Avondale’s premier vocal ensemble, The Promise, impressed audiences on its three-week concert tour of California in September-October 2011. The tour included performances at Loma Linda University, Pacific Union College, Grace Cathedral San Francisco, Moreno Valley United Methodist Church, The Carter Report and four Adventist academies.

The Promise is a group of nine accomplished singers, mainly students in Avondale’s degree programs in music. One is a former winner of the Australian Songwriting Contest; two are studying for postgraduate research degrees at Avondale.

Founded in 2005, The Promise has established a reputation for excellence, with a repertoire ranging from the classics to contemporary gospel. The group has toured in several Australian states and New Zealand. Major performances have included a televised worship service in St Paul’s Cathedral Melbourne during the 2006 Commonwealth Games; a Sydney Opera House appearance as part of the Sydney Youth Musicale; and an It is Written Oceania program aired on Christmas Day 2010 on the Seven Television Network. The Promise gives more than sixty performances each year.

In September 2011 the group launched its second album, Faithful, produced for Psalter Music at Adventist Media Network. The quality of the performances impressed Psalter manager Tim Burcham: “The Promise is polished,” he says, “and is contributing to ministry.” The group’s name is inspired by the passage in 2 Peter 3 that says the Lord is not slow in keeping his promise to return, but is patient to give people time to accept his offered salvation.

The director of The Promise and senior lecturer in music, Dr Robb Dennis, brings to Avondale over twenty years of experience as a tenor soloist, voice teacher, musicologist, and conductor of bands, choirs and orchestras. He is a former conductor of the Cantobello Chorale and the Moreno Valley Master Chorale in California, and has performed as a tenor soloist with the Repertory Opera Company of Los Angeles, the Utah Symphony, and the Oratorio Society of Utah. He regularly performs at the Newcastle University Conservatorium of Music and as a soloist for the Newcastle Festival’s Opera in the Park. In July 2010 he presented a recital of Schubert’s Winterreise (Part 1) at the University of Newcastle Conservatorium of Music. The recital was broadcast on ABC affiliate 2NUR-FM as part of the Harold Lobb Recital Series. Dr Dennis prefaced the recital with a pre-concert talk based on his research on the collaboration between Schubert and the poet Wilhelm Müller in the creation of the work.

The Promise vocalists in the Avondale College Church. Photo: Ann Stafford

Other Avondale ensembles

The sixty-voice Avondale Singers performed at the Sydney Opera House in 2009 and 2010 in concerts that director Dr Robb Dennis described as the choir’s most significant engagements in thirty years. In these programs the Singers combined with visiting youth orchestras from the United States. Engagements in 2011 have included local ANZAC services and a performance at the United Nations Commemorative Celebration in Newcastle. In November the Singers will perform Handel’s Messiah, televised in the Avondale College Church. The Avondale Chamber Orchestra, conducted by sessional lecturer Dr Sohyun Eastham, has a repertoire ranging from Bach to contemporary music. Its engagements include church and concert performances as well as accompaniments for larger choral works. A Piano Trio was formed in 2010 featuring sessional lecturer Christina An (piano), Dr Sohyun Eastham (violin), and cellist Gavin Clark. The Watagan Brass Quintet is a community-based ensemble with two trumpets, French horn, trombone and tuba. The Contemporary Choir is a student ensemble functioning under the umbrella of Avondale’s Student Services Department.

Fine Arts Series

The Fine Arts Series is a schedule of free artistic events under the auspices of Avondale’s School of Humanities and Creative Arts. It includes masterworks concerts and other music recitals, as well as exhibitions of fine arts and graphic design.

A highlight of the 2011 Masterworks concerts was a major recital by the National Australia Brass under the baton of Professor David King. This program included three world premier performances, with two of the composers present for the occasion. The concert also featured the Sydney Male Choir directed by Dr Houston Dunleavy.

Evensong is a series of meditative Sabbath afternoon recitals presented mainly in the Avondale College Church. Recent Evensong programs have included a piano trio recital of works by Bach, Beethoven, Schubert and other composers; and a recital by The Promise in the Brandstater Amphitheatre. This program also included items by the Blue Hills College Octet, an accomplished ensemble conducted by Melissa Rogers, a 2009 Avondale graduate and former member of The Promise.

Other music events in the Fine Arts Series include Chamber Artists, a series of solo or small-group recitals, often presented in the Avondale Library; and Masterclass, a series of free professional development seminars for musicians. In 2011 these included a masterclass for The Promise with Australian Recording Industry Association Award-winning quartet, The Idea of North.

Studying music at Avondale

Avondale offers music as a major study in the Bachelor of Arts and the Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Teaching degrees. The academic program in music includes performance studies in the student’s principal instrument or voice, studies in the music culture of different periods, and studies in harmony, composition, and the music of different ethnic groups. An optional highlight is a European Study Tour. Currently thirty-five students are majoring in music in Avondale’s undergraduate degrees. Two other students are studying for research master’s degrees in music and two for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in music.