2023 Continuo Commission awarded to Melody Eötvös
We’re so-o-o excited about this year’s Continuo Commissioning Circle project!
We received almost three times as many applications as last year, and they were all great.
Our eminent selection panel of David Griffiths, Mary Finsterer and Stuart Greenbaum thought all the proposed projects deserved to come to fruition by some means, and had a hard time choosing just one to receive the 2023 Commission.
Melody Eötvös will write a work for the Quercus Trio: Elizabeth Sellars (violin), Carla Blackwood (French horn) and Rhodri Clark (piano). Melody says, “The work will embody the metaphor of the oak tree as it grows and takes on the Australian soil and air, thriving and becoming a part of its environment… As a child of an immigrant, the metaphor of how the oak grows in Australia has another very particular connection to me – through my Hungarian ancestry.”
Here’s Melody’s response to the notification that she was the successful applicant:
It’s lovely to hear from you and thank you for the incredible news!!! This is wonderful and I’m very much looking forward to sharing this great news with Quercus Trio, and the world!
If you’re as excited as the composer, the ensemble and we are, there are still a couple of places in the 2023 Continuo Commissioning Circle.
Quercus Trio are a trio of wonderful musicians, always on the lookout for more works to add to the repertoire for their somewhat unusual combination of instruments. They have recently recorded an album of horn trios by contemporary composers with the ABC. The album was launched at a concert at Tempo Rubato on Saturday 6 May.

And a big, big thankyou to David, Mary and Stuart, who worked together so harmoniously and thoughtfully in discussing all the applications, and successfully overcame the challenge of deciding on the one winner.