Unforgettable

Saturday 30th August 2025 at 2pm

Church of Christ Kenmore Community Centre
41, Brookfield Rd. Kenmore
Adults $30, Concessions $26, Students $12, Children < 5 yrs free.
Bookings:- Try Bookings: www.trybooking.com/CTKRJ or ring Maree 3378 2384. Tickets also sold at the door if not sold out previously.
Free parking and program - café open for lunch/tea/coffee/cake

Saturday 13th September 2025 at 2pm

St Paul's Anglican Church
124 Brisbane St, Ipswich 
For bookings, please call: 3812 0377 

The Brisbane City Pops Orchestra is delighted to present our third concert series for 2025, entitled “Unforgettable,” at the Church of Christ Kenmore Community Centre on Saturday, 30th August. We have chosen a very entertaining program that is full of music that is well-loved, from amazing musicals and movies to iconic pop hits, to soulful ballads and to favourite orchestral classics and more! Every piece has something special and unique that makes it simply Unforgettable.

You will be treated to an orchestral selection from the richly melodic and memorable Les Miserables by Schonberg, as well as a Medley of favourites from the eternally popular Sound of Music!

The BCPO will also feature the very beautiful music of Franz Lehar, with the spirited Maxim’s March and the graceful and romantic Merry Widow Waltz. We will also perform the very playful and charming ragtime piece, The Entertainer, by Scott Joplin, as well as the very rousing Dam Busters theme by Eric Coates.

And who could ever forget the hauntingly beautiful ballad, Yesterday, made famous by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, from the Beatles - a timeless classic!

The orchestra is very excited to welcome back two amazing singers as our guest artists – Marcia Penman and Daniel Smerdon.

Marcia was born into a world of music and storytelling, the child of two professional singers, and studied at the Queensland Academy of Excellence in Musical Theatre, graduating in 2016. She then sang with the acclaimed vocal group The 7 Sopranos in 2017 and in 2019 she starred in her own original cabaret. In 2022 she co-founded Outside the Jukebox, a very successful performance collective dedicated to reimagining classic hits.

We are excited to showcase Marcia as she sings the dramatic “Skyfall” by Adele and Epworth, theme song from the James Bond movie, as well as the serenely beautiful Ave Maria by Schubert.

Daniel studied music at the Qld Conservatorium, graduating with a Bachelor Degree (Cello) and a Graduate Diploma and Master of Music Studies (Opera). Since 2012 he has worked extensively with numerous organisations, such as Qld Conservatorium, Berlin Opera Academy, Balance Arts Opera, Opera Qld, Eurasia Opera Festival, Figaro Opera Society, Lyric Opera Studio Weimar, and others. On stage, Daniel has sung title roles in Barber of Seville, The Mikado, Eugene Onedin and Don Giovanni.

The BCPO is delighted to have Daniel sing the very haunting and beautiful Music of the Night from Phantom of the Opera, as well as the passionate ballad, Anthem, from the musical, Chess. We are also thrilled that Daniel will be performing, on cello, the deeply moving Theme from Schindler’s List by John Williams.

Marcia and Daniel will also perform a heartfelt and soaring love duet, All I Ask of You, from Phantom of the Opera, a performance not to be missed!

The orchestra will also delight you with the Adagio from Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A Major, one of the most exquisite and expressive pieces in the clarinet repertoire

So, please join the BCPO for this truly unique concert – a musical celebration of timeless and beautiful melodies that have left a lasting imprint on our hearts and are truly Unforgettable!

Neill Flottmann (Conductor)

After studies in flute and piano at the University of Sydney, Neil Flottmann went on to a varied career as a flautist, music educator and conductor. A former member of several major Australian orchestras, including the QLD Symphony Orchestra, he has also worked as Chorus Master for the Lyric Opera of Queensland, The Australian Opera and The Canadian Opera Company. He has been at various times a member of the professional staff at the NSW State Conservatorium of Music, the QLD Conservatorium of Music and QUT lecturing in flute, musicianship, opera studies and conducting. 

In 1984 Neil was awarded the prestigious Willem van Otterloo Memorial Conducting Scholarship, leading to studies in Sydney and London with Myer Fredman and Sir Charles Mackerras. Since then he has appeared as guest conductor with the Sydney, Queensland, Melbourne and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras, the ABC Sinfonia, the Queensland Philharmonic Orchestra and the Australian Ballet. Neil has conducted thirteen seasons for the Queensland Ballet including the widely acclaimed Australian premiere of Peter Maxwell- Davies; Salome in 1986 and Francois Klaus’s 1998 production of Peer Gynt. In 2010 he was a member of the creative team for the Brisbane performance of Havergal Brian’s “Gothic Symphony”. He is currently Director of Curriculum at West Moreton Anglican College.

Marcia Penman (Soprano)

Born into a world of music and storytelling, Marcia grew up in the theatre, the child of two professional singers who fostered a deep love for performance from an early age. This passion led to formal training at Queensland Academy of Excellence in Musical Theatre where she graduated in 2016.

Following her studies, she joined the acclaimed vocal group The 7 Sopranos, touring and performing with them since 2017. In 2019, she stepped into the spotlight with her original cabaret Julie & Julia: The Women of Australian Politics, showcasing her unique wit and creative vocals.

In 2022, she co-founded Outside the Jukebox, a performance collective dedicated to reimagining classic hits and musical theatre favourites through fresh, contemporary storytelling. Since then Outside the Jukebox has produced such shows as Mixtape: Rewind to the 80s (2023), Merry Mixology (2023 Matilda Award nominated) and Broadway Bingo (2024 Matilda Award nominated). 

She has spent the last year raising her first child alongside her performing career and is delighted to return to the stage with Brisbane City Pops Orchestra this August.

Daniel Smerdon (Baritone)

Daniel Smerdon studied music at the Queensland Conservatorium, Brisbane, graduating with a Bachelors Degree (Cello) and a Graduate Diploma and Master of Music Studies (Opera).

Since 2012, he has worked extensively with companies such as Queensland Conservatorium, Berlin Opera Academy, Balance Arts Opera, Opera Queensland, Opera Gold Coast, Brisbane City Opera, Co-Opera, Eurasia Opera Festival, Varna Opera Theatre, Figaro Opera Society, Lyric Opera Studio Weimar.

On the opera stage Daniel has sung the roles of title roles of Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Varna Opera Theatre Bulgaria, and Co-Opera, Adelaide Australia); The Mikado (Co-Opera, Adelaide Australia) Gianni Schicchi (Opera Gold Coast), Eugene Onegin (Eurasia Opera Festival, New York USA) and Don Giovanni (Lyric Opera Studio, Weimar, Germany).

Other operatic roles include: Doctor Bartolo (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Count Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro) Papageno (Die Zauberflote), Marcello (La Boheme), Le Sacristan and Le Gaoler (Understudy – Tosca), Dark Invader (Opera Galactica), and Le Dancaire (Carmen), Prince Gremin (Eugene Onegin), Harasta (The Cunning Little Vixen) and The First Messenger (Kiss Me Kate) and understudying the roles of TruLove (The Rakes Progress), Le Sacristan and Le Gaoler (Tosca).

Concert repertoire includes the title role of Mendelssohn’s “Elijah” (Brisbane Symphony Orchestra), Carl Orff’s  “Carmina Burana” (UQ Symphony Orchestra), Handel’s “Israel in Egypt” (Queensland Camerata), Hector Berlioz’s “L’enfance du Christ” (St Andrews Sinfonia), Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio (Canticum Chamber Choir)  and Requiems by Gabriel Faure, Maurice Durufle, and Michael Haydn.