Lunchtime Concert: Anna Sandstrom and William Varga

Join us at St James for a delightful lunchtime concert featuring acclaimed musicians Anna Sandström and William Varga. Enjoy an inspiring program of beautiful music in the historic and welcoming setting of St James church.

Biography:

Anna Sandström holds a BMus from the University of Newcastle and a DipEd from the University of New England. She performs as a soloist and ensemble singer with Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, the Marais Project, Australian Baroque Brass the Muffat Collective, Cantillation, and Pinchgut Opera. Anna was a member of the Choir of Royal Hospital Chelsea, London. She was featured as a soloist in UK recordings and festivals with The Armonico Consort, including the Early Music Festival Brugge, Henley, Poole Lighthouse & Petworth. Alongside her performance career, Anna is a passionate educator, currently teaching singing and musicianship at St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney. Recent solo performance highlights include singing with the Australian Brandenburg Choir, Bach Akademie, the Choir of St James King St, and St Mary’s Cathedral. Anna also regularly tours with her own chamber group Camerata Antica, www.camerataantica.com

Daniel Yeadon is a versatile cellist and viola da gamba player. He plays regularly with Australian Romantic and Classical Orchestra, Ironwood, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Australian Haydn Ensemble and Bach Akademie Australia. Originally from the UK, Daniel read physics at Oxford University and then completed his postgraduate studies at the Royal College of Music in London. Daniel was a member of Florilegium, Fitzwilliam String Quartet and Concordia Viol Consort. He is features on many award-winning recordings, including: Haydn’s cello concerto in C major with the Australian Haydn Ensemble; an ARIA winning disc of sonatas by J.S. Bach with Richard Tognetti and Neal Peres Da Costa; J.S. Bach sonatas for viola da gamba and harpsichord with Neal Peres Da Costa; J.S. Bach cantatas and Brandenburg concertos with John Eliot Gardiner and English Baroque Soloists. Daniel is in much demand as a teacher. Associated with the Sydney Conservatorium of Music since 2005, his research interests are musical group learning experiences and historical performance practices.

Sydney born countertenor and composer William Varga graduated from the Sydney Conservatorium in 2025 with a B.Mus in composition, where he studied with Paul Stanhope and Carl Vine AO. During this time he also studied singing privately with Dr David Greco, and has sung with the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Pinchgut Opera, and The Song Company. He also holds positions with the Choir of St James’ King Street, St Mary’s Cathedral Choir, and St Andrew’s Cathedral Choir. William looks forward to moving to London in September to pursue a Master of Music in Composition at the Royal Academy of Music, and to explore the numerous opportunities that the London Music scene has to offer.

Program:

Stabat Mater
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710–1736)

i. Stabat Mater dolorosa
ii. Cujus animam gementem
iii. O quam tristis et afflicta
iv. Quae moerebat et dolebat
v. Quis est homo
vi. Vidit suum dulcem natum
vii. Eja mater, fons amoris
viii. Fac ut ardeat cor meum
ix. Sancta Mater, istud agas
x. Fac ut portem Christi mortem
xi. Inflammatus et accensus
xii. Quando corpus morietur