Ben Apfelbaum

GEORGE DOUKAS AND THE D STRINGS @ RANDWICK TOWN HALL

Randwick Town Hall at 90 Avoca Street Randwick hosts a regular Friday night twilight concert series which has included and will include artists such as Simon Tedeschi and Bernadette Robinson.

For the July concert George Doukas and the D Strings performed on the 20th July. Doukas is a  multi-instrumentalist with an encyclopedic knowledge of Greek musical styles which he conveys with his nine piece ensemble. The D Strings combined the velvet sound of the string quartet with the edgy tones of bouzouki and baglama.  Mix that with vocals and jazz style piano and you have a memorable evening of Greek music from a range of different genres including contemporary and Rembetiko styles all arranged by George Doukas.

Having a nine piece ensemble allows  George Doukas to tease out the various music genres that create the unique Greek sound. The violins subtly highlight gypsy and Klezmer music from the west and north of Greece. The bouzouki, a similar stringed instrument to the Russian balalaika, sweeps this Russian influence from the East and the vocal styling is heavily influenced by the Middle East and neighbouring Turkey.

Combine this with a  lively musical style and the ensemble had the capacity audience clapping along.

As a conclusion to the weekly grind these concerts are a lovely pick me up and gets you into the mood for what is hopefully a great weekend.

For further details of future twilight concerts call 1300722542 or go to www.randwick.nsw.gov.au

Pics by Ben Apfelbaum.

Published by Ben Apfelbaum

My photography began when my father handed me the proverbial brownie box camera as a child. As cameras developed I went through Fujica and Olympus range finders graduating to my first single lens reflex camera, the Minolta SRT101, the latter being the greatest facilitator to my growth as a photographer. Digital photography has only added to this. I was a regular contributor to Camera Craft magazine (Australian Camera ) for over three years. During Australia’s Bicentennial year (1988) I made it a personal project to document the celebrations. This culminated in the creation of a book of my photos which was published in 1989. The book was called CELEBRATING AUSTRALIA and came with an accompanying calendar. My works have appeared in a number of publications including the coffee book entitled MY AUSTRALIA (1989), publisher Robertsbridge Severn. This book had a preface by the then Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke. I was a co-photographer on a book entitled SYDNEY- DISCOVER THE CITY with text written by Robert Treborland. Major Mitchell Press was the publisher. Also for two years I was the photographer for calendars celebrating Sydney’s multicultural communities. The two calendars were entitled MULTICULTURAL SYDNEY. My work appeared in a group exhibition held at Sydney’s Town Hall pertaining to the diversity of life in South America to raise money for orphanages there. I have over one hundred photos stored in the New South Wales State Library archive. I had a solo exhibition held in 2007 entitled Ben’s Lens at the Sydney Jewish Museum which celebrated the vibrancy of the Sydney Jewish community. Some of these photos are on the Museum’s permanent display. I have exhibited internationally firstly at the Spruill Gallery in Atlanta Georgia, united states, and in an exhibition entitled Kosher and Co at the Jewish Museum in Berlin. Currently I am a regular contributor to J-Wire and this esteemed publication.