The Collectivo ‘passion project’ is chamber music’s new kid on the block
Collectivo – an exciting new player on Brisbane’s classical music scene – wants to give audiences a boutique salon-style experience through a series of intimate and unique concerts.
Brisbane is making a name for itself in the hurly-burly of the classical music world – and now there’s a new kid on the block.
Groundbreaking new chamber music ensemble Collectivo will make its debut on March 15, launching its 2025 season at Queensland Ballet’s Thomas Dixon Centre in West End.
Rather than a fixed ensemble, this latest project by world-renowned Brisbane-based oboist Tania Frazer will see Collectivo deliver innovative world-class ensemble music to Brisbane via a series of changing combinations of exceptional artists.
“Each of my concerts is a bit like a festival,” Frazer says. “When you go to a music festival, you’re seeing in the same (space) this one-off of artists who would never normally play together. So, I’m offering that to audiences without really having to go anywhere. It’s a personal experience where audiences sit just metres from world-class performers.”
Collectivo embodies Frazer’s vision – “where artistry meets intimacy” – to give audiences a boutique salon-style alternative to the big traditional concert hall experience.
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“I think it’s exciting to be that close,” she says. “The acoustic in the venue, the Charles Lisner studio, is fantastic for classical music. Seeing (up-close) the power and the physical presence that they have, it’s so much more impressive. That’s the sort of exciting, inspirational model that I’m hoping to present audiences.”
Headlining Collectivo’s first of four concerts this year are highly sought after artists Andrew Haveron, Eden Shifroni, Vatche Jambazian and Rachel Siu, alongside Frazer, who is artistic director and oboe soloist. They will perform works from Handel, Mozart, Debussy and Franck to celebrate the beauty and resilience of life through music – reflecting the theme, Tree of Life.
Andrew Haveron is concertmaster of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, previously serving as first violinist of the Brodsky Quartet and concertmaster of the Philharmonia, BBC Symphony and London symphony orchestras. “Andrew is one of the best violinists in the country,” Frazer says.
Rising star and young soprano Eden Shifroni will join Haveron fresh from winning the 2024 IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition. At just 24 she’s already captivating audiences with her angelic tone and magnetic stage presence.
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“I’m always on the hunt for new artists, and I do follow the Australian Singing Competition,” Frazer says. “Eden was just stunning. A very high soprano, very agile virtuosic coloratura soprano, with a beautiful, pure voice. I’m very excited that we’ll be able to present her. She’s so young, but she’s definitely heading for a great career, being already cast with Pinchgut opera in Sydney.”
Adding to this exceptional ensemble are internationally regarded artists pianist Vatche Jambazian and cellist Rachel Siu, celebrated for her deeply expressive playing.
With each performance a limited-edition event, Frazer says other star musicians will follow in three more concerts later this year, including Slava Grigoryan, Satu Vänskä, Emily Sun, Amalia Hall and Paavali Jumppanen.
As managing director, artistic director and oboe soloist for Collectivo, Frazer is enjoying a newfound artistic freedom of expression, as well as getting to increase the diversity of musical options in Brisbane.
“I was the artistic director of Southern Cross Soloists for 14 years and Bangalow Music Festival for 14 years,” she says. “It was a big responsibility taking on that ensemble that was founded by Paul Dean and I absolutely loved doing it. It was a huge learning curve when I first had the job.
“I’m very excited now with Collectivo I’m able to create it on my own – it’s starting from scratch with my own vision rather than continuing a legacy that somebody else started. I’m not funded by Arts Queensland so, in a way, there’s less pressure on me and a lot more freedom to do as I want artistically.”
Frazer is also challenging herself to surprise audiences by creating new repertoire that hasn’t been heard on oboe before.
“I’m really stretching the virtuosic oboe repertoire,” she says. “The thing with the oboe compared to violin or piano … is we have a very limited amount of music that was written for us. So I’m doing a whole lot of creating new works and premiering pieces that no oboist would ever think about playing, such as the Artie Shaw clarinet concerto. I’ve been practising that and learning how to do octave glisses, which is not an oboe thing, and super high notes.”
It’s all part of what Frazer describes as her “passion project”, one she wants to share with new audiences in an intimate setting.