Category: News

Listen back to the 3BBR-FM Concert Hall from Sun December 1st, presenting the recent Gippsland Symphony Orchestra concert under the direction of David Williams OAM, with guest soloist Niels Bijl on saxophones. 

Sergei Prokofiev – Selections from Romeo and Juliet Suite 1 & 2


This ballet composed in 1935-1936 is based on William Shakespeare’s play of the same name.  Prokofiev also arranged three orchestral suites and a set of ten piano pieces from the music for the ballet.  The GSO has selected from suites 1 and 2 for this performance: Montagues and Capulets, Madrigal, Minuet, Masks, Death of Tybalt, Friar Laurence, and Romeo at Juliet’s Tomb.  Prokofiev’s suites are some of the most memorable and dramatic moments from the ballet, capturing the essence of his powerful and evocative compositional style. The suites are often performed in concert and have become popular pieces in the orchestral repertoire.



Claude Debussy – Rhapsody for Saxophone and Orchestra – soloist Niels Bijl


In 1901 American saxophonist Elise Hall had requested Claude Debussy to compose a piece for the saxophone, however, he didn’t take the commission seriously and looked scornfully on the abilities of Hall as a saxophonist and as such did not work on the commission for some time.  Hall made many trips to Paris to meet with Debussy and he eventually began to work on the piece and sent the score for saxophone and piano to Hall in 1911.  It was subsequently arranged for orchestra by Jean Roger-Ducasse in 1919.

ENCORE: Nick Russoniello — Dawn Searching


Soloist Niels Bijl

, saxophone

Johannes Brahms – Symphony No. 4


This is a monumental work in the symphonic repertoire, composed in 1884-1885.  This highly regarded symphony explores emotional depth, structural coherence, and symphonic innovation, making it a cornerstone of Romantic symphonic repertoire.  After its premiere performance, the symphony received mixed reviews.  Listeners were challenged by the dense, rich textural colours and the complexity of its structures.  It is now viewed as the work of a genius and rightly celebrated as one of the great symphonic achievements, a work that combines romantic intellectualism and emotional expressionism.  The fourth symphony by Brahms places him in the vanguard of symphonic composers, a rightful heir to Beethoven’s crown.


This performance was recorded on the 10th November 2024 at the West Gippsland Arts Centre, Warragul by 3BBR.

Missed the broadcast? Listen back via our radio-on-demand service before 26 January 2025.

3BBR FM… proudly supporting local fine music.

Listen back to the 3BBR FM Concert Hall, as we proudly featured members of the MCO;  Sophie Rowell – violin,  Merewyn Bramble – viola,  Blair Harris – cello,  Emma Sullivan – double-bass,  with guest pianist/composer Stefan Cassomenos.

On Sunday 13th October, Joseph Baraké presented a dazzling concert of superb musicianship at Wesley of Warragul.  3BBR-FM was thrilled to be there to record it.

Not only was Franz Schubert’s Piano Quintet, “The Trout” a highlight feature, but also the new composition by Stefan Cassomenos whose ‘Quintettsatz’ was truly captivating and certain to become a great hit.

In his pre-concert talk, Stefan explained how he came to write this most appealing composition and how he was inspired by Schubert’s music; a fascinating insight into the creative process.

This premiere in Warragul on September 22nd was the final performance in a Regional tour by members of the Melbourne Chamber Orchestra.

The concert opened with a movement from Hummel’s Piano Quintet written for the same 5 instruments as the Trout Quintet.

• Johann Hummel – Piano Quintet in D minor Op74, 1st movement
• Stefan Cassomenos – Quintettsatz
• Franz Schubert – Piano Quintet in A major D677, “The Trout”

Missed the broadcast? Listen back before 8th Dec 2024 via our radio-on-demand service. 

3BBR-FM… proudly supporting local fine music with exclusive concert recordings in West Gippsland.

Community Radio 3BBR-FM has been nominated for three National Awards, and its programs and recordings have been recognised through national syndication.

• Gippsland Live  and 3BBR-FM Concert Hall  have been jointly nominated for Excellence in Australian Music for the broadcasting of local live performance, and 3BBR live fine music recordings have been accepted for national broadcast in Fine Music Live.
• West Gippsland Week  has been nominated for Best News / Current Affairs,  and
• Continental Drift  has been nominated for Best Music Program, also being distributed nationally through the Community Radio Network.

