¾«¶«´«Ã½app

A gift from Canberra CBD Limited to the ANU School of Music's Endowment for Performance Excellence has brought the Sydney-based Australian Haydn Ensemble to Canberra as an 'Ensemble-in-Residence' at the ANU School of music for 2014. The Endowment for Performance Excellence supports the newly introduced Distinguished Artists and Ensembles in Residence program at the School. It brings internationally renowned artists to the School and provides opportunities for students to learn from and perform with world-class artists.

Professor Peter Tregear, head of the School of Music, said the generous gift will be of enormous benefit to the School's students and lovers of classical music.

"Through the generosity of Canberra CBD Limited, our students and the wider Canberra community alike will have the opportunity to experience and learn from this outstanding chamber music ensemble."

The Australian Haydn Ensemble will perform in Canberra on at least four occasions, conducting not only concerts but also master classes and other outreach activities for the benefit of the city centre area. The announcement was complemented by a gift from the Austrian Embassy to the School of Music and the wider Canberra community.

At a special reception celebrating both gifts, his Excellency Dr Helmut Boeck, Ambassador of the Republic of Austria, gifted a permanent loan of an exhibition to the School. The exhibition, which is devoted to Haydn's life, work and times, was commissioned by the annual Haydn festival in Eisenstadt, Austria, where Haydn spent most of his long and prolific life at the Esterházy court.