Kettering Concerts

Kettering Concert 2015-08-16

Kettering Piano Quartet
Monica Naselow (violin), William Newbery (viola), Brett Rutherford (cello), Jennifer Marten-Smith (piano)

Mozart and Mendelssohn

Programme:

Piano Quartet No. 2 in E flat major, K 493 – Wolfgang A. Mozart (1756-1791)
Piano Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 1 – Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

Sunday 16 August 2015, 3pm
Kettering Community Hall
Tickets available at the door
$10
Stay for the post-concert afternoon tea, meet and chat with the musicians.

Kettering Piano Quartet

The Kettering Piano Quartet (KPQ) specialises in repertoire from the Classical and Romantic periods written for piano, violin, viola and cello. The KPQ brings to the stage rarely performed masterpieces from composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Schumann and many more.

The Kettering Piano Quartet was formed in 2014, and is named after the Kettering Concerts series. The founding members are pianist Jennifer Marten-Smith, violinist Monica Naselow, violist William Newbery and cellist Brett Rutherford. In 2017 violinist Emma McGrath joined the quartet. Individually, each member of KPQ has performed at the highest level in Australia and overseas, and they are all in demand as soloists, chamber musicians and instrumental teachers.

In 2014 the quartet received critical acclaim for their performances of Mozart, Schubert and Weber piano quartets, and were invited to perform for an ABC Classic FM Sunday Live Broadcast from the Farrell Centre in Hobart. In 2015 the quartet established a concert series in Hobart and has subsequently performed in Kettering, Swansea, Launceston, Deloraine and Spreyton as well as appearing in a TSO chamber music series run concurrently with a cycle of Beethoven piano concertos.

2018 will see the KPQ commence a residency at The Friends’ School in North Hobart. The quartet will undertake educational projects facilitated by the school and give performances at the Farrall Centre.

Monica Naselow

Violinist Monica Naselow recently returned to Australia after ten years with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam to join the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra. Whilst performing and touring with the RCO Monica worked with some of the finest musicians in the world.

William Newbery

William returned to Adelaide from Cologne, Germany, in March 2005 having completed a Musik Diplom at the Hochschule für Musik Köln. His previous studies comprise the special music programme at Marryatville High School, a Bachelor of Music Degree with first class honours from the Elder Conservatorium and the Advanced Performance Programme at the Australian National Academy of Music.
William was a regular guest player with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra from 1996 to 2007. He has also been a guest of the Tasmanian, Melbourne and Sydney Symphony Orchestras. He was the founding principal violist of the Adelaide Art Orchestra and has been broadcast on ABC FM playing a concerto for viola and computer. In 2007 William became a permanent member of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.
Since joining the TSO William has been a regular performer for Virtuosi Tasmania and has also made a broadcast for ABC FM Sunday Live. He tutors viola for the Tasmanian Youth Orchestra and has also given chamber music performances for MONA FOMA and the Kegelstatt Ensemble in Adelaide.

Brett Rutherford

Brett Rutherford began his study of the cello at the N.S.W. conservatorium of Music with John Painter and then later with Barbara Woolley for more extensive study. In 1981 Brett joined the Sydney Elizabethan Orchestra (now AOBO). In 1984 Brett with his wife Janet travelled to London to spend a year of study. During this time Brett studied with Alexander Baillie and William Pleeth. On returning to Australia, Brett joined the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.
Since then Brett has also played with Tasmanian Symphony Chamber Players, Virtuosi Tasmania, and, with the Trigon Ensemble, has performed for ABC-FM and ABC television, as well as concerts around Australia. Brett retired from the TSO in 2017 but continues a busy teaching and chamber music schedule. Brett is a founding member of The Kettering Piano Quartet and also plays the viola da gamba in the early music group, Sequenza.

Jennifer Marten-Smith

Jennifer grew up in Tasmania and at age 12 was invited to study with Professor Gediga-Glombitza at the Musikhochschule in Cologne. At age 16 she made her public debut with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra as soloist in Schumann's A minor Piano Concerto, having previously recorded the Rimsky-Korsakov Piano Concerto with the TSO. Two years later she performed the Rubinstein Piano Concerto No 4 with the TSO and, that same year, was the youngest graduate of the Tasmanian Conservatorium of Music, where she was awarded a high distinction as a double major in piano performance and accompaniment. Other concertos in her repertoire include works by Beethoven, Brahms, Dohnányi, Mozart, Saint-Saëns and Tchaikovsky, and she has appeared as soloist with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the Niedersächsisches Staatsorchester Hannover.
In 1989 she began work as a repetiteur with the State Opera of South Australia and subsequently joined the Victorian State Opera Young Artist Programme. Between 1997 and 2001 she was repetiteur at the Staatsoper Hannover and was a full-time member of the music staff with Opera Australia from 2001 to 2012. She has more than 90 operas in her repertoire. Jennifer, a member of the Kettering Piano Quartet, is now living in Hobart, and is in demand as a soloist, accompanist and vocal coach.

Ruth Sharkey – Artist

A retired Natural therapist/Author, Ruth is now honing skills obtained from The Brin Jones Academy of Fine Art using graphite and pastel and The Gold Coast Academy of Art with oils.

A regular exhibitor with CRAG, HAEG, Kingborough Lions Art Exhibitions, La Trobe Australia Day Exhibition, Clarence City Art Exhibition, Tasmanian Art Award at Esk and The Art Society of Tasmania’s Lady Franklin Gallery, Lenah Valley. In July 2014 and February 2016, Ruth held two very successful solo exhibitions in Margate and at the Lady Franklin Gallery, Lenah Valley. She has also received a Highly Commended Award at the 130th Annual exhibition at the Lady Franklin Gallery.