MEDIA RELEASE Tuesday, 6 October 2015 !

Breenhold Gardens’ annual SpringFest Concert & Picnic Day featuring musical guests Simon Tedeschi and Jane Rutter On Sunday November 8th Breenhold Gardens welcomes world-renowned Australian pianist Simon Tedeschi, trail-blazing flautist Jane Rutter and the public to Breenhold Springfest & Picnic Day, a sublime springtime outdoor concert nestled in the slopes of Mount Wilson in the Blue Mountains. After an eventful hiatus caused by debilitating bush fires and the use of the grounds to film Baz Luhrmann’s rambling and roaring 2013 film The Great Gatsby, Breenhold Gardens opens its gates this spring for a very special classical music event. Breenhold Gardens 2015 © Christie Brewster Classical music lovers and gardening aficionados alike are invited to flock to the privately-owned and immaculately maintained heritage-listed gardens. Relax to the music in the shade of the weatherproof marquee or bask in the warm spring sunshine with a picnic lunch before being treated to a rare and aurally arousing afternoon classical concert featuring three of the great French composers and two of Australia’s most accomplished musicians, Jane Rutter and Simon Tedeschi. The varied, lyrical and exciting program will feature pieces from Gershwin, Poulenc, Cesar Franck, Debussy and Vivaldi, brought to life by the virtuosic playing of Rutter and Tedeschi. Two of Australia's best-loved musicians, the impeccably pedigreed duo have been performing together for thirteen years. Tedeschi will perform on Breenhold Gardens’ “mountain piano”, a Steinway purchased specifically for the purpose of opening the garden up to more regular musical events. “The new piano enables a much wider spectrum of chamber music to be performed here,” says Tom Breen who, together with his family, is the owner of Breenhold Gardens. “I am thrilled to be able to have Jane Rutter and Simon Tedeschi as our soloists this year. They are consummate musicians that don’t just play, but perform a huge repertoire with intelligence, conviction, bravura and humour. It will make for an unforgettable experience in the magic that is Breenhold in late spring.”

“Classical music is an absolutely essential part of my life, and has been since childhood, a love for which was first imbued in me by my late father,” says Breen. “The silence and beauty of a garden in the mountains, often broken by the shrill call of a parrot or other birds, is the perfect backdrop, and indeed partner, to music making in its midst.” Breenhold was founded in the mid-1960s by Tom’s parents, the late Sydney ballet and theatre critic and political commentator, turned businessman, Thomas Essington Breen (Senior) - 1914-2002, and his wife Charlotte “Bill” Breen. In order to create a mountain garden estate that reflected Northern hemisphere trees and plants in an Australian bush setting, the family purchased 19 adjoining plots of land in which to develop its 40 hectares of gardens, parkland and bush walks. Many species of rhododendrons, lilies and azaleas, showing off their late spring blossoms, provide astounding flashes of colour beside mountain basalt pathways, as visitors to the gardens meander through archways to fountains and feature pools. Breenhold has several links to an earlier Sydney history including the quadrangle of the archway enclosed Celestium garden salvaged from the imposing 1865 mansion Retford Hall at Darling Point, several pink granite columns from the original AMP Building which stood at Circular Quay, a Victorian copper-domed cupola, numerous antique English Coalbrookdale cast iron seats and Italian urns. The Gardens will be open from 10.00am and the performances will commence at 1.30pm. Bring a picnic lunch, family and friends and enjoy a very special day.

MEDIA RELEASE Tuesday, 6 October 2015 !

Date Sunday 8th November, 2015 Time Gardens open from 10.00am; Performances commencing from 1.30pm Venue Breenhold Gardens, 29 The Avenue, Mount Wilson 2786 Tickets $49.00 / $12 children 12 and up;

Online http://www.classikon.com/concerts/breenhold-springfest-nov-2015/

For interviews, images and further questions please contact Stephanie Langridge, Publicist, 0423 931 007 / stephanielangridge@me.com Biographies SIMON TEDESCHI, PIANO Simon Tedeschi is one of Australia’s most renowned and sought-after pianists, awarded several prestigious prizes including first prize in the Keyboard division of the Royal Overseas League Competition (UK), Symphony Australia’s Young Performer of the Year Award, and the Legacy Award from the Creativity Foundation (USA). Also recipient of a Centenary of Federation Medal, Tedeschi has performed in major concert halls throughout Europe, North America and Asia, and for world leaders such as George W. Bush, Vladimir Putin, Nelson Mandela, and the Dalai Lama. As soloist, Tedeschi regularly performs with orchestras around Australia and worldwide, with conductors including Richard Bonynge, Alan Gilbert, Jun Märkl and Sir William Southgate. Based in the USA for several years, since returning to Sydney in 2010, Tedeschi has performed for the Sydney and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras, Sydney Opera House, Melbourne Recital Centre, Musica Viva, Queensland Music Festival and numerous concert series around the country. JANE RUTTER, FLUTE Classical free spirit flautist, Jane Rutter, is an internationally acclaimed soloist renowned for her onstage warmth, technical brilliance and dynamic performances. A musician sans frontiers Jane is considered a world expert on French style flute playing, and its affiliation with the voice. Jane Rutter is a household name in Australia, and has recently returned from giving a series of concerts in Paris, where many years earlier she studied flute. Described by ABC Classic FM as "one of Australia's leading performance artists", Jane has released 17 top selling solo albums (including two of original compositions).