Fiddler’s Farewell

Description

Loreta Fin

With a nod to the composer’s Irish lineage on her mother’s side, this work encompasses the characteristics of a jig, emphasising the strong sense of pulse required for this lively dance. The bowing is a mixture of hooked strokes and alternating down and up bows, encouraging sound left and right-hand co-ordination. This piece is dedicated to the students and teachers of Somerville House, both past and present, as a parting gift after 35 Years as Director of Strings at the South Brisbane school.

Grade: 2.5
Duration: 2’00”
Key: D Major

Loreta Fin (A.Mus.A., L.Mus.A., ATCL) studied violin at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, with Faina Krel, and before that, with Sr Margaret Short OSU and Emily Finn (former SSO violinist). Loreta was a first violinist with the Sydney Youth Senior Symphony Orchestra, and later tutored and conducted several of the groups within the Sydney Youth Orchestra Association. She taught at Sydney Grammar School before moving to Brisbane in 1988. At present, she is Director of Strings and Instrumental Music at Somerville House Girls’ School, a full-time position she has held since 1993. Loreta conducts and oversees the school’s 6 String Orchestras and smaller ensembles. There are over 500 students in the instrumental music program, which includes more than 200 string players from Years 3 to 12. All of the string ensembles have been successful in competitions over the years, having gained first places in various eisteddfods for several years running. In the last 10 years, Loreta’s ensembles have consistently received Platinum Awards at all levels – and the senior group, Somerville Strings, was the winner of the Orchestra Australia Award for Excellence in school orchestral music.