Dancing Through Time

A. Piazzolla- Libertango

J.S. Bach- Suite for Flute and Guitar in D minor, BWV 997

A. Piazzolla- Histoire du Tango

D. Leisner- Dances in the Madhouse

A. Corrêa- André de Sapato Novo

Duo Concinnity is the combined project of flutist Laura Cliff and classical guitarist James Audet. The two Sydney-born classical musicians share a passion for the enchanting and varied repertoire composed for the flute and guitar, and together formed this exciting new duo to explore those works that most inspire them.

Together they intend to contribute fresh interpretations to familiar works, shine light on those lesser known, and create original arrangements of works yet to be heard on this instrumentation. The duo is characterised by the remarkable balance and expressive lyricism they bring to each work in their repertoire.

Concinnity [kən’sɪnɪti] refers to the skilful and harmonious arrangement or coming together of separate parts with respect to a uniform whole.

Laura Cliff is a Sydney-born flutist whose love of music emerged at a young age. She commenced piano at the age of seven and a year later discovered her passion for the flute.

Laura moved to Queensland in 2017 to study at Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University successfully completing her Bachelor of Music in Performance (Distinction) with distinguished teacher and mentor Virginia Taylor. Laura has had the privilege of completing an internship with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra Fellowship program. She has won the NSW Flute Society Open Age Competition, the Queensland Flute Guild’s James Carson Memorial Prize, and was awarded the Nick Deutsch Prize for Most Outstanding First-Year Musician at ANAM in 2022.

As a regular performer with the Australian Youth Orchestra since 2018, Laura achieved the position of Principal Flute in the Orchestra’s 2020 programs and toured regional Australia with their Momentum Ensemble in 2022. Laura has performed with Brisbane-based chamber group Ensemble Q and is a founding member of Sydney based flute and guitar duo, Duo Concinnity. In 2020 she was a featured soloist performing Vivaldi’s Piccolo Concerto in C with the Queensland Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra. In 2021 Laura enjoyed the unique experience of performing a series of solo sessions at the Gallery of Modern Art in Queensland as a part of the European Masterpieces exhibition. She has played with Opera Australia, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra and is a casual with Queensland Symphony Orchestra.

Laura particularly loves performing in orchestral and chamber settings, telling a story through music, and challenging and inspiring her audience with the hope that it brightens their day and helps develop their love and connection with music.

James Audet is a professional classical guitarist from Sydney, Australia. He developed a passion for the guitar at the age of 10 and in 2011 was accepted into the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, where he completed his Bachelor of Music with Honours, majoring in performance. During this degree, he was able to study under the renowned classical guitarists Guiseppe Zangari, Gregory Pickler, Marco Tamayo and Roger Lock. In 2015 James was admitted to the degree of Masters of Classical Guitar at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg, where he studied for 3 years under Professor Marco Tamayo.

Upon the completion of his Masters degree, James returned once more to Sydney to pursue his Doctoral studies at the Sydney Conservatorium. He is currently enrolled in the Doctor of Musical Arts program, studying under the supervision of Professor Vladimir Gorbach and researching the music of Giulio Regondi.

James has been awarded numerous prizes and international guitar competitions, including the first prize in the Bosnian IMKA music competition, 3rd prize in the Vilnius international guitar competition, and most recently the 2nd prize in the New Zealand international guitar competition.

In 2021 James was awarded the Sydney Conservatorium Albert Scholarship to assist his research, and in the same year, he was additionally awarded the University of Sydney Postgraduate Award for academic excellence, supplying funding for the duration of his studies. Most recently James was also awarded the Henderson Scholarship to take part in a two week study program at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Host or Publisher Duo Concinnity