It was an inspired choice for Queensland Youth Orchestras to invite First Nations soprano Nina Korbe to be their artist-in-residence.
The young Queenslander is in her second year of that residency and over the past 18 months she has risen to become a national star.
Queensland Youth Orchestras’ music director Simon Hewett is thrilled for her and for the organisation.
“Nina is the real deal,” Hewett says. “Since she joined us, she has sung in Vienna, with Opera Australia and she is now the face and voice of a generation.”
At just 26 Korbe seems to have it all, yet she’s a young woman with her feet on the ground. Working part time until relatively recently at a butcher’s shop in Brisbane kept her grounded, she has said.
If you haven’t seen and heard this rising star there’s an opportunity on August 17 when she will be doing a star turn with QYO’s premiere orchestra, Queensland Youth Symphony, under the baton of Hewett.
Korbe has starred with Opera Queensland and recently played Maria in Westside Story for Opera Australia. She is just back after performing in La Rondine with Victorian Opera.
The August 17 concert is Mahler 1. As a prelude to that Korbe will lend her exquisite voice to Mahler’s deeply emotional and reflective Rückert-Lieder. This set of five songs, based on the poems of Friedrich Rückert, showcases Mahler’s ability to intertwine poetry and music, capturing the profound and intimate nuances of human emotion.
Korbe is a proud Koa, Kuku Yalanji, Wakka Wakka woman. She received her bachelor of music performance with distinction from Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University, and was awarded the Griffith University academic excellence award. She also completed a master of arts at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Last year she toured to Vienna with QYS.
Korbe is also a 2024 Opera Queensland Young Artist. She has appeared in Opera Queensland productions including La boheme, Peter Grimes and Verdi’s Requiem. She’s also been a soloist with Camerata, Queensland Ballet, Southern Cross soloists and the Goldner String Quartet.
Korbe sits on the QYO Reconciliation Action Plan Board and has been instrumental in working with QYO to support aspiring young musicians from the Cherbourg State School.
Her meteoric rise coincides with her joining QYO. Hewett couldn’t be happier about that. He first heard a recording she did in 2021 and was impressed.
“It was suggested we do something with Nina and I spoke to her and we agreed on Ravel’s Scheherazade,” he says. “The rest is history.”
Korbe is pleased with how her career is going but she is quite understated about it
“I really can’t complain,” she says. “This year has been incredible.”
Fresh from her performance with Victorian Opera she is happy to be back and featuring in concert with QYS.
“It’s like coming home,” she says. “They are my home orchestra and QYO gave me a great opportunity when I came back from London. And Simon is a wonderful conductor. The Mahler songs are gorgeous so I’m really looking forward to this concert.”
And if she helps draw attention to the work of QYO, all the better. An amazing organisation, it was founded by the late John Curro and has nurtured generations of musicians.
QYO, based at The Old Museum in Bowen Hills, is the premier music education and training organisation for Queensland’s young musicians. Each week more than 560 highly talented young musicians from ages 8 to 24 work with established conductors to develop their skills and experience a range of performance opportunities.
Entry to QYO is competitive, with many of the members going on to pursue a professional career in orchestras around the world. Queensland is renowned for producing some of the best instrumental players in Australia.
Hewett is a Brisbane boy who had an international career before returning home with his family when Covid hit. He has now been at the helm of QYO for four years. “And I’m loving it now as much as on the first day,” he says.
Following the Rückert-Lieder on the night of August 17, the QYS will present one of Mahler’s most celebrated works, Symphony No. 1.
Often referred to as the Titan, this symphony is a powerful and imaginative composition that takes listeners on a journey from the serene beauty of nature to the triumph of the human spirit. Its lush orchestration and innovative structure have made it a cornerstone of the symphonic repertoire.
This concert is a unique opportunity to witness the exceptional talents of the QYS and to experience the depth and richness of Mahler’s compositions. Whether you are a long-time classical music enthusiast or new to the genre, this evening promises to be a highlight of the cultural calendar and your chance to hear Korbe, if you haven’t already.
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Getting a little ahead of himself, Hewett says he believes Korbe, a First Nations artist with a big future, would be perfect for the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Brisbane in 2032. Nobody would argue with that.
Queensland Youth Symphony perform Mahler 1, August 17, 7pm, Concert Hall, QPAC.
qpac.com.au
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