2025 Yarragon Studio Winter Feast Program

YARRAGON STUDIO

Winter Feast SUNDAY 3 AUGUST 2025

One afternoon, three unique concerts. The undisputed top of Australian music, food and wine.

www.yarragonstudio.com.au/festival

Welcome to the Yarragon Studio Winter Feast Program 15:15

Arrive carpark, walk to St Jarlath’s

15:30

Concert Part I: White Arches

16:15

Afternoon Tea

17:00 Concert Part II: Haydn & Shaw 18:00 Supper with Wine 19:00 Concert Part III: Pure Present 20:00 Return to carpark

Location:

St Jarlath’s Catholic Church & Church Hall 30 Campbell St, Yarragon VIC 3823

WWW.YARRAGONSTUDIO.COM.AU/FESTIVAL

Pure Present: Sophia Kirsanova and Nir Tsfaty Life partners, concert violinist Sophia Kirsanova and singer-songwriter & composer Nir Tsfaty, share the Yarragon Festival stage on a special afternoon in three parts: Part I: White Arches A solo performance of Nir Tsfaty featuring Sophia Kirsanova.

Part II: Haydn & Shaw String quartet works performed by Melbourne Strings.

Part III: Pure Present Poetic pop songs with cinematic strings; Nir Tsfaty & Melbourne Strings.

WWW.YARRAGONSTUDIO.COM.AU/FESTIVAL

Nir Tsfaty Singer-songwriter and screen composer 2023 APRA Screen Music Awards nominee Formerly frontman of alternative rock bands Noria and Bell Always, Nir began releasing solo work in 2021 with About Whales — a concert series with Invictus Quartet, including sold-out shows at the Melbourne Recital Centre and Wesley Anne.

In 2024, Tsfaty released his first solo EP Under the Sun, a small collection of songs shaped by the experience of the pandemic and centred around voice, guitar and his original string arrangements.

His latest single, The Sun in the Sand, draws inspiration from the film Scorpion Ascent, for which he wrote the music.

Ts fa t y i s M u s i c D i r e c to r at Production Alley Studios.

WWW.YARRAGONSTUDIO.COM.AU/FESTIVAL

Sophia Kirsanova Concert violinist Latvian violinist Sophia Kirsanova has been a regular in the Yarragon Studio concert series over the last four years. She is passionate about new repertoire and commissions. With a particular interest in her cultural heritage, she explores the extraordinary depth of music from her homeland Latvia and its distinctive musical voice since its independence.

In 2024 Sophia received the culture award [Krišjāņa Barona Balva] from the Wo r l d F e d e ra t i o n o f F r e e Latvians (PBLA) and an honorar y acknowledgment from the Latvian Association in Australia and New Zealand for the promotion of Latvian composers (2022). She was also invited to perform at the opening of the Latvian Embassy at the National Galler y in Canberra.

WWW.YARRAGONSTUDIO.COM.AU/FESTIVAL

Melbourne Strings String Quartet Sophia Kirsanova - Violin Ioana Tache - Violin Ceridwen Davies - Viola Molly Kadarauch - Cello Established in 2022, Melbourne Strings comprises Melbourne's top classical string players, including leading professionals and talented emerging artists.

MS celebrates the virtuosity and diversity of music for strings in original and engaging orchestral and chamber music concerts.

Ioana Tache has been playing in the Australian classical music industry since 2013. She is delighted to be performing at the Winter Feast Festival in Yarragon for her first public concert after having her baby daughter.

Ceridwen Davies is a Melbourne-based violist with an active freelance career. Passionate about chamber music, she’s played with groups like Silo Quartet and BOLT ensemble. She has toured with Archie Roach and Black Arm Band, and recorded for film scores.

Molly Kadarauch is one of Australia’s pre-eminent and versatile cellists. She was associate principal cellist with the Australian Chamber Orchestra between 1996-2004. Molly also teaches at many institutions including the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music.

WWW.YARRAGONSTUDIO.COM.AU/FESTIVAL

Part II: Haydn & Shaw Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) String Quartet Op. 77 No. 2 in F Major, 1799 Allegro moderato Menuet: Presto Andante Finale: Vivace assai Joseph Haydn is often referred to as the father of the string quartet. And rightly so, for in his continuous exploration of music, he created the string quartet as a form. He composed sixty-three string quartets and the very last is Opus 77 No. 2. It is “my most beautiful quartet”, said Haydn himself, and it is also music overflowing with melodic force and rhythmic energy. www.konserthuset.se/en/play/two-string-quartets-shaw-haydn

Caroline Shaw (1982-) Entr'acte for string quartet, 2011 Entr’acte was written in 2011 after hearing the Brentano Quartet play Haydn’s Op. 77 No. 2 — with their spare and soulful shift to the D-flat major trio in the minuet. It is structured like a minuet and trio, riffing on that classical form but taking it a little further. I love the way some music (like the minuets of Op. 77) suddenly takes you to the other side of Alice’s looking glass, in a kind of absurd, subtle, technicolor transition. caroline-shaw-editions.myshopify.com/products/entr-acte

WWW.YARRAGONSTUDIO.COM.AU/FESTIVAL

Sardine Dining, Paynesville Victoria & Mark Briggs Sardine is the brainchild of culinary team Victoria and Mark Briggs. The hatted restaurant offers a menu that highlights fresh, locallysourced ingredients, with a particular emphasis on seafood.

Afternoon Tea Basque Cheesecake GF option available

Winter Supper Duck Cassoulet Vegan Cassoulet for those that don’t do duck Green Salad

WWW.SARDINEDINING.COM.AU

Patrick Sullivan Wines Ellinbank Patrick is an absolute local - his vineyard is a 15-minute drive up the hills behind us in the direction of Mount Worth. His 2022 Patrick Sullivan Ada River Chardonnay won the Different Drop 2023 White Wine of the Year.

“What I try and do is be as honest as I can to the vineyard… So that’s maximum intervention in the vineyard. Pruning, leaf thinning, being out in the vineyard all the time… What I’m trying to do is be as reflective of the site as possible at that time and at that place.”

WWW.PATRICKSULLIVAN.COM.AU

2026 Yarragon Studio Festival A Breath of Fresh Air Sunday 1 March Arcadia Winds & Trio Arapiles in collaboration with Jan Menu, an Internationally recognised jazz Baritone Saxophone legend Food by Hogget Kitchen & Wine by William Downie

Upcoming Yarragon Studio Concerts Wednesday 10 September - NZ Trio Piano Trio Saturday 18 October - Phoebe Green Viola Sunday 9 November - Peter de Jager Solo piano Sunday 30 November - Wattleseed Ensemble Baroque / Folk / World Music Sunday 14 December - Bramenplukker Music Theatre - World Premiere Thanks for the ongoing support: Elizabeth Flann, Margaret Jackson, Joseph Barake

WWW.YARRAGONSTUDIO.COM.AU/FESTIVAL