“To gain this recognition against well funded metro stations reflects the effort and quality that our local presenters are able to deliver,” said station President Paul Strickland. “While local community radio is run entirely by unpaid volunteers, does not mean that it is ‘amateur’ in the sense of poor performance.”

Continental Drift  presented by Garry Havrilay features cross-cultural music of the world, and can be heard on Sundays from noon and Tuesday nights at 10pm.  Gippsland Live  is our weekly showcase of local live performance, heard twice a week on Wednesday evenings from 8pm and Friday afternoons at 2pm.  3BBR-FM Concert Hall  presented by Joseph Barake can be heard on Sundays from 2pm and West Gippsland Week  is heard on Friday’s at 6pm and Saturdays at 8 am.

The winners of these awards will be announced in mid-October at the annual conference of the Community Broadcasting Association of Australia.

A list of all nominees is now available on the CBAA website.
https://www.cbaa.org.au/article/2024-community-broadcasting-awards-finalists

Listen back to the West Gippsland Chorale continuing its 40th Anniversary celebrations, with its second concert for 2024 in conjunction with the Heidelberg Choral Society. Premiered was the recently discovered cantata, ‘St Cecilia’s Day’ by Anglo/Australian composer George Loughlin.

Composed over 70 years ago, collecting dust in the Durham University Library, this 30 minute cantata for 120 voice choir and 55 member professional orchestra with soloists, soprano Rebecca Rashleigh and baritone Christopher Tonkin, was conducted by veteran choral conductor Peter Bandy, assisted by the Chorale’s Music Director Nathan Byrne.

The Brahms ‘German Requiem’ completed a concert that delighted an enthusiastic capacity audience at the West Gippsland Arts Centre on Sunday the 25th August 2024.

3BBR-FM was there to exclusively record this major historic music event for the 3BBR-FM Concert Hall, and was presented by Joseph Baraké on Sunday 8 September at 2pm. Missed the broadcast? Listen back via our radio-on-demand service before November 5th 2024.

• George LOUGHLIN – St Cecilia’s Day
• Johannes BRAHMS – Ein deutsches Requiem – A German Requiem

3BBR-FM proudly supports local fine music concerts.

3BBR recently spent an entire afternoon immersed in three concerts featuring the wind quintet Reeds Bending , mezzo-soprano Dimity Shepherd and the multi-faceted actor Richard Piper, punctuated by excellent local food and wine.

Listen back to concert highlights in the 3BBR FM Concert Hall heard on Sunday 18th August 2024 from 2:00pm recorded on Sunday 4th August in St. Jarlath’s Church, Yarragon.

Dimity Shepherd – Mezzo Soprano
Richard Piper – Actor, Singer

Reeds Bending  are:
Rachel Bullen – Oboe
Mitch Berick – Clarinet
Niels Bijl – Saxophones
Jorja Withall – Bass Clarinet
Matthew Kneale – Bassoon

Included in our broadcast…
• JS BACH – Canon from the Art of Fugue
• Ludwig Van BEETHOVEN – Trio Op.87
• Edvard GRIEG – Holberg Suite; Air, Sarabande, Rigaudon
• William SHAKESPEARE – Under The Greenwood Tree
• Henry PURCELL – Dido’s Lament
• Ton Ter DOEST – Circus Muziek; I, IV, VI, VII
• Mark MELLITS – Splinter; II-Sugar Maple, V-Cherry, VI-River Birch, VIII- Red Pine
• Claude DEBUSSY – Children’s Corner; I-Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum, II-Jimbo’s Lullaby, IV-The Snow is Dancing, V-The Little Shepherd, VI-Cake-Walk
• WA Mozart – Duo Sonata KV292; III-Rondo
• John DOWLAND – Flow My Tears
• Georges BIZET – Seguidilla and Habanera from Carmen

Missed the broadcast? Listen back before 13 Oct 2024 via our radio-on-demand service.

3BBR-FM… proudly supporting local fine music with exclusive concert recordings in West Gippsland.

The remarkably versatile and exciting young pianist Joshua Hooke recently gave a recital at Yarragon Studio, and 3BBR was there to record it.  Listen back to the broadcast in the 3BBR FM Concert Hall on Sunday 28th July 2024.

Originally from regional Victoria, Josh completed his PhD in Music Performance at Melbourne University and has studied in Vienna with the late Paul Badura-Skoda and in London with Imogen Cooper.  Josh has many awards to his name from Australian and International institutions.  He’s a regular performer both at home and in Europe.  He recently completed a Victorian Regional tour which included a recent recital at Wesley of Warragul in May 2024.

