Jacqueline Ward and Karen Smithies

Program

This program unites strikingly different voices in a distinctly English conversation across centuries. At its centre, Benjamin Britten’s song cycle On This Island takes the spotlight—a vivid hero whose brilliance and irony conceal a chilling foreknowledge. Written on the eve of the Second World War, its glittering wit and brittle beauty seem to sense the gathering darkness, into which it occasionally dives headlong.

Its audacious sidekick, Dominick Argento’s Six Elizabethan Songs, is anything but restrained—it swings between luminous serenity and flashes of theatrical tempest, with just enough drama to keep Britten on his toes. Between these Modern protagonists, Handel offers a moment of crystalline repose and charm, reminding us that heartbreak was already fashionable in the 1600s.

Together, these composers trace the evolution of English song from Baroque polish to Modern unease, revealing that even across centuries, beauty and disquiet dance hand in hand.

DOMINICK ARGENTO (1927-2019) Six Elizabethan Songs

  1. Spring
  2. Sleep
  3. Winter
  4. Durge
  5. Diaphenia
  6. Hymn

GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL (1685-1789) Tu del ciel ministro eletto from Il trionfo del tempo

BENJAMIN BRITTEN (1913-1976) On This Island

  1. Let the Florid Music Praise
  2. Now the Leaves are Falling Fast
  3. Seascapes
  4. Nocturne
  5. As it is Plenty

About the artists

Jacqueline Ward, Soprano

Jacqueline Ward is a soprano whose voice has been described as “honey sliding down crystal” (The Courier-Mail). She specialises in concert, recital, and early music, performing with orchestras and choirs across Australia.

Her career has blended artistry and scholarship: she has premiered historic songs for The Museum of Sydney’s Songs of Home, performed with leading university ensembles, and delivered acclaimed interpretations of repertoire from Purcell and Bach to contemporary composers. A serious car accident brought her performing plans to a halt, but after three years of rehabilitation, she made a triumphant return to the stage in 2023, earning praise for her “formidable musicianship.”

Jacqueline has since performed as a guest soloist with the Derwent Symphony Orchestra, Cradle Coast Orchestra, Noosa Orchestra, and Van Diemen’s Band, and for a Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra initiative. She has collected awards at the City of Hobart Eisteddfod and is a dedicated supporter of the Amy Sherwin Fund, performing a recital accompanied by a TSO quartet ahead of portraying Mme. Sherwin at the unveiling of her statue.

In 2025, Jacqueline presented pioneering research on tongue-tie and the singing voice at The Voice Foundation Symposium in Philadelphia and the ANATS Conference in Melbourne. She is also a commissioned composer and Australian Songwriting Contest winner. Jacqueline currently lives in Northwest Tasmania with her young family, teaches in her private studio, and is pursuing a research master’s at Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University, balancing performance, composition, and scholarship with bush walks and time spent with family and friends.

 

Karen Smithies, piano

Karen is the Associate Lecturer in Accompaniment at the Hedberg, UTAS, after relocating to Tasmania from the NSW Central Coast in 1998. Karen graduated from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, majoring in accompaniment and performance, where she was awarded the "Mollie Neal" scholarship for excellence in Accompaniment. She has furthered her study by completing her Masters in Music Performance at UTAS in 2003, studying with Beryl Sedivka and David Bollard.

Karen has performed regularly as a soloist, chamber musician, and associate artist with orchestras and vocal ensembles across NSW and Tasmania, and has made several national ABC and 3MBS broadcasts with artists such as Christian Woijtowicz (cello), Marina Phillips (violin), Romana Zieglerova (violin), Christopher Richardson (baritone), Michael Lampard (baritone), and TSO Brass and Friends.

In her role at UTAS, Karen is a busy repetiteur, and accompanist of students and visiting artists. She is also a key mentor in the University Connections Program, and enjoys teaching across the full spectrum of ages and stages.

Karen is an AMEB Examiner and continues to perform regularly as an orchestral and rehearsal pianist with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, repetiteur with TSO Chorus, and with a variety of collaborative chamber music partners.