STELLAR performer Jennifer Kaye will present the songs of Elgar’s ‘Sea Pictures’ at Nelson Bay in a unique cultural opportunity for residents to enjoy.

The concert performance, which will be accompanied by projections of Port Stephens seascapes, will raise funds for a campaign calling for an entertainment centre at Tomaree Headland.

Ms Kaye studied opera at Sydney Conservatorium and later performed in a number of very different productions, including two runs of Puccini’s ‘Turandot’.

“One was in the Moore Park stadium before an audience of thousands,” Jennifer Kaye told News Of The Area.

The next was on the Sydney Opera House stage in a beautiful Graeme Murphy production.

“During this performance some of the actors playing soldiers in the crowd scenes were told to be a bit rougher with the crowd, and one night I came inches from being shoved into the orchestra pit!”

Jennifer has also recorded programs of solo songs for the ABC, including German cabaret songs from the 1930s composed by Jewish musicians, many of whom had to flee the country to escape Nazi persecution.

She has also performed with The Song Company and in an early music ensemble with harpsichord, gamba and recorder.

Jennifer has trodden the boards of many stages in her career as a singer, including the Sydney Opera House and at the Victorian Arts Centre in Melbourne.

She has been visiting Port Stephens with her family for years, and now has a house at Anna Bay.

The pianist accompanying Jennifer is Dr Eun-Jung Byun, an accomplished South Korean born musician who has already established herself in the Australian music scene as a leading member of the new generation of professional collaborative pianists.

Eun-Jung holds a Bachelor of Music and a Master of Performance, both majoring in piano accompaniment, from the University of Sydney.

During her postgraduate studies, she was selected to take part in the student exchange program at the Royal Academy of Music, London.

She recently completed her Doctor of Musical Arts on the development of Korean art songs based on poetry from the Japanese occupation period (1910-1945).

Since 2005, Eun-Jung was a staff pianist for the Vocal and Opera Studies division and is currently an Associate Lecturer in Collaborative Piano at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Jennifer Kaye is keen to see more quality performances in the region and is an advocate for the establishment of a theatre and entertainment precinct at Tomaree Headland, a major aim of the Tomaree Cultural Development Group.

“There are so many good reasons why an entertainment centre is a good choice for Tomaree Headland,” Jennifer went on to say.

“When you have such a glorious site, you really have to do something special with it, like Sydney did with Bennelong Point back in the 1960s.

“It would attract all sorts of shows and audiences, and spur the growth of local performing and exhibiting groups.

“It is crazy that smaller communities like Wyong and Leeton have purpose-built performing arts centres and Port Stephens has nothing!”

The Sea Pictures concert will be held on 11 May 2024 at the Nelson Bay Community Hall.

Jennifer and Eun-Jung will be joined by the Philomel Trio, who will perform a mix of songs from film, folk, jazz, classics and operetta.

You can find out more about this unique cultural opportunity at tcdg.org.au.

By Marian SAMPSON