Come and hear a thrilling concert from the KPO as they perform Richard Strauss’ Also Sprach Zarathustra. This is a profound work showcasing every section of the orchestra in a magnificently powerful and emotional journey. It is paired with Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, which will be performed by Teresa Yang, who was the overall winner of the 40th KPO Secondary Schools Concerto Competition 2024. The concert will also feature a piece by the young Australian composer, Paul Nicolaou, Of Gates No Longer Known.
Dr Paul Terracini was born in Sydney and has enjoyed a career in Australia and internationally as an instrumentalist, composer, arranger, and conductor. He has held permanent positions as Principal Trumpet in the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra; Lecturer in Trumpet, Brass Ensemble and Big Band at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music; and Solo Trumpet in the Danish Chamber Players, Denmark.
As an instrumentalist, he performed as soloist in Australia, Europe, USA, and Asia. Within Australia, his solo performances included concertos with the Melbourne, Queensland, West Australian, and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras.
Paul Terracini has appeared as an opera conductor at the German Rossini Festival in Bad Wilbad, for the Danish Bel Canto Society in Copenhagen, and the Storstroms Symphony Orchestra, also in Denmark. Since assuming the role of artistic director of the Penrith Symphony Orchestra in 2010, he has, apart from programming and conducting the symphonic repertoire, pioneered the performance of chamber opera in western Sydney. For many years he has been invited as a guest conductor/composer to music schools and universities in Europe, USA, China, and Australia. He appears regularly as conductor for the Conservatorium High School, in Sydney. As a choral conductor, he has recorded for ABC Classics with Ars Nova Copenhagen, and the Sydney based choir, Cantillation.
As a composer and arranger, his music has been heard throughout the world in a variety of genres, performed by, amongst others, the Prague Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Brass, the Danish Chamber Players, the Australian Brass Quintet, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra Brass, and at festivals and conferences on every continent. His music for the two part ABC television series, Hymns of the Forefathers, in which he developed many of the traditional English hymns into symphonic poems, received international acclaim and was released on CD and DVD by ABC Classics. His title music for the television series, Classical Destinations, which was produced for three seasons, was featured on the ‘Number 1 Classical Album of the Year,’ released by Decca.
His CD, Paul Terracini: Music for Brass, was released on the Tall Poppies label in May 2015. On this recording, he conducted his own music with Sydney Brass, featuring members of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
Paul Terracini also holds a PhD from the University of Sydney, having earlier completed a Bachelor of Theology and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours). His book, John Stoward Moyes and the Social Gospel, was published in 2015.
At 18 years old, Teresa Yang recently graduated as music scholar and Head Prefect at Meriden School. She currently studies with Ms Janet Davies, following early tutelage from Professor Shixiang (Peter) Zhang.
Teresa is a winner of many national and state competitions, including most notably the John Curro National Youth Concerto Competition, the KPO Secondary Schools Concerto Competition, the Kendall National Violin Competition, the Melbourne Recital Centre Bach Competition and the Sydney Eisteddfod NSW Doctors Orchestra Instrumental Scholarship.
As a soloist, Teresa has had numerous opportunities performing with orchestras including most recently the Bruch Scottish Fantasy with Paul Terracini and the Penrith Symphony Orchestra, and Mozart Concerto No. 1 and Waxman Carmen Fantasy with Steven Hillinger and the North Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
As a young and emerging artist, Teresa enjoys developing her artistic potential through participating in chamber music and orchestral programs like the ACO Academy and Australian Youth Orchestra. Her string quartet, Lumina, was a finalist in the 2024 Strike A Chord Chamber Music competition, and she looks forward to joining the AYO on their international tour this year. She has participated in masterclasses with Paul Kantor, Cho-Liang Lin, Emily Sun, Satu Vänskä and Andrew Haveron.
Outside of music, Teresa enjoys running, reading and spending time with friends.
Teresa will be performing on the 1946 A.E. Smith, kindly on loan from Emily Sun through the KPO, as part of the Emily Sun Violin Prize from the KPO’s Secondary Schools Concerto Competition in 2024.