Festival of Beauty

Festival of Beauty Schedule

Friday 19 September (Forecourt and Church)

5:30pm	Light dinner on arrival and registration
7:00pm	Formal Welcome by Fr. David Ranson	The Very Reverend Dr. David Ranson is a priest of the Diocese of Broken Bay, where he currently serves as Vicar General, Moderator of the Curia, and Parish Priest of Chatswood Parish.
7:15pm	Keynote Presentation One - Mr. John O’Brien Aspects of Beauty This presentation will focus on beauty--what is it, why it is important, how it leads to God, how to experience beauty & beauty as a means of evangelization.	John O'Brien is a registered architect, who has been practicing in Ecclesial Projects for over 30 years & has developed considerable expertise in the design & construction of new & existing cathedrals, churches, chapels & shrines in Australia, New Zealand & Papua New Guinea. He is currently working on two churches in the Diocese of Broken Bay.
7:50pm	Introduction to Organ Recitals by Mr. Titus Grenyer	Chatswood Parish Director of Music and Principal Organist Sydney Town Hall
8:00pm	Organ Recitals by Chatswood Parish senior junior organ scholars
8:45pm	Conclusion

Saturday 20 September (Harrington Hall and Church)

10:00am	Welcome and Introduction to Keynote
10:10am	Keynote Presentation Two - Mr. Anthony Pitts For Beauty's Sake	Excelsia Ambassador and William Byrd Fellow at Excelsia University College, as well as Artistic Director of both TONUS PEREGRINUS and The Song Company.
11:00am	Round Table Conversation
12 noon	Lunch
1:00pm	Keynote Presentation Three - Linda Klarfeld	Linda Klarfeld is one of Australia’s leading figurative sculptors, renowned for her masterful bronze and stone works. Her striking portraits, monumental sculptures, and profound religious art capture the essence of her subjects and inspire reflection and connection. Linda's works have been exhibited in prominent galleries and collected by institutions and private buyers worldwide, earning her a reputation as a leader in contemporary figurative sculpture. Today, Linda's sculptures grace cathedrals, prestigious schools, art galleries, and private collections around the globe.
1:45pm	Round Table Conversation
2:30pm	Afternoon Tea
3:00pm	Keynote Presentation Four - Dr. David Larkin The Beauty of Music - A Gift from God By virtue of its incorporeal nature, music has innate affinities with the world of the spirit. The music created for the Catholic Church has been described as a "treasure of inestimable value, greater than any other art" (Sacrosanctum Concilium 112). This talk will draw on examples from a thousand years of religiously inspired music to explore different conceptions of musical beauty. It will explore the sometimes permeable boundaries between the Sacred & the Secular, & will show that "the beautiful " is in part, a historical category, even if older styles, such as plainchant & Renaissance Polyphony retain particular value in liturgical contexts.	Dr David Larkin is a Senior Lecturer in musicology at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, where he is currently Program Leader for Musicology and for Analytical, Historical and Cultural Studies. He joined the University of Sydney in 2010, after two years as a postdoctoral research fellow attached to the School of Music, University College Dublin sponsored by the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences. His music education began at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin, where he studied piano, violin and organ. He graduated from University College Dublin in 1999 with a first-class honours B.Mus degree, and in 2002 was awarded the M.Litt degree with distinction for a thesis exploring the musical and personal connections between Liszt and Wagner. In 2007, he gained his PhD from the University of Cambridge.
4:15pm	Conclusion of Day
4:45pm	Evening Prayer in the Church with Chatswood Parish Schola
	Dinner at will in Chatswood
7:30pm	Concert in Church	Chatswood Parish Choir with the Tim Li Orchestra, featuring Schubert’s Mass in G.

Sunday 21 September

10:30am	Combined Choirs at Parish Mass	Chatswood Parish Choir, Indonesian Choir, and Lanneke Jones’ Choir from St Michael’s Lane Cove, Children's Choir of Ku-ring-gai Chase.
11:30am	Light Lunch
1:00pm	Keynote Presentation Five - Fr. Stephen Hackett The Beauty of the Liturgy The world would have us believe that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. In contrast, the church's liturgy affirms for us that beauty is nothing less than a revelation of God. This meditation on the Beauty of the Liturgy will explore the manifestations of beauty in liturgical celebration, rite & setting, & the essential place of beauty in the worship that the Church offers to God.	Reverend Dr Stephen Hackett MSC is the Provincial Superior of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in Australia. He was the inaugural Chairman of the National Liturgical Architect & Art Council of the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference. He is currently the Chairman of the Liturgical Commission of the Diocese of Broken Bay.
1:45pm	Round Table Conversation
2:30pm	Afternoon Tea
3:30pm	Solemn Benediction
4:30pm	Conclusion