FESTIVAL OF BANDS 2026
CONCERT PROGRAM
SAT 9TH MAY 2026 | 4:00PM
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ST. PATRICK’S PRIMARY SCHOOL OVAL
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SAT 9TH MAY 2026 | 4:00PM 〰️ ST. PATRICK’S PRIMARY SCHOOL OVAL 〰️
GALA CONCERT PROGRAM
Title | Composer / Arranger
opening act BY IN THE MOOD FOUR
TBC | TBC
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Conducted by KYLIE LOS
Children’s Choir (Choir 1)
I’m a Spy | Ruth McCall
Oh Moon | Andy Beck
COMBINED CHOIR PERFORMANCE
Al Tambor | Victor Johnson
(a traditional Panamanian folk song)
Teen/Adult Choir (Choir 2)
You, Me and The Wide Open Sky | Dan Walker
Blue Skies | Irving Berlin
Go Well Into The World | Astrid Jorgensen
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GUEST PERFORMANCE BY Barega Saxophone Quartet
Petit Quatuor | Jean Françaix
I Gaguenardise
II Cantilène
Chthonic Fanfare | Andrew Ball
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Conducted by DAVID LAW
Concert Band 1
Regal Quest | Rob McWilliams
Market in Marrakesh | Tim Fisher
Concert Band 2
Luna y Fuego | Jorge Vargas
Wombat Shuffle | Roger Perrin
Friends for Life | Catherine Likhuta*
Encendio | Christina Huss
Concert Band 3
Toboggan | JaRod Hall
Bamboo Warrior | Christina Huss
Ancient Flower | Yukiko Nishimura
AYO | Katahj Copley
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Guest performance by IN THE MOOD FOUR
TBC | TBC
Guest performance by Barega Saxophone Quartet
Gossamer Parley | Thomas Green
Suite Helléniqué | Pedro Iturralde
I Kalamatianos
II Funky
IV Kritis
*Commissioned for 2026 Central Highlands Festival of Bands (Debut performance)
See composer bio and program notes for “Friends for Life” below.
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CHOIR CONDUCTOR
KYLIE LOS
Kylie Los graduated from the Queensland University of Technology with a Bachelor of Music (Distinction) and was later a member of Opera Queensland’s Developing and Young Artist Program as a repetiteur. From 2010 – 2013, Kylie studied and worked in London and Germany, graduating with Distinction from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama with a Masters of Music (Repetiteur) and was also awarded Guildhall’s Concert Recital Diploma.
She subsequently acted as principal repetiteur for several productions for Grange Park Opera. Since returning to Brisbane, Kylie is active as a piano teacher, conductor, accompanist and piano and choral adjudicator. Kylie conducted the SATB Community Choir the Hillbrook Chorale from 2014 – 2021, as well as previously conducting the auditioned adult chamber choir Choral Connection and The Gap State School choral program.
She currently enjoys regularly conducting an upper primary school choir. Kylie has worked as a pianist for many Brisbane choirs. She was a conductor for Education Queensland’s Metropolitan Region Choral Honours Program in 2018 and 2019. In 2020 Kylie was a conductor for Junior Gondwana at the Gondwana National Choral School, and was the guest conductor for Education Queensland’s 2023 Singfest and co-conductor of Singfest in 2025. Kylie is regularly invited to be a guest choral workshop conductor and accompanies the Queensland Conservatorium Chorus.
PIANO ACCOMPANIMENT
EMMA HADFIELD
Emma Hadfield moved to Brisbane in 2003 to study piano at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, due to her keen interest in accompaniment. Learning piano since the age of 8, Emma’s first job while still in high school was accompanying the local children’s choir. From there, she worked with young musicians playing for exams and eisteddfodau, and realised this was the most fun way to play the piano. Upon moving to Brisbane, she immediately joined several choirs, and worked with Rhonda Coady accompanying the Queensland Children’s Choir (now the Queensland Show Choir). Throughout her degree, Emma accompanied many fellow students, played in several chamber ensembles, and won the Hilda Woolmer Prize in Accompaniment. She has also taught piano for nearly 20 years in Brisbane, and accompanies many young students for their AMEB exams.
Emma took up the pipe organ during her undergraduate degree, learning under Christopher Wrench, and then went on to a Postgraduate Diploma in pipe organ, while working at various churches around Brisbane. She currently works at St Augustine’s Anglican Church in Hamilton, playing the organ and leading the choir.
