Allegro Non Troppo

Vale Addam Stobbs

It is with great sadness that we advise that Addam Stobbs passed away at home in the early hours of Wednesday 16th June.  The cause of death is yet to be determined.

As Allegro was Addam’s brainchild and he was the driving force behind the show for more than 15 years, out of respect for him and his legacy to the station, the GLBTIQ community and our national community radio listeners, today’s show will be the last ever Allegro non Troppo.

Allegro non Troppo’s co-presenter Peter Fortey and I would like to thank all the JOY volunteers, staff, members, listeners and the Melbourne GLBTIQ community and our national community radio listeners for all the condolences and kind words and thoughts that we have received since Addam’s passing.

Addam was a uniquely talented man who possessed a formidable and incisive mind and a razor-sharp wit.  His tireless efforts to highlight injustice, champion the underdog, challenge homophobia and educate, enlighten and entertain, often at the same time, was unparalleled.  No topic was taboo, no question too personal and his ability to delve into and expose the most sensitive subjects with compassion, sympathy and understanding was without equal. 

Over the 15 years that he presented Allegro non Troppo with Peter on JOY, many of his harshest critics grew to detest his acerbic tongue.  He was the man they ‘loved to hate’.  But those of us who knew the real Addam only grew to love him all the more.

Sadly missed and irreplaceable.

Robert Brierley

Producer

Allegro non Troppo

JOY 94.9fm

Noel Tovey (25 December 1934) is a dancer, actor, mentor, choreographer and was the artistic director for the indigenous welcoming ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

Born in Melbourne, the son of an Aboriginal mother and father of Scottish-African descent, Noel Tovey has an amazing story, he endured sexual abuse, neglect and poverty throughout his childhood and adolescence. Despite this hardship he went on to become successful in the theatre in both Australia and London, including appearing in the world premiere of Oh! Calcutta!. He taught at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and co-founded the London Theatre for Children before returning to Australia in 1990.

He recently played the lead role in Skipping on Stars based on the life of indigenous tightwire walker Con Colleano, performed to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Flying Fruit Fly Circus.

He was a close friend of Australian comedian Mary Hardy & is the mentor to Aboriginal dancer, emerging choreographer Ian Colless.

In 2004, Hodder Headline Australia published his autobiography Little Black Bastard

Noel Tovey is openly gay and has spoken out for the rights of LGBT elders. He’s with us today.

Music and Culture:

Leigh Harrold (pianist) Metaphysical Morsels, (Syzygy (Sizz-er-gee) Ensemble) 3pm Sunday 13th June (today), Guilford Lane Gallery, 20-24 Guilford Lane, Melbourne

Nancy Tsou (pianist) Sharp, Flat and Grand (Piano Recital with Nancy Tsou), 2pm Sunday 20th June, Como House Cnr Lechlade Avenue and Williams Road, South Yarra

Mark Dent

There are some experiences we all would prefer not to have had in our lives. There are some experiences that are devastating and life changing, one of the most fearful experiences that causes the most dread is the amputation of a limb. If it is the result of an accident the shock must be overwhelming, but also if it is something that is developing it can be even more terrifying.

How do people cope?

At the age of 33, Mark Dent had his right leg amputated above the knee.

The disease that invaded his body gave him little warning. Within months of the first sharp pain, he was diagnosed with bone cancer. Periods of high dosage chemotherapy, and a bone graft, were not successful, and the amputation necessary to save Mark’s life followed.

His story, told with fierce honesty, of the impact this trauma has had – on his own life and on the lives of those around him are in his book “A Good Day to Walk”

He’s with us today on Allegro Non Troppo

Music and Culture:

Dr Jacqueline (Jacky) Ogeil (Artistic Director) Woodend Winter Arts Festival, Friday 11th – Monday 14th June, numerous venues around Woodend.

Andrew Wailes (Musical Director and Chief Conductor) Chopin & Schubert double bill, (Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Orchestra) 5pm & 8pm, Saturday 12th June, Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank

Over the last 20 years there has been an increasing acceptance, awareness and respect for gay and lesbian people in Australia.

Attitudes changed slowly at first but we are seeing significant changes in all areas of our culture.

