Caesura Ensemble presents its fifth concert, Friction: a return to the ensemble’s chamber-sized projects with a striking programme of colour.

• Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, L. 86 (1894)
  Claude Debussy, Arr. Benno Sachs
• Tango Concerto for Double Bass and Chamber Orchestra* (2026)
  Harry Young
• Pale Fires (2017)
  Grace-Evangeline Mason**
• Dumbarton Oaks (1938)
  Igor Stravinsky

*World Premiere

**Australian Premiere

The concert opens with Claude Debussy’s sublime Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, inspired by the poetry of Stéphane Mallarmé and skilfully arranged for chamber orchestra by Benno Sachs. This will be followed by the world premiere of a one-of-a-kind tango concerto for the double bass, composed and performed by one Sydney’s finest emerging performers and Caesura Ensemble’s longtime principal bass player, Harry Young. We will then present the Australian premiere of British composer Grace-Evangeline Mason’s Pale Fires, a short but highly expressive work inspired by Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens. The concert will conclude with Igor Stravinsky’s neoclassical masterwork Dumbarton Oaks, showcasing the virtuosity of the group’s highly talented musicians.

The programme’s design explores four musical postcards of friction. Nijinsky’s controversial choreography of Debussy’s tone poem and the resulting stir in Paris; Young’s exploration of the double bass’ colour and the infrequency of its presentation as solo instrument; Mason’s unique soundscape in response to the tense final scene of Act IV in Shakespeare’s play; and the juxtaposition between the elegance of Stravinsky’s baroque-inspired composition against the backdrop of World War II on the horizon in 1938.

This evening of chamber music is not to be missed!

About the featured composer:

Harry Young moved to Sydney from Toowoomba in 2022 and is studying a Bachelor of Performance at the Sydney Conservatorium under Alex Henery. He was a Fellow with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in 2025, is an Emerging Artist with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and is currently on contract in the bass section of the SSO. He has performed as a casual musician with the SSO, ACO, Tasmanian Symphony, Auckland Philharmonia, Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra, Omega Ensemble, and Ensemble Apex. He has also been part of the Australian Youth Orchestra’s seasons – including the 2025 international tour – and was a member of the orchestra for the Sydney Con’s 2022 European tour. As a student he performed as soloist in his own composition with Camerata – QCO, and his music for bass ensembles is regularly commissioned by the Big Brisbane Bass Days.