Four performers. Five decades. Countless memories.
A proud UNE musical tradition was celebrated recently when members of the New England Ensemble (NEE) gave a concert to mark their 50th anniversary.
The very first ensemble-in-residence at UNE (and a rarity for an Australian university at the time) will be remembered by many for performances across the New England and North West during the “golden age” of music on campus. The group also toured nationally and internationally before members went off to pursue individual careers.
Many Armidale friends and fans attended the concert hosted by founder violinist Andrew Lorenz and his pianist wife Wendy in the Currumbin Valley. Making up the quartet were Robert Harris, viola, and Janis Laurs, cello – all former lecturers in UNE’s music department from 1975-80.
“We were kindred spirits, all in our 20s, and it was quite something for a smaller university in a regional centre to have a resident ensemble,”
“We were kindred spirits, all in our 20s, and it was quite something for a smaller university in a regional centre to have a resident ensemble,” said Robert. “UNE staff were among the prime movers for having musical performances on campus. We performed so many concerts in Madgwick Hall and later Lazenby Hall, and so many more through the regions, introducing classical music to many in our audiences and workshop participants.
“We all engaged in music-making in town – for instance, I played as a violinist with the Armidale Orchestra and Janis was their long-time conductor, and Andrew and Wendy would perform with the orchestra as soloists. A series of homestead concerts raised funds to support overseas touring opportunities, and we fulfilled six tours during the time we were together – taking us throughout Europe, North America and Asia. A tour for the Department of Foreign Affairs, Asia, featured 50 events across nine Asian countries in late 1978.”
It was a wonderful experience that fostered life-long friendships. “The NEE was a remarkable success. It had a huge impact on the appreciation and performance of music in communities across the New England region and far beyond,” said Janis.
Wendy reflects fondly on that period in her musical career. “Those years of intensive work towards achieving excellence as a group, as well as the opportunity to perform widely, provided an extraordinary musical ‘coming of age’ and remain an experience for which I will always be extremely grateful,” she said.
After Robert’s departure in 1980, the group continued as a piano trio for another two years. He later became a principal viola of the Australian Chamber Orchestra and then a freelance musician, touring with the likes of Barbara Streisand, Luciano Pavarotti and Stevie Wonder.
After 1982, Janis served as associate principal cellist of the Melbourne Symphony, then as founding cellist of the Australian String Quartet and principal cellist of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra. After time in Adelaide, where Andrew was associate concert master of the Adelaide Symphony and Wendy recorded piano concertos with the orchestra and had a full-time job with ABC Classic FM, the couple taught for 20 years at the University of Southern Queensland and later at the Australian National University.
“Armidale had a strong music tradition even before our ensemble arrived and it remains an exceptional regional centre for music,” Robert said. “Getting together again after 50 years was a heart-warming experience, musically and personally, and it was great to remember the times of old.”
The recent concert featured works from the ensemble’s very first performance – on 25 February 1975 – and their LP recordings.