Emma also is a keen swing dancer. With her husband, Rob, she has won the Australian Balboa Championship several times, and now runs the Corner Pocket Swing school. In her spare time, she enjoys building LEGO, gardening, baking and crochet.
BAND CONDUCTOR
DAVID LAW
David Law is a committed advocate for youth and community music making in Brisbane and throughout Queensland. He studied Euphonium at the Queensland University of Technology and has played piano since the age of eight. David is the founding President of the Queensland Wind Orchestra – an award‑winning and internationally recognised ensemble - and continues to serve as its Artistic Director and Conductor. In 2026 he celebrates his 22nd year as President. He is also in his 19th year of conducting the Queensland Youth Orchestra Wind Ensemble. His previous long‑term appointments include more than two decades with Brisbane’s Westside Orchestra, alongside seasons with the Brisbane Philharmonic Orchestra, Ignite Choir, and a wide range of community‑focused instrumental and vocal ensembles.
David’s work as a guest clinician and conductor includes Queensland Music Festival’s Cape York Instrumental Program; Griffith University’s Australian Honours Ensemble Program; Griffith University’s State Honours Ensemble Program across Queensland; and sectional lecturing with the University of Queensland Symphony Orchestra. He has presented at the Australian National Band and Orchestra Conference (ANBOC) in Brisbane and Melbourne, contributing to national conversations about building diverse and inclusive school‑aged and community band programs.
He has adjudicated at major state and national events including the West Australian Schools’ Concert Band Festival, Education Queensland’s Fanfare, the Queensland Catholic Music Festival, Queensland’s MusicFest, and numerous regional eisteddfodau. His experience also extends to musical theatre, where he has worked as Music Director, Conductor, and Pianist, supported by training at the multiple Tony Award‑winning Goodspeed Musical Theatre Institute in Connecticut, USA. More recently, he has contributed as an invited clinician for Opera Queensland’s Sing with Opera Queensland program.
As Head of Performance Music at Redeemer Lutheran College in Brisbane, David leads a suite of award‑winning wind bands, string orchestras, chamber ensembles, and vocal ensembles, fostering a culture of excellence, inclusivity, and joyful music making.
COMMISISONED COMPOSER
Catherine Likhuta
Catherine Likhuta is a Ukrainian-Australian composer, pianist, and recording artist known for emotionally charged, rhythmically driven, and programmatic music often inspired by Ukrainian folk elements. Her works are performed worldwide at major venues including Carnegie Hall and Glyndebourne Opera House, and commissioned by leading ensembles such as the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Queensland Symphony Orchestra.
Her music is widely performed by wind ensembles including Dallas Winds, and featured at international events such as the Midwest Clinic. A two-time winner of the International Horn Society Composition Contest, she has received multiple national arts grants and numerous commercial recordings.
Likhuta holds degrees from the National Music Academy of Ukraine and University of Queensland, where she earned a PhD in composition and was a recipient of the Vice-Chancellor's 2023 Alumni Excellence Award. An active performer, she frequently appears as pianist and soloist on performances of her own music, both in Australia and internationally.
Friends for Life | PROGRAM NOTES
One quiet evening, during a walk with my daughter, we found ourselves laughing over the mischief of our guinea pigs, Kuchie and Lyla. They’re her first pets, and already, they’ve carved a special place in her world. As we talked, she suddenly turned to me and asked, “Mama, did you have your first pet when you were a kid, too?” Her question pulled me gently into the past—to when I was five, and my parents brought home a tiny beige hamster. We named him Hammie. He was soft, delicate, perfect. I adored him the moment I saw him. I remember trying to hold him that first day, only for him to bite me out of fear. I cried, feeling rejected by the very creature I already loved so much. But my mother sat beside me and taught me how to be gentle, how to earn trust, how to care. And slowly, Hammie became my everything—my secret keeper, my reason to race home from kindergarten, my quiet companion in the lonely spaces of childhood.
When he died, it shattered something in me. It was my first heartbreak, my first experience of something precious being here one day and gone the next. I didn’t have the words for grief then—I just knew he’d taken a part of me with him. And yet, all these years later, speaking his name to my daughter, he didn’t feel so far away. I could still see him curled up in sleep, still hear the tiny rustle of him running through shredded paper, still smile at the memory of his cheeks stuffed full of spaghetti.
