AUSTRALIAN MUSIC LEGENDS LINE UP FOR ARTS CENTRE MELBOURNE S MORNING MELODIES 2016 PROGRAM Colleen Hewett, Athol Guy and Mitchell Butel set to entertain at MELBOURNE THURSDAY 11 FEBRUARY 2016 Australian music greats Colleen Hewett, Athol Guy and Mitchell Butel are among the entertainment icons joining Arts Centre Melbourne s 2016 Morning Melodies program. The feel good concerts held each month at will showcase an eclectic array of acclaimed Australian and international artists performing a range of musical and dance styles. Highlights in this year s program include Australian great Colleen Hewett, acclaimed musician Athol Guy and three-time Helpmann award winner Mitchell Butel. Colleen Hewett, star of the stage and screen, is set to take audiences on a musical journey of her career from growing up in Bendigo to Queen of Pop. Athol Guy and Friends: The Seekers Story, written and narrated by Seekers member Athol Guy, follows his adventures from his teenage years through to his life today. It will feature stories, unseen footage from his personal library and all The Seekers big hits. Dance fans won t want to miss the all-singing, all-swinging, all-dancing show The Tap Pack in March. Four of Australia s best tap dancing performers bring their hit show to Morning Melodies, covering all the hits from Sinatra to Timberlake. International star Steve Ross will delight audiences when he pays
tribute to Fred Astaire and Cole Porter in I Won t Dance and The Australian Ballet School celebrate the sublime meeting of dance and music in its annual concert. In August international soprano sensation Mirusia will make her debut. Born in Australia to Dutch parents the singer s dreams came true when André Rieu invited her to tour the world with him as his star soprano and named her the angel of Australia. Mitchell Butel will channel his heroes Dean Martin and Tony Bennett in his performance Croon Tunes and Arts Centre Melbourne will celebrate some of the biggest songs of the musical hall era in the Best of British through the 50s and 60s. Arts Centre Melbourne s acclaimed Morning Melodies started in 1985 when performer Betty Pounder and producer Sandy Graham decided it was time to make good use of the empty Playhouse on a Monday morning. They had a brainwave to break theatre tradition and invite people in during the day. Thirty one years on Morning Melodies has presented more than 450 concerts and welcomed almost half a million audience members, making it a quintessential Melbourne experience. ARTS CENTRE MELBOURNE S MORNING MELODIES 2016 The Tap Pack Monday 7 March Enjoy cool classics with a fresh twist when four of Australia s best tap dancing performers bring their acclaimed show to Morning Melodies. Covering all eras from Sinatra to Timberlake The Tap Pack is an all-singing, all-swinging, all-dancing show with a touch of comedy sprinkled on top. The Tap Pack celebrates hit songs like Lady is a Tramp and Come Fly With Me, as well as bringing their signature style to today s hit pop songs by Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake and more. There ll be singing battles, hat tricks, red hot rhythms and mixes of exhilarating tap dance. The Best of Broadway - with Victorian College of the Arts Students Monday 11 April Experience the Victorian College of the Arts 2016 graduating class perform timeless showtune classics. The repertoire will include hits penned by Broadway legends Rodgers and Hammerstein,
Leonard Bernstein, Andrew Lloyd Weber and Kander and Ebb from shows including Oklahoma! West Side Story, Company and Once, as well as others from the Great White Way. The Australian Ballet School Tuesday 10 May The Australian Ballet School s annual performance has become a much-loved and highly anticipated feature of the Morning Melodies program. In a showcase of works by talented students, this performance celebrates the art of ballet: the sublime meeting of dance and music. Audiences will be thrilled by a wonderfully creative repertoire brought to vivid life by the passion, fire and beauty of these young dancers. I Won t Dance: The Songs of Fred Astaire and Cole Porter. Performed by the Crown Prince of New York Cabaret Steve Ross and Special Guest Rebecca Moore Monday 20 June Internationally renowned New York cabaret pianist and singer Steve Ross received the Manhattan Association of Cabaret s Lifetime Achievement award in 2015, recognising a 40-year career performing classics of the 1920s and 1930s.Dubbed the Crown Prince of Cabaret by the New York Times, Ross returns to Australia in characteristically sophisticated style. His hit off-broadway show I Won t Dance celebrates the songs of that dapper genius, Fred Astaire and his match in brilliance, Cole Porter. Mirusia: André Rieu s Angel of Australia Monday 18 July International soprano sensation Mirusia, is set to make her debut in a special Morning Melodies performance. Born in Australia to Dutch parents, Mirusia s dreams came true when André Rieu invited her to tour the world with him as his star soprano. Acclaimed the Angel of Australia, in her first full scale national tour, Mirusia will be working with a classical ensemble, performing songs from her internationally chart-topping CDs and DVDs. Some of the favourites include Schubert s Ave Maria, and Andrew Lloyd Webber s Memory (from Cats).
Mirusia: André Rieu s Angel of Australia Monday 15 August International soprano sensation Mirusia, is set to make her debut in a special Morning Melodies performance. Born in Australia to Dutch parents, Mirusia s dreams came true when André Rieu invited her to tour the world with him as his star soprano. Acclaimed the Angel of Australia, Mirusia has spent the last nine years touring around the globe in various productions and on her own European tours. In her first full scale national tour, Mirusia will be working with a classical ensemble, performing songs from her internationally chart-topping CDs and DVDs. Some of the favourites include Schubert s Ave Maria, and Andrew Lloyd Webber s Memory (from Cats). Athol Guy and Friends: The Seekers Story Monday 19 September Athol Guy and Friends: The Seekers Story chronicles the amazing success of Australia s most celebrated musical group, The Seekers. Written and narrated by Athol Guy, one of the group s founding members, this concert takes audiences on a journey from Athol s teenage years through to today. Featuring stories, unseen footage from Athol s personal library and all The Seekers big hits, performed by 60s pop star Buddy England with Michael Cristiano, Jenny Blake and Rod Hulls. Best of British Through To the 50s and 60s with The Syncopators Monday 24 October Best of British is a celebration of British music through to the 50s and 60s ranging from music hall, to jazz and pop. The concert kicks off with some of the biggest tunes of the era: George Formby s When I m Cleaning Windows and Flanagan & Allen s Nice People. The British Bing Crosby Al Bowlly will be represented, as well as Nöel Coward and Vera Lynn. The greatest pop band of them all, The Beatles, is also featured, followed by the famous three B s of British jazz Barber, Ball and Bilk. The
band will be complemented by the vocals of Dave Hetherington and Beverley Sheahan (sister of Judith Durham from The Seekers). Mitchell Butel: Croon Tunes with The Croontuners Monday 21 November Mitchell Butel three time Helpmann and two time Green Room Award-winning star of Avenue Q, The Mikado and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum has been blazing across our stages for many years in some very high art and some very low comedy. But what he always wanted to be was a crooner like his heroes Frank Sinatra, Mel Torme, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett and Louis Prima. Finally, it s time for Mitchell to slip on the smoking jacket So put a little Mambo Italiano into your morning, leave your Blue Moons behind and come fly with Mitchell and his jazz band, the Croontuners. Christmas Melodies Monday 12 December Celebrate the start of the festive season with the famous Christmas Melodies show at. Join us in singing a joyful collection of classic Christmas songs along with a few new favourites. There will be a fantastic line-up of popular Australian singers and performers to boost the Christmas cheer, so gather your family and friends for this special edition of Morning Melodies.Line-up will be announced later in the year. For further media information and interviews, please contact: Suzanne Robson, Publicist on 03 9281 8526 / 0407 443 271 or suzanne.robson@artscentremelbourne.com.au