• Ludwig Van BEETHOVEN – Sonata in E flat Op.27 No.1
• Berta Alves de SOUSA – O Alfabeto em Música (The Alphabet in Music)
• Federico MOMPOU – Paisajes (Landscapes)
• Sergei RACHMANINOV – Elegy Op.3 No.1 and Preludes Op.32 No.5, Op.23 No.2

Missed the broadcast? Listen back before 22 Sept 2024 via our radio-on-demand service.

3BBR-FM… proudly supporting local fine music with exclusive concert recordings in West Gippsland.

3BBR-FM was there for the 21st Anniversary of the multi-award winning Boolarra Folk Festival, recording every concert for Gippsland Live, our weekly showcase of local live performances.

Again, thousands of people flocked to Boolarra in early March for the festival, a completely free community event held at Boolarra’s Memorial Hall on the Friday night, and around Centennial Park throughout Saturday.

Gippsland Live (heard 8:00pm Wed & 2:00pm Fri) begins broadcasting concerts from the festival on April 10, and then fortnightly to include other recordings at local venues on alternate weeks.

First up is the stunning opening act from Friday night, the finger-slidin’ gutsy blues guitar and voice of Steph Fischer-Ivancsy with the Bad Jackets. Steph’s unique brand of blues rock is a throbbing, stomping, wailing blast cut through with a voice that will bring you to your knees.

Todd Cook and The Rufous Whistlers, Paul Buchanan’s Voodoo Preachers, guitarist Stephen McCulloch in fine voice, the amazing Tim Scanlan and Mana Okubo with Tim playing foot percussion, guitar, harmonica and singing all at the same time, plus trad. jazz fusion from Shirazz are just some of the many fine acts to follow in subsequent programs.

“Once again there were great performances, and we appreciate the help of the Festival and performers in allowing us to share the musicianship and community spirit,” said producer/engineer Garry Havrillay, “We’re also thrilled to be able to give these under-represented and emerging artists a chance to be heard more widely via Community Radio.” *

Tune in to 103.1FM on Wednesday nights at 8.00pm or Friday afternoons at 2:00pm, stream online via 3bbrfm.org.au or the Community Radio Plus App, or listen later via our audio-on-demand  service at https://3bbrfm.org.au/programs/gippsland-live.

* Special thanks go out to live sound engineer Brett van Hoorne for his generous help in catering to our needs for recording for broadcast.

Broadcast schedule for 2024 Boolarra Festival concerts
Wed April 10 @8pm Fri April 12 @2pm	Steph Fischer-Ivancsy & The Bad Jackets
	Stephen McCulloch Pt.1
Wed April 24 @8pm Fri April 26 @2pm	Stephen McCulloch Pt.2
	Paul Buchanan’s Voodoo Preachers
Wed May 8 @8pm Fri May 10 @2pm	Shirazz Trad. Jazz Band
	Tim Scanlan & Mana Okubo Pt.1
Wed May 22 @8pm Fri May 24 @2pm	Tim Scanlan & Mana Okubo Pt.2
	Meg Doherty & band
	Kindred
Wed June 5 @8pm Fri June 7 @2pm	Strzelecki Stringbusters
	Mast Gully Fellers Pt.1
Wed June 19 @8pm Fri June 21 @2pm	Mast Gully Fellers Pt.2
	Todd Cook & the Rufous Whistlers
Wed July 3 @8pm Fri July 5 @2pm	Smokin’ Dog Johnson
Wed July 17 @8pm Fri July 19 @2pm	The Hip Pockets
Wed July 31 @8pm Fri Aug 2 @2pm	Boneyard Blondes
	Ally Row Pt.1
Wed Aug 14 @8pm Fri Aug 16 @2pm	Ally Row Pt.2
	Half-Cut Hicks

Listen back to the 3BBR-FM Concert Hall presenting the recent West Gippsland Symphony Orchestra concert under the direction of David Williams OAM. 

• MOZART – Divertimento No.1 in Eb Major, K113
• HAYDN – Symphony No.101 in D major “The Clock”
• BEETHOVEN – Symphony No.4 in Bb major, Op.60

This performance was recorded on the 7th July 2024 at the West Gippsland Arts Centre, Warragul by 3BBR.

Missed the broadcast? Listen back via our radio-on-demand service before 15 September 2024.

3BBR FM… proudly supporting local fine music.