So are gay and lesbian people still at risk of violence? In this show we will look at the issues faced by gay and lesbian people in regional and rural communities.

Regional centres that are close to capital cities, like Wollongong, Newcastle, Geelong, Gold Coast, Rockingham, Mandurah, have reasonably quick and easy access to Gay support service and social venues.

The people who live in more isolated areas like Townsville, Yass, Albury, Derby etc are in a different situation, they do not have a big city close by the can ‘escape’ to.

To discuss these and other issues we are Joined by Greg Adkins of the Antiviolence Project

Music and Culture:

Catriona DeVere (Mezzo-soprano, playing Maddalena) Andrea Chenier (Melbourne City Opera) 7:30pm 2nd – 5th June, BMW Edge Theatre, Federation Square

Simon Hoy (choreographer) and Adam Thurlow (Principal Dancer) Infinite Space (Melbourne Ballet Company) 3rd – 13th June, Chapel off Chapel, Prahran

Who tells us we are gay? So we look gay, should we try to look straight?

One of the things that has intrigued me for a long time, is the fact that people around me knew I was gay before I did. How?

Is this the social indicator of “straight acting”? Did I look Gay? Well I must have, so what constitutes looking Gay?

There are two areas where this issue is going. Firstly some Guy and some women just have that ‘gay’ look, exactly what that is will be what we hope to discover on the show today.

The second point is that some people adapt the image, and the mannerisms and become extreme characterisations of themselves, women get the overly butch or hyper feminine look, and gay guys get completely the ultra butch, or go over the top camp and effeminate.

The next stop is Drag.

So the questions we have to consider is why does this happen? Is it a bad thing?

We’ve heard some outrageous statements about straight men feeling ‘threatened’ in various ways by homosexuals, why are they threatened?

To discuss this today we have two excellent people who’ll be able to discuss this with us: Chris Sloane and Donna Lyon

Music and Culture:

Wilma Smith (Piano) and Andrew Bain (French Horn) ‘Virtuosos’ concert (Boroondara Masters Series), 8pm Saturday 29th May, Hawthorn Town Hall, Hawthorn

Margaret Arnold (Director, Wesley College Society for the Arts and Head of Music School) Wesley College Music Festival, 7:30pm Tuesday 25th May, Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank

In the spirit of IDAHO, this is a pre-recorded telephone interview with Eddie McGuire. Addam confronted him on many issues that have lead him to be described on 130 Google pages as a homophobe. If his account and reasoning are right, he is far from being a homophobe and has some excellent insights into community issues for gay and lesbian people. But does he have them in context? You be the judge. The edited version will be broadcast, the full version will be available as a podcast. He certainly knows how to get his message across. Again, you can be the judge. He did agree to become a JOY member!
IDAHO

Music and Culture:

David Griffiths (clarinet) When Love Walked In…………. (Ensemble Liaison concert with (soprano) Cheryl Barker) 7pm Thursday 20th May, Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank

Steve Hodgson (Choir member and Composer) Feather (Australian Chamber Choir concert) 3pm Sunday 23rd May, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, 216 Richardson St, Middle Park

Mannie De Sax joins us on Alegro today

From what we can tell Manny de Saxe has been an activists for a long time

He lives with his partner Ken Lovett and has amazing story and life to share with us on Allegro Non troppo.

Music and Culture

Amelia Farrugia (Soprano – playing Adele) Fledermaus (Opera Australia) various dates from Tuesday 11th May, State Theatre, The Arts Centre, Southbank

Ursula Paez (Music Director) and Andrew Prior (Bass) Viva la Vida (=LOW REZ= concert) 2pm Sunday 16th May, Glen Eira Town Hall, Caulfield

Today A bit of a reflection on Allegro and more importantly on 3JOY.
Allegro as been on air for 15 years today, and as the longest running show on the station, its probably appropriate to look at how the show has spanned the breadth of the community.

Since going to a National Audience, Allegro had to evolve out of the music based magazine chat show and take onboard more complex issues for local and remote gay and lesbian communities but presented in the context of a wide audience most of whom would not be homosexual.

To discuss the development and share their thoughts we are going to talk to some of our regular guests:

Luke Gallagher (MC, Cabaret Singer and Director)

Amanda Monroe (One of Australia most successful Drag acts) soon touring Britain.

Adam Richard (Comedian and Breakfast Radio Presenter)

Tex McKenzie (HIV educator and broadcaster and tireless work in the G&L community)

2nd Hour: Choirs

One of the most notable aspect of humanity, is communion of singing, especially in times of significant repression. Whole genres of music are represented by this aspect, gospel; music grew out of the enslavement of African people who were forced into cruel slavery by white Americans.
Gay and Lesbian communities have faced lifetimes of similar repression although not as violent as other communities, however the coming together to sing seems to be human instinct that brings communities in crisis together.
We are going to look at choirs in Different states today to see how they fit into their communities:
The Sydney Gay & Lesbian Choir (SGLC) was formed in 1991. It is one of Australia’s largest non-auditioned community choirs and is recognized as one of the best. We take delight in the diversity of both our membership and the music we perform. Come and enjoy our next performance or join us and sing. It is a lot of fun!
Gay and Lesbian Singers of Western Australia. GALSWA
We are a choral group who sing in four part harmony. We are proudly part of the Gay and Lesbian community and sing at events within our community and also in wider community events. Our choir is open to anyone wishing to join.

ANZAC day

The actual history of ANZAC day is not what we are about, we are looking at the personal stories behind the issues on different levels.
This week we will look more closely at what at the experiences of Gay and lesbian people have been in the military.
Until 1992, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) retained the right to dismiss homosexuals from its ranks.
Since then it seems that although they could not discriminate against you legally they could make it intolerable for gay men and lesbians to be in the military.
There are mixed opinions on how it is now, so today on Allegro Non troppo we will ask some soldiers about this.

The deployment of Australian troops overseas is a huge issue for our community, but what is it like for the men and women who are deployed.

Allegro Non Troppo has the HIGHEST respect for the people of the ADF who out their lives in the lines to defend out way of life and our freedom. We will NEVER forget.

Guests this week are:

Chris Warwick (Training Support Sergeant) and Michael Purdon (Signalman)
Topic/Event: ANZAC Day – Gays in Overseas Conflicts.

Thanks to: DEFGLIS

Music and Culture:

Kate Bright (Mezzo-soprano) and Daniel Harvey (Theatre Designer)
Merrie England (Lyric Opera of Melbourne) Various dates – Friday 30th April to Saturday 8th May, Chapel off Chapel, Prahran

Barry Ryan (Baritone – playing Alex Duval): Bliss (Opera Australia) 7:30pm Tuesday 27th April & Saturday 1st May, State Theatre, The Arts Centre

Diipti (pronounced Dipti) Firmstone (Soprano) & Daniel Sinfield (Tenor) Opera School Students: A Wedding (The Opera School Melbourne) 8pm Saturday 1st May, St Ignatius Church Hall, rear 326 Church St, Richmond

The Victorian Branch of the Australian Skeptics is an evidence-based organisation run by volunteer members.

The Skeptics encourage thoughtful, rational exploration of the world around us. We do not believe in the paranormal, miracle cures, astrology and the like. We do believe in reproducible results, recognising that sometimes not finding an expected result is an important part of the scientific process. To this end, the Skeptics are keen to promote scientific education and a sense of wonder in the natural world.

The Skeptics encourage people to think carefully and seek appropriate evidence before coming to a conclusion on an issue. Things that sound “too good to be true” – usually aren’t true! Science has revealed many amazing things, but amazing claims are also used to deceive and to defraud innocent people.

Today we will Talk to : Steve Roberts (Aliens, UFO’s, Astrology) Dr Stephen Basser (Complementary, Natural & Alternative Medicine) about this

Music & Culture

Jonathan Grieves-Smith (MSO Chorus Master) German Requiems (MSO Chorus) (today) 5pm Sunday 18th April Melbourne Recital Centre, Southbank

David Johnston (Theatre Organist) The Music of ANZAC (Melbourne Theatre Organ) 2pm Sunday 25th April, Malvern Town Hall