Mikaela Oberg, baroque flute
We are so pleased to welcome baroque flautist Mikaela Oberg to this performance. Recently returned from post graduate study in The Netherlands, Mikaela is already making a name for herself as a member of the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and as a guest in other ensembles. She kindly took a moment recently to tell us a little more about herself:-
- Favourite relaxation outside music?
My favourite way to relax outside of music would be to get together with friends and enjoy a nice meal.
- The composer you most enjoy performing?
Oh that’s a hard one! I suppose it’s a bit cliché but I would have to say Mozart. His flute parts are always lovely and there is plenty of good music to listen to when I am not playing!
- How you came to specialise on the baroque flute?
I started my musical life on the recorder and modern flute. Although my father played the baroque flute, and I’d tried it out a couple of times for fun, it wasn’t until my flute teacher at the time, Melissa Farrow, suggested I start on it that I became more seriously interested.
- Best experience studying overseas?
I have so many wonderful memories from my study in The Hague (The Netherlands) it’s hard to pin one down. Playing a concert of French baroque music with the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, led by Frans Brüggen as his last public performance, was pretty special and would have to top the list!
- Your worst experience overseas?
The quest to save a few euros on a trip home for Christmas led to this disastrous trip. I had found a cheap flight out of Dusseldorf, and being only a couple of hours away from The Hague by train thought it sounded a great idea. I’d pop over the afternoon before, have a last sleep in a hotel then fly home the next morning. Unfortunately the Dutch train system had other plans and I instead ended up having to catch around 8 trains over as many hours and having that last precious sleep on an airport lounge. To make matters worse I came down with some kind of bug on the plane that lasted the trip home. From then on I was a little less stingy with my flights!
- What you most enjoy about French baroque music?
I love the intricacy of French baroque, the little details are so crucial to the music and quite different from other styles around at the time.
- What are the 3 or 4 “dessert island disks” you could not live without?
French Baroque Concertos from Musica Antique Koln, with Wilbert Hazelzet on flute; the 1993 recording of Mozart Symphony 40 and Beethoven Symphony 1 by Brüggen and the Orchestra of the 18th Century; Wilhelm Friedemann Bach 6 duets for 2 flutes by Bart Kuijken and Marc Hantai.
- And finally, the one thing you would like to change about classical music concerts?
I wish we could exclaim more during concerts! Similar to how audiences clap after Jazz solos I guess. I love hearing an audience member sigh after a beautiful moment, how wonderful not to have to contain it. I think it would be great if we didn’t have to sit so still and silent during performances, I feel like it supresses a bit of the enjoyment for me.
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What: The Marais Project presents: “Marais and the Operatic Muse”
When: 3pm Sunday August 16 2015
Where: Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Macquarie St, Sydney
Tickets: www.maraisproject.com.au or call 0412 459 156