Having graduated from the Royal Academy of Music, Gillian pursued an impressive career in leadership and lecturing positions inside Australia’s biggest educational institutions. She then went on to explore Australia’s classical music industry from an observational perspective — writing and reviewing for publications such as The Australian, ArtsHub, 4MBS, and CutCommon.

So when Gillian writes a novel that navigates everything from the tension between classical and contemporary streams to the pressures a woman may face in a leadership role, she is weaving a story from real-world industry cultures.

We caught up with Gillian to learn more about Big Music, which was released this year through Hawkeye Publishing.

Gillian, you’re a classical music critic but you recently moved into fiction writing with your book Big Music. What made you realise you had a story to share in your own way — influenced by, but not a direct retelling of, the music industry that surrounds you?

I’ve always wanted to be a writer, it’s in my DNA. My father was a Fleet Street journalist and my grandfather wrote around 30 books. I’ve always viewed situations I find myself in as potential narrative fodder.

There are novels with musical themes, but I haven’t come across a story which is set in a music college in which all the characters are engaged in music performance. The staff are maintaining concert careers while working within an academic structure as teachers, and the students are preparing to be professional instrumentalists or singers.

How did you navigate that area between fact and fiction when you have real-world experience in the industry?

I think all writers plunder their own life experiences for material. Music has been massively important to me. It has given me purpose, structure, pleasure; I love playing it on the piano, analysing, or listening to it.

Music colleges are fascinating, exhilarating, political, privileged, and at times exasperating and intense places. The environment is a rich one through which to explore the human condition.

I’ve woven some loose threads gleaned from reality and embroidered these with stranded cotton from my own imagination.

So tell us, what’s it all about?

Beatrice (Beat) is a 35-year-old Julliard-trained pianist with no experience as a manager except she has stepped in for the director, a cellist, whenever he is away on a concert tour.

She is surprised to be suddenly hoisted into the role when he resigns. With enthusiasm and energy, she dedicates herself to improving the reputation of the school. Except, at every turn, she seems to upset someone or aggravate her superiors especially when she has successes.

There are major hurdles, predatory behaviour, lack of funds, and squabbling classical and rock musicians. There’s a darker undertow as well, which is gradually revealed.

You explore some of the unhealthy relationships and cultures that can be found in music, and which are often glanced over when the outcome of musicians’ training — being the performance, or recording — shines so beautifully in the spotlight. Why did you want to delve into these uncomfortable topics, and bring them out into the open for discussion?

Music is so readily available at a press of a button. I wanted to reveal the long and difficult journeys musicians undertake to become top performers.

There’s still a mystique, an exclusivity about classical music and how instrumentalists and singers are trained. Music is easily available on TV, online, and on the radio, and I wanted to draw back the curtain and show some of the tensions and the hard, hard slog involved for musicians to become top professionals.

Big Music is a bittersweet romance, mystery, and a triumph-over-adversity tale, but it also explores several contentious issues which are relevant to today’s climate — for instance, the pressures on women in senior management roles. While positive change is happening, the opportunities for women are still restricted.

Another issue is the hierarchy of musical genres with opera perhaps coming first, classical music second, jazz somewhere in the middle, and rock and contemporary music at the bottom. This isn’t a trivial issue for there are resource implications. In music colleges, the more ‘important traditions’ [may be] given more funding. 

Within university structures, the arts are low down in the pecking order. This is reflected in the number of universities that are axing music and the arts. For instance, Southern Cross University recently announced their intention to close art and music, which were once considered this university’s jewel in the crown.

Musicians are artists who paint in sound. Silence is the blank canvas, and yet concert halls and practice spaces across the country and in conservatoria are often unsuitable acoustically and without adequate sound-proofing. 

There’s currently friction between the Tasmanian Government and the [Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra]. This is because the government wants to build an AFL stadium within [40] metres of the Federation Concert Hall.

Now that your book has been released, how have you found the reception to the ideas and themes you’ve explored, particularly among the music community? 

I wrote the novel to appeal to the general reader. I’ve been surprised and delighted that professional musicians are enjoying it as well as non-specialists.

Is there anything else you’d like to share about writing your novel?

Yes. Music flows through every page. Sometimes it’s integral to a dramatic scene as in a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. Sometimes it stokes a mood or atmosphere. At other times, a work gives the heroine courage.

A broad range of music has crept onto the pages from Miles Davis to The Cat Empire and Shostakovich. There’s a playlist called Big Music on Spotify if readers want to listen to it at some point.

Learn more about Gillian Wills and Big Music.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and house style.

Images supplied.

Chanticleer
Princeton University Chapel, Princeton, New Jersey, 7 December

Named after the clear singing rooster made famous by Geoffrey Chaucer in his 14^th-Century Canterbury Tales, Chanticleer has become one of the most popular and lauded a cappella male vocal ensembles in the world since its founding in 1978.

Consisting of six countertenors, three tenors and three basses, Chanticleer’s repertoire has always been firmly rooted in the Renaissance but has expanded over the years to include pop, gospel and jazz pieces, along with a commitment to regularly commissioning new works and arrangements. 

Ten years ago, I had the opportunity to attend a vocal workshop and sing with some of the members of Chanticleer in their homebase of San Francisco, California, so it was a definite thrill to see some familiar faces and hear their trademark sound in the majestic Princeton University Chapel for their seasonal concert of Christmas music.

The chapel, which seats 2,000, was just about full as the lights were switched off and we were plunged into near-complete darkness just before the concert began. As our eyes slowly adjusted to the dark, allowing us to just make out the graceful Gothic arches which seemed to be floating miles above our heads, the opening strains of Guillaume Dufay’s ‘Ave Maris Stella’ sweetly cut through the silence from the back of the nave. Faint candlelight bounced off the stone columns as the singers of Chanticleer began to slowly process up the centre aisle, candles in hand, whilst chanting three additional 15^th– and 16^th-Century settings of this early Christian hymn comparing the Virgin Mary to the ‘star of the sea’ by John Dunstaple, Alexander Agricola, and Tomás Luis de Victoria. By the time the singers had reached the steps leading up to the quire and blown out their candles, they had masterfully set the sacred tone for the rest of the evening and had the audience in the palm of their collective hand. 

After the stunning opening quartet of Marian hymns, Chanticleer began to do what they do best by performing a trio of early English carols arranged in three different centuries: a 21^st-Century arrangement of ‘This endris night’ by Sarah Quartel, ‘Now make we joy’ lifted right out of the 15^th-Century Ritson Manuscript, and a 20^th-Century arrangement of ‘Make we joy now in this fest’ by William Walton. It was a joy indeed to hear these fresh perspectives on Renaissance pieces, simultaneously respectful to their essence while presenting new and exciting ways to listen to them. 

The haunting 15^th-Century English carol ‘Ther is no rose of swych vertu’ came next, flowing seamlessly into Sir Benjamin Britten’s arrangement of the same text from his glorious A Ceremony of Carols. Another personal favourite of Britten’s carol arrangements, ‘Bulalow’, followed, along with a beautiful setting by Lance Wiliford of the traditional Welsh lullaby ‘Suo Gân’.

As we moved into the middle section of the concert, we were given pieces ranging in diversity from the 15^th-Century English carol ‘Nowell sing we’, to a joyful arrangement of the ‘Noel Canon’ by Steven Sametz, to a somewhat melancholic and incredibly dynamic rendition of ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’, arranged specifically for Chanticleer in 2022 by Amanda Taylor. We were also treated to Franz Biebl’s lush setting of ‘Ave Maria’ – a piece which has become one of Chanticleer’s signatures and to which their fans look forward to hearing each holiday season. 

After a few more contemporary arrangements of traditional Christmas carols including the ‘Wassail Song’ and ‘Tomorrow shall be my dancing day’, we moved into the final portion of the evening’s programme, focusing on the American tradition. A particular highlight was an arrangement by Tim Keeler, the current music director of Chanticleer, of the traditional Appalachian carol ‘And the trees do moan’. Harmonically fascinating with words that draw a parallel between the Christmas evergreen tree and the tree of the cross, its’ haunting tone was similar in feel to the