First pets never really leave us. They teach us how to love, how to let go, and how to remember. Even decades later, we carry them with us—in the quiet places of our hearts, where childhood still lives. They truly are our guaranteed friends for life.
GUEST MUSICIANS: Barega Saxophone Quartet
The Barega Saxophone Quartet was formed in 2007 and is one of Australia’s premier single reed ensembles, performing across Australia and internationally. The modular ensemble presents a versatile and wide-ranging program, spanning French and classical repertoire through to minimalism, contemporary works, and crossover classical jazz styles.
A core focus of the BSQ is the performance and promotion of new Australian music. The group has premiered works by composers including Michael Bakrnčev, Louise Denson, Thomas Green, Catherine Likhuta, Andrew Garton, Nathan Lam, Andrew Kennedy, and Andrew Ball. These works have been presented at major international and national events including SaxOpen Strasbourg (2015), the Australasian Saxophone and Clarinet Conference in Sydney (2013), the XVI World Saxophone Congress in St Andrews (2012), the Crossbows Festival in Brisbane (2012), and the Australian Clarinet and Saxophone Festival in Melbourne (2011).
Barega Saxophone Quartet has released two albums of new Australian music, Three Serpents (2015) and Abandon Control (2018), both available on Bandcamp.
The ensemble first performed at the Central Highlands Festival of Bands in 2017 and returns in 2026, continuing its connection with the festival and regional audiences. Barega now performs as a modular ensemble, featuring a roster of Australia’s leading saxophonists.
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Selmer Paris Ambassador and D’Addario Woodwinds Artist, Dr Emma Di Marco is an Australian contemporary musician, composer, educator, and entrepreneur. Emma is widely recognised as an outstanding saxophone soloist and champion of Australian music having given performances in ten countries (and counting!) as well as commissioning over 20 new works. She has toured Australia twice as a soloist and has three studio albums. The most recent release, Shimmer, is currently nominated for a 2026 Queensland Music Award. Emma is a Churchill Fellow and published researcher and has been an invited TEDx Speaker. Emma continues to build an active freelance career including performance work, lecturing at the University of Queensland, and running her sheet music publishing house, Di Marco Music.
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Isaac Reed is a saxophonist, performer, and educator based in Brisbane. He holds a Bachelor of Music (Honours – Class I, University Medal) from the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, supervised by triple-Grammy-award winner Tim Munro. Isaac is a recipient of the QCGU Conservatorium Medal, awarded to the highest achieving student in their graduating year. Isaac’s passion for new music has taken him around the world, including the Darmstadt Summer Festival in Germany, the 19thWorld Saxophone Congress in Spain, and the 36th European University of Saxophone in France. Isaac is in-demand as a woodwind educator, conductor, and adjudicator.
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Dr Nathan Henshaw is an internationally renowned Australian saxophonist and educator. Recognized for his musical diversity, he excels in genres ranging from solo classical performance to jazz and commercial styles. He is a founding member of the Nexas Quartet, one of Australia's premier chamber ensembles, as well as Duo Rosella and Ironbark Ensemble and performs in the NSW Police Band. Dr Henshaw has performed with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and supported artists such as Tim Minchin, Randy Newman, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Simon Tedschi and Ben Folds. An advocate for new music, he has commissioned and premiered numerous works. He is a Selmer Paris, D'Addario and Silverstein Works artist.
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Saxophonist Ryan Taylor - described as “The future of saxophone” (Back Dock Arts) - is anemerging performer and educator from Brisbane (Meanjin). Ryan is a passionate advocate for new music by local and emerging artists having commissioned and premiered over a dozen new works in the last year. A sought-after multi-instrumental tutor and educator, he leads a budding studio of woodwind students at a private school north of Brisbane. Ryan is an avid supporter and performer of chamber music, aiming to make the artistry of unconducted music more accessible to schools and community programs.
GUEST MUSICIANS: IN THE MOOD FOUR
In the Mood Four (ITM4) Vocal Ensemble began as a carolling quartet before expanding into a versatile professional vocal group performing chamber operas, gala concerts, opera evenings, and corporate engagements. While the name suggests a quartet, ITM4 draws from a broader pool of accomplished professional singers to suit each performance.
ITM4 has performed extensively across Queensland, including Brisbane City Council live series events, “Morning Melodies” concerts, and tours to regional communities. The ensemble first performed at the Central Highlands Festival of Bands in 2016, returned in 2021, and is delighted to once again join the Emerald community for the 2026 festival.
This year’s festival features regular performers D’Arne Sleeman (soprano) and Bernard Wheaton (tenor), joined by Emma Hadfield (pianist) and Nicole Thomson (soprano), who will also conduct and perform with the ensemble.
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Bernard Wheaton is a Queensland-based tenor and music educator, recognised for his extensive career in opera, concert performance, and music education. A graduate of the University of Southern Queensland, he holds a Bachelor of Creative Arts and Diploma in Music and has performed professionally across Australia for more than two decades.
Bernard has appeared with both Opera Queensland and Opera Australia, performing in productions including La Bohème, La Traviata, Pagliacci, Fidelio, The Magic Flute, Rigoletto, Die Fledermaus, and Andrea Chénier. He has also covered numerous principal roles and performed in more than fifty productions with state opera companies.
As a concert soloist, Bernard has appeared in major sacred and choral works including Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Haydn’s The Seasons, and Schubert’s Mass in G. Other notable engagements include performances with The Ten Tenors, Brisbane Lord Mayor’s Carols, Toowoomba Carols by Candlelight, and appearances for official civic and international events.
A regular performer throughout Queensland, Bernard first appeared at the Central Highlands Festival of Bands in 2016, returned in 2021, and is delighted to once again perform for the 2026 festival, continuing his connection with the Emerald community through music and performance.
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A graduate of the Queensland Conservatorium, D’Arne has built a career as a soprano performing nationally and internationally, with appearances in Italy, Wales, and London. She has been a regular artist with the Opera Queensland ensemble for more than twenty years and toured South East Queensland for three years with their education production The Songbird.
Her performance highlights include singing the national anthem at Suncorp Stadium for Rugby League, performing for a 6000-guest corporate dinner at Musgrave Park, and collaborations with the Army Band, Operatif, Underground Opera, and La Scala Ballet. D’Arne is also a regular feature on the Morning Melodies circuit and has recorded with Brisbane Chamber Choir and Opera Queensland. Her screen work includes vocal performance contributions to Thor: Ragnarok.
Alongside performance, D’Arne works extensively as a vocal adjudicator and educator across Australia, including eisteddfods, schools, and international music education panels. In 2020 she completed her LMUS qualification with the AMEB, further strengthening her professional teaching practice.
D’Arne first appeared at the Central Highlands Festival of Bands in 2016, returned in 2021, and is delighted to be performing again in 2026, continuing her connection with the Emerald community.
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Emma Hadfield moved to Brisbane in 2003 to study piano at the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, due to her keen interest in accompaniment. Learning piano since the age of 8, Emma’s first job while still in high school was accompanying the local children’s choir. From there, she worked with young musicians playing for exams and eisteddfodau, and realised this was the most fun way to play the piano. Upon moving to Brisbane, she immediately joined several choirs, and worked with Rhonda Coady accompanying the Queensland Children’s Choir (now the Queensland Show Choir). Throughout her degree, Emma accompanied many fellow students, played in several chamber ensembles, and won the Hilda Woolmer Prize in Accompaniment. She has also taught piano for nearly 20 years in Brisbane, and accompanies many young students for their AMEB exams.
Emma took up the pipe organ during her undergraduate degree, learning under Christopher Wrench, and then went on to a Postgraduate Diploma in pipe organ, while working at various churches around Brisbane. She currently works at St Augustine’s Anglican Church in Hamilton, playing the organ and leading the choir.
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Nicole Thomson is an Australian singer, conductor, and creative artist with more than twenty years of professional experience. She began her international career with The Song Company and has since worked across performance, education, and creative collaboration in Australia and overseas.
Her recording credits include work for award-winning films, documentaries, and video games such as South Solitary, Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole, Happy Feet 2, Halo, and World of Warcraft: Starcraft. She also appears on recordings released through The Song Company, ABC Classic, and Tall Poppies labels.
Nicole maintains an active career as a performer and educator, working across primary, secondary, and tertiary settings. Her work includes one-on-one masterclasses, ensemble workshops, adjudication at eisteddfods, and music theatre and stage productions. She is also experienced in leading international education tours, including tertiary student programs to Malaysia in collaboration with conductor Kevin Field and the Bentley Music Academy in Kuala Lumpur.
Nicole continues to focus on raising standards in music education while maintaining an active performance profile. She first appeared at the Central Highlands Festival of Bands in 2016, returned in 2021, and is delighted to return again in 2026, continuing her ongoing connection with the Emerald community.