Elanée Ensemble

Stuart Thompson and Jo St Leon formed the Elanée Ensemble to explore the rich sonorities of the double bass and viola duo. Performing as part of a larger ensemble is also part of their artistic vision. They were joined by violinist Lucy Carrig-Jones for their inaugural concert, which opened the Collegiate Chamber Music Series in May 2009. This was followed by several concerts for Virtuosi Tasmania and a series of concerts in some of Tasmania's fine heritage sites. They have recently been gifted their first commissioned work, a beautiful romance by renowned Tasmanian composer Don Kay, which they premiered at the Tasmanian Conservatorium in February. Arrangements include a Victorian Tour later in May 2010, an ABC Sunday Live concert in July 2010 and a performance of Dittersdorf's Double Concerto with the Hobart Chamber Orchestra in 2011.

Elanée was appointed Ensemble-in-Residence at St. Michael's Collegiate earlier this year. Stuart is Principal Double Bass with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra; Jo is Head of Strings at Collegiate. They both teach at the Tasmanian Conservatorium.

Repertoire for this unlikely but effective combination is currently somewhat limited. There is a core of little known repertoire from the early classical era, and then little original work until relatively recent times, although there is a small body of arranged material. Elanée aims to redress this balance through the comissioning of both new and arranged works to develop a repertoire that draws on the full range of the Western Classical Tradition. With the generous support of Arts Tasmania, they have begun this mission with "Elanée Ensemble Arts Tasmania Grant Premier" a concert featuring the works of Maria Grenfell (Rollicking Rhymes); Russell Gilmour (Sweet and Low Down); Tim Jones (La Gazza Ladra (The thieving Magpie) Overture - Rossini arr.) held on the 10th May 2010 in Hobart.

Trign TrioLucy Carrig-Jones with Ellanee originators Stuart Thompson and Jo St. Leon



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