Simone Lobbia - Composer

Great to have had Soundscapes of Poetry aired on FBi Radio earlier this week. I just found out that Luke M de Zilva selected "Darkness" for his Surfacing Series.

In case you missed it you can enjoy the program here:
https://www.fbi.radio/programs/surfacing-with-luke-m-de-zilva/episodes/surfacing-with-luke-m-de-zilva-4th-august-2026

Lord Byron, ‘Darkness’

The poem ‘Darkness’ was inspired by the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia. The ‘Year without a Summer’ that followed inspired Lord Byron to a scorched landscape, an imagined Earth in the new order that a natural disaster dictates.
In a similar way the Orchestra depicts everything that was destroyed and the desolation that followed.

Honoured to have "Soundscapes of Poetry" in the Playlist. Thank you Cameron Lam for curating such a great resource!

https://limelight-arts.com.au/features/australian-art-music-playlist-january-2026/?fbclid=IwY2xjawPsLzJleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA80MDk5NjI2MjMwODU2MDkAAR6bMDHpKAn3F2BS_ALVxFlXJrdp9wzNNC2_fVgMgf3bwZILKbuytF2XaJ9ELQ_aem_mkm3vpxZ_qS6zHXdiRbnNA

Listen to the Australian Art Music playlist Music by contemporary Australian composers, musicians and sound artists.

It's been a great year!
Thank you to everyone who has extended opportunities that made it memorable!

Take a moment for yourself and listen to something soothing: 2022 recording of White Blossoms performed by The Winthrop Singers under the baton of Ann Clarke.

Merry Christmas!

White Blossoms - Christmas Carol (Lobbia/Remete) - The Winthrop Singers The Winthrop SingersConductor: Ann ClarkeTrinity College Chapel (Perth) 11-12-2022The carol White Blossoms is influenced by East European music and features ...

Soundscapes of Poetry out now!
https://www.qobuz.com/au-en/album/soundscapes-of-poetry-simone-lobbia-john-keene-viaggio-in-italia-string-orchestra/fkmoph9nt8igb

Here is the single from Soundscapes of Poetry, Album release scheduled tomorrow!
https://youtu.be/l3s4GburpAo

Soloist: John Keene
Viaggio in Italia String Orchestra

Soundscapes of Poetry - Sinfonia Concertante for Double bass solo and String Orchestra

MOVEMENT 2 - Francesco Petrarca, ‘Gentil Mia Donna i’ veggio’

Soundscapes of Poetry is depiction of 5 Poems in Music.

Love (with a capital L) is the core of the second movement. In a manner similar to how Petrarca writes that “all thought must go” so does the music attempt to bypass all senses and depict this feeling.

“Come sparisce, e fugge
Ogni altro lume dove'l vostro splende,
Così dello mio core,
Quando tanta dolcezza in lui discende,
Ogni altra cosa, ogni penser va fore;
E sol'ivi con voi rimansi Amore.”

Thank you to the extraordinary musicians performing here:
Kylie Liang
Hannah Herriman
James Munro
Isaac Davis
Jeremy Huynh
Phillip Waldron

Soundscapes of Poetry - II.Gentil mia donna i’ veggio - Simone Lobbia Soloist: John KeeneViaggio in Italia String OrchestraFremantle Town Hall (WA)WA Premiere 25/10/2024Soundscapes of Poetry is a depiction of 5 Poems in Music.I...

Two days to go! Soundscapes of Poetry's promotion on radio has started, thank you Penny Shaw for today's interview @ Arts Collage on Radio Fremantle 107.9fm!

Meet the soloist: John Keene

John Keene is the Associate Principal Bass with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. In 2015, he became the youngest player ever to be awarded the Sydney Symphony Orchestra Fellowship, and was awarded the Fellowship again in 2016. In the following year, he became an Emerging Artist with the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

John studied with Alex Henery, Principal Double Bass of Sydney Symphony Orchestra, at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music from 2015-2018. In 2015, John won the Conservatorium’s String Concerto Competition. This resulted in his performing Bottesini’s Concerto No. 2 with the Conservatorium Chamber Orchestra. In 2016 and 2017, he was a finalist in the Great Romantics Competition held at the Melbourne Recital Centre.

John is also an avid conductor and debuted with WASO in concert in 2022. He also regularly conducts and performs as soloist with the Fremantle Chamber Orchestra as well as many other ensembles in Perth. John was a participant in the Australian Conducting Academy in 2022 and the Symphony Services International Conducting Course in 2016, and as a result participated in conducting masterclasses with several Australian and New Zealand Symphony Orchestras, including WASO.

In 2018, John played with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra as Associate Principal Double Bass, and later that year on contract as Tutti Double Bass with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. John also teaches several double bass students and is a sessional teacher at the University of Western Australia. He also has a Graduate Diploma in Financial Planning from Deakin University.

"Soundscapes of Poetry" out on Dec 13:
https://music.imusician.pro/a/UpaSKfyh