Contact us at diana.thoroughbass@gmail.com
Thoroughbass is an early music ensemble with contemporary overtones. We present music from the baroque and classical eras, as well as new music for period instruments, music that has been re-discovered, arrangements, and commissions.
Ondine Productions is a collaborative platform with Thoroughbass
Mary Sambell, Diana Weston, Hester Wilson, Steve Machamer, 2025. Photo by Drusille Lee
Persuasion
Characters in Jane Austen’s ‘Persuasion’ burst forth in music as Diana Blom creates a collage of songs that express the personalities of Anne Elliot, Frederick Wentworth, Sir Walter, Elizabeth and others. Scored for only two voices – high and low, accompanied by piano – the singers must swivel into the next character at the drop of a hat. In celebration and in honour of Austen’s birth 250 years ago, Blom offers her version of Persuasion as a song-cycle that reflects her admiration of this exceptional woman.
Persuasion will be performed at
Mosman Art Gallery
June 13 at 4 pm
Performers include Kevin Hanrahan (tenor, USA), Hester Wilson (soprano) and Diana Weston (piano)
Sunshine after Storm
Sunshine after Storms
Mary & Me
Mary Sambell, Diana Weston and Hester Wilson
present
The first movement of Mendelssohn’s ‘Italian’ symphony reflects the sunshine and warmth of the Italy of his travels. Schubert, whose own travel experiences rarely extended beyond his room, imagined and no doubt experienced Lebensstürme (Storms of Life). Schumann’s song cycle Frauenliebe und Leben (Woman’s Life and Love) speaks of a women’s love for her child, and its loss.
Mosman Art Gallery
Saturday 23 August 2026
Lace
Her name is Esther Abrahams and she has arrived with her baby on the remote shores of Sydney Cove having been convicted of stealing some lace. It is not a world she recognizes. How will she and her baby ever survive? But against all the odds, she not only survives but thrives. Her story is told in an engaging style that reflects the time and place of this unique period in Australian history with songs by Diana Blom, lyrics by Diana Weston and a chamber ensemble of harpsichord, violin and percussion.
Performers include Hester Wilson (soprano), Steve Machamer (percussion), Tara Hashambhoy (violin) and Diana Weston (harpsichord).
St Brigid’s Church, The Rocks
October 17 at 5 pm
Old Government House, Parramatta
Saturday, October 4 at 4 pm and 5.30pm
Margaretta Cottage, Glebe, Sydney
Saturday November 7 at 7 pm (includes a light supper)
Sunday November 8 at 3 pm (includes afternoon tea)
(harpsichord).