass in C Minor. Katherine is a Dangoor Scholar at the Royal College of Music, where she is completing a Master of Performance, studying with Janis Kelly. Katherine is a Tait Awardee and was supported by the Melba Trust.
Australian soprano Cassandra Wright is a member of Royal Academy Opera under the tutelage of Kate Paterson and Jonathan Papp where she is a Bicentenary Scholar for 22/23. She completed her undergraduate music studies with First Class Honours and the University Medal at the Queensland Conservatorium where she studied with Dr Margaret Schindler and Joseph Ward OBE. She then obtained her Master’s with Distinction from the Royal Academy of Music in 2021 where she also received an DipRAM for outstanding final recital and was awarded the Alumni Development Award for Distinguished Studentship. Cassandra is an alumna of the Georg Solti Accademia Bel Canto course where she studied with distinguished musicians including Richard Bonynge, Jonathan Papp, Barbara Frittoli, and Roberto Frontali. Cassandra is generously supported by the Australian Music Foundation Nora Goodridge Developing Artist Award, Mikhail Bakhtiarov & Svetlana Besfamilnaya, The Tait Memorial Trust, The Countess of Munster Trust and The Knights of the Round Table.
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Tait Awards 2022/23
RCM Royal College of Music
SbS Southbank Sinfonia
GSMD Guildhall School of Music & Drama
Priv Private Studies
SuL Stimme, Leib & Seele
RAM Royal Academy of Music
RCS Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
RNCM Royal Northern College of Music
NOS National Opera Studio
RBS Royal Ballet School
ENBS English National Ballet School
EBS Elmhurst Ballet School
Ram Rambert School of Ballet & Contemporary Dance
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Partners:
AustraliaDayFoundation AustralianHighCommission AustralianUKChamber AustraliaUKSeason Britain AustraliaSociety
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Withthanks:
LeslieMacleod Miller JuneMendozaAOOBE
RossAlley
ChadVindin GeorgiaMelville KatherineAllen
CassandraWright ChloeHarris MagdalennaKrstevska
The Tait Memorial Trust
Proudly supporting young performing artists from Australia and New Zealand in the UK Founded in 1992
Chairman
Isla Baring OAM
Founding Patrons
Dame Joan Sutherland AC OM DBE, Viola, Lady Tait AM, John McCallum AO CBE, Googie Withers AO CBE
Patrons
Leanne Benjamin AM OBE, John Frost AM, Julian Gavin, The Dowager Countess of Harewood, Barry Humphries AO CBE, Piers Lane AO, June Mendoza AO OBE, Danielle de Niese, Ermes de Zan
Trustees
Justin Baring, Isla Baring OAM, Anne Longden, Matthew Phillips, Susie Thornton
Committee
Lisa Bucknell, Fay Curtin, Meredith Daneman, Wendy Kramer, Gayle McDermott, Patricia Nimmo, Margaret Rodgers, Mel Rendall, Ann Seddon, Elspeth Turner Laing, Jacqueline Thompson, Rosemary Tuck
Music Board
Dr Helen Ayres, Isla Baring OAM, Jessica Cottis (Chair), Amy Dickson, Julian Gavin, Jayson Gillham, Dr Leslie Howard, Deborah Humble, Anthony Roden, Katrina Sheppeard
The Leanne Benjamin Awards Ballet
Leanne Benjamin AM OBE, Artistic Director & Patron Meredith Daneman, Isla Baring OAM
Honorary Member
Nicola Downer AM
Administrator James Hancock
Registered UK Charity 1042797
Tait Memorial Trust 4/80 Elm Park Gardens London SW10 9PD Phone +44 207 351 0561 info@taitmemorialtrust.org
www.taitmemorialtrust.org
