Inspired by the thousands of humble poplar trees scattered across New South Wales, The Memories of Poplar Trees is a new classical music work for Flute, Violin and String Orchestra by award-winning Australian composer Sally Greenaway.

Audiences are invited into her work that unearths the forgotten social history entwined with these iconic trees, who have become sentinels of time.
"The Memories of Poplar Trees pays tribute to the historical significance of the tall poplars lined up at attention flanking the main streets of many towns, and copses at farm gates,” she says.

Planted in 1938 to commemorate WWI soldiers and town civic officials, the trees have observed the transformation of Australia over several generations.
“Each tree represents a fallen soldier,” Greenaway explains.

“Families were given tin cans containing a sapling poplar - enough for each family member who was taken by the war, as part of a concerted state-wide effort to commemorate the fallen from WWI.”

Although a poplar tree’s lifespan can be up to 200 years, many of them are dying now. Several of the trees have been removed altogether due to being public hazards, or to accommodate road widening.

But those that remain are now heritage listed and continue to bring seasonal beauty and historic character to their towns. Even those with only a faint hint of green remaining in their skeletal branches continue to guard the entrances of their towns, whispering memory to those who pause to notice.

“These poplars have lived through and witnessed our significant events and changes to society over several generations - WWII, floods, droughts, fires, booms and busts of their towns, urbanisation and highway bypasses… and now climate change.”

As a leading composer of her generation and with her music regularly featured on ABC Classic radio, Greenaway is recognised for composing music that expresses our most intimate to grandiose experiences of our world, with a strong focus on nature, Australian landscape, and our humanity.

The Memories of Poplar Trees paints a vivid musical tapestry of the poplar’s plight. Greenaway has taken a leaf out of Gustav Holst’s thematic motif from Venus in his famous Planet Suite, which was composed during WWI.

Greenaway’s piece forges a bridge between the historical and contemporary in developing this motif over an impressionist harmonic landscape (a classical compositional style common from the late 1800’s through to WWI).

"The poplars’ rustling, heart-shaped leaves sound like they are whispering memories to us. I capture this shimmering with a tremolo musical effect, which creates an ethereal and poignant atmosphere.”

Commissioned by the Orange Regional Conservatorium, with the support from the Godfrey Turner Memorial Music Trust, the piece has been recorded with soloists Sally Walker (flute) and Helentherese Good (violin), supported by a hand-picked string orchestra featuring Barbara Jane Gilby, Timothy Wickham, Victoria Jacono-Gilmovich and Erin Patrick on violins; John Ma, Lucy Carrigy-Ryan and Liz Chalker on violas; Samuel Payne and Liam Meany on cellos; and Kyle Ramsay-Daniel on double bass.

The Memories of Poplar Trees invites us all to pause and reflect, and to connect us to the memory of a vital piece of Australia's social history.

For more information and to experience The Memories of Poplar Trees visit www.sallygreenaway.com.au/poplartrees.