ABOUT THE ARTISTS

RICK FREEMAN

Hitherto poetry was more of a clandestine hobby for Rick before being encouraged largely by John and Tony to have his writings enjoyed by the public. And who better to narrate them than Voice Artist John Stanton. Rick’s writing is informed by everyday observations such as the opening 5 poems belonging to the Café Suite. Human interactions, human nature and aspects of his environment as a Melbournian. City life and his love of Australia more broadly, plus the occasional World View observation. See more about the collection 'The Aches and Joys of Life' elsewhere on this site.

Rick is known as a piano accompanist who occasionally performs on clarinet and saxophone and dabbles in some composition. He leads his own jazz quartet that perform regularly at the Southside Jazz Room, Elsternwick. He is an accompanist for the Athenaeum Choir and sporadically for the Magellan Singers. He has made significant contributions to several government schools music programs over several decades and is presently a part time teacher of piano, clarinet and band music at De La Salle College where he is also the school’s piano accompanist. He taught at the International School of Beijing for five years and performed in jazz groups there.

Rick’s obvious choice of music collaboration was his friend the eminent Tony Gould to enhance and complement the collection of – Words and Music. The music is sometimes subtle, understated or appropriately tacet. Tony has collaborated with John previously in highly successful performances such as ‘Under the Milkwood’ and ‘Hey Blue.’ Rick is excited to be part of this current project. Rick is now devoting more time to his writing of poems and short stories. A second opus is already brewing.

He owns 3 working dogs as pets in Max, Emmy and Bonza (Kelpies and a Border Collie x Kelpie) that successfully compete in sheep dog trials as a hobby of this City Slicker. So it is not surprising that 3 of the approx. 24 poems to be presented entail dogs including a famous sheep dog. He also has a handful of homing pigeons and you’ll note a poem related to that too. He is an enthusiastic participant in the dark art of “ping pong” and belongs to the “Keenagers” Table Tennis Club in Balwyn for over 55s and the Blackburn Tennis Club.

TONY GOULD

Pianist, composer and educator Tony Gould has received many accolades for his contribution to music In Australia, the most recent being the prestigious Don Banks Award from the Australia Council for the Arts. In 2008 he was awarded an Order of Australia (AM).

He has performed with and accompanied many internationally renowned artists including Clark Terry, Mark Murphy, Ernestine Anderson, Ronnie Scott, David Jones, Don Burrows, John Sangster, Graeme Lyall, John Hoffman and Bobby Shew. He has been guest artist with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria, Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra and appeared as associate artist with the Art Ensemble of Chicago, Dave Brubeck, Sarah Vaughan, the LA Four and many others.

His CD River Story, with guitarist Peter Petrucci, received an ARIA Award nomination as did his earlier Concerto for Saxophones and Orchestra titled The Subtlety of Time. Gould and Petrucci received a Playing Australia grant 2001 and have recorded a second CD titled From Within. and collaboration with the brilliant trumpeter Keith Hounslow McJad Goes Organic (Church Organ and Trumpet,) two CDs with the brilliant young Australian singer, Emma Gilmartin, titled Tomorrow Just You Wait and See and Home, and as solo artist with John Hoffman’s orchestra on the recording titled Pianamente.

His latest solo piano recording on ABC Classics titled At the End of the Day was released to critical acclaim in April 2005. A recording was released in 2008 with the eminent American composer/pianist David Ward-Steinman, with original works, and two major compositions for two pianos by John Lewis (Modern Jazz Quartet) and the French pianist/composer Martial Solal.

Tony performs and lectures at major universities in Australia, the Asia pacific region, the United States and elsewhere on a wide range of topics. He has just completed two books, as part of the commitment to a Fellowship awarded by the Australia Council for the Arts: Essays on Music and Musicians in Australia, and, The Art of MusicalImprovisation: Thoughts and IdeasHis latest work, a trio for piano, cello and clarinet, is to receive its world premiere in July.

JOHN STANTON

John Stanton played Roy Cohn previously, in the Australian premier production of ANGELS IN AMERICA with the Sydney Theatre Company. For the STC he has played KING LEAR and ANTONY, and was nominated for a Sydney Critics award for FESTEN. He was Joe Keller in ALL MY SONS, for the same company. He has worked with Kate Cherry on CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF (QTC and Black Swan), ALL MY SONS and SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH (MTC). He was last seen at Black Swan as Willy Loman in DEATH OF A SALESMAN.

For the MTC he was JULIUS CAESAR, and his performance of Prospero in THE TEMPEST earned him a Helpmann Award nomination. He won the Sydney Critics’ Award for Orson Welles’ MOBY DICK at Sydney’s Marion Street Theatre, a Logie for THE DISMISSAL, and a nomination for the TV series BELLAMY. He was in the American films RENT A COP, and TAI PAN, and his Australian films include VACANT POSSESSION and BENEATH HILL 60, MISS FISHER’S & THE CRYPT OF TEARS, along with many television productions – too many to mention!

His acclaimed one man show AND WHEN HE FALLS was seen at fortyfivedownstairs in Melbourne and at The Castlemaine Festival in the company of TONY GUILD. He was Dracula in a new adaptation of Bram Stoker’s DRACULA at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Adelaide. John has worked with a number of Australian orchestras as narrator, most notably THE MELBOURNE and SYDNEY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAS.