This year, Bridges Collective presents From Shadows to Sunlight: French Journeys
Bridges Collective is excited to be part of the 5th Stretto International Piano Festival. The core mission at Bridges Collective is the belief that music and music-making is a universal human experience. We believe that everyone, regardless of differences of culture, nationality, income or size should be able to participate in listening to and making music. When we learnt of stretto pianos, we could not think of a more worthy cause to champion: Pianos with narrower keys that make it possible for people with smaller hands to be able to perform the music they love without their physical limitations being a handicap.
Artistic Director Brenna Wee, on a Bernstein piano with DS5.5® (5.5-inch octave) keyboard, will be joined by cellist Diana Wuli and flautist Simone Maurer.
Please join us for an evocative afternoon of French music, tracing a path from mystery to radiance. Debussy’s Estampes opens with shimmering soundscapes of rain, distant lands, and fleeting colour. Poulenc’s Cello Sonata follows, witty yet poignant, revealing both humour and vulnerability. The concert closes with Debussy’s youthful Piano Trio in G major—a luminous work brimming with lyrical warmth and unguarded joy.
More details on Bridges Collective:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bridgescollective
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/BridgesCollective
Program
Simone Maurer, Flute
Diana Wuli, Cello
Brenna Wee, Piano
Claude Debussy: Estampes
I. Pagodes
II. La soirée dans Granade
III. Jardins sou le pluie
Francis Poulenc – Cello Sonata, FP 143
I. Allegro – Tempo di Marcia
II. Cavatine
Claude Debussy: Piano Trio in G major, L 5
I. Andantino con moto allegro
II. Scherzo: Moderato con allegro
III. Andante espressivo
IV. Finale: Appassionato
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Brenna Wee is a highly regarded pianist, collaborative artist and educator. She holds two Master’s degrees from the University of Melbourne, with specialisations in Collaborative Pianism and Piano Pedagogy. A versatile pianist, she also studied Jazz Piano performance at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. Scholarships from both the Singapore and Australian governments funded her musical studies and her Graduate Diploma in Education.
Having grown up in South-East Asia and lived in many countries, Brenna founded Bridges Collective, a fine art ensemble which facilitates cross-cultural interaction through music-making. As Artistic Director of the ensemble, she was awarded multiple grants and awards from the Australia Council for the Arts, the Victorian Multicultural Commission and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in recognition of the ensemble’s valuable work in bridging cultures. These awards have enabled Brenna to take the ensemble on musical exchanges to Canberra, Melbourne, Singapore and West Malaysia where the ensemble has a well-established artist residency and composition workshop program.
Brenna continues to share the joy of music-making in her work, both in performance and education. She currently holds a position as an accompanist at Monash University, as Deputy Head of Keyboard at Haileybury College and is engaged in regular visits to Singapore and Malaysia as a pianist, associate artist and educator. She is excited to be part of the Stretto Festival and believes that the availability of alternate-sized keyboards will facilitate future generations of young and established pianists with smaller handspans to engage in music-making with ease and confidence.
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As a contemporary international artist, Diana Wuli has performed in concerts throughout the USA, UK, Europe, Australia, and Asia. She has also performed with Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, New Zealand Opera and Ballet Orchestra, and International Chamber Orchestra of Puerto Rico.
Diana has been the recipient of numerous prestigious prizes and awards, including the Donovan Johnson Travelling Scholarship (AUS), Thornton Foundation Award (UK), Eva Heinitz Cello Award (USA), and Janos Starker Scholar (USA). Her studies have taken her across three continents: Double Degree in Music and Commerce (BMus/BComm) at University of Melbourne (AUS), Masters in Music (MMus) at Royal Northern College of Music (UK), and Performers Diploma (PDip) and Doctor of Music (DM) from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music (USA).
In addition to performing, Diana is also a passionate educator. She has held faculty positions at Vincennes University (USA) as Adjunct Professor in Applied Strings and Director of VU String Ensemble, and has also given workshops and masterclasses as guest lecturer at Miami University, Indiana University, University of South Dakota, and Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico. Diana continues to collaborate with string pedagogues and music educators to research and develop new string teaching methods. She is currently a Board Director with the Victorian Music Teachers’ Association (VMTA).
As an avid believer in the purpose and power of music, Diana is actively involved in creating and collaborating in music projects with the mission of bringing music and music education into underserved communities around the globe. She is the Founder and Director of Melbourne String Academy (MSA), a music organisation which launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, featuring community outreach projects such as Virtual Cello Camp 2020 (VCC2020), and Virtual Music Connect (VMC). MSA was recently the recipient of awards and grants from Creative Victoria and Monash City Council.
Diana currently performs on a rare Australian made cello by W.H. Dow (1917).
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Simone Maurer is a classical flautist, tertiary educator, and music psychology researcher based in Melbourne/Naarm. Artistically, she embraces a wide range of musical styles and collaborations, performing as both a soloist and chamber musician. She frequently works with local and international composers to commission, develop, and premiere new repertoire for the flute.
As a chamber musician, Simone performs in a variety of small ensemble settings. Most recently, she was invited to the American National Flute Association Convention in Atlanta, where she directed and performed an all-Australian music program with the Australian Flute Ensemble. Later this year, she will embark on a major creative project to record the complete works for flute—both solo and chamber—by acclaimed American composer Lowell Liebermann.
Beyond the stage, Simone is active as a researcher in music psychology, performance studies, and music education. A Certified Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analyst, she investigates embodied cognition and the body language of musicians in performance. She applies this expertise in her teaching, coaching musicians, actors, and dancers to develop their physical awareness and stage presence.
Simone is a tutor and lecturer at the University of Melbourne, teaching music psychology, aural musicianship, and stagecraft. She also lectures in performing arts at Federation University and in flute at Central Queensland University. A sought-after masterclass teacher and workshop presenter, she is regularly invited to speak and perform at festivals and conferences around the world.