THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, February 9, 1997              TAG: 9702070180
SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E10  EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: Paul Sayegh, Special to The Daily Break

                                            LENGTH:   23 lines

POSTSCRIPT

One of the season's most enjoyable evenings of music-making occurred last Monday at ODU's Chandler Hall, where the Norfolk Chamber Consort presented ``From Under the Southern Cross,'' a program of contemporary Australian music. Guest composer/conductor Vincent Plush served as an expert and entertaining guide to the music and composers.

This was a model way to present the new and unfamiliar. Plush's informative, historical vignettes placed the pieces within a context, while serving to relax listeners and make them more receptive to the music.

Among the highlights were a trio of pieces by the eccentric pianist Percy Grainger; Plush's own ``Florilegium III,'' written for Consort co-director F. Gerard Errante and given its premiere Monday, and Martin Wesley-Smith's ``Janet,'' a brief, humorous work that sounded the way Stravinsky might have written a pop tune. The performances throughout the evening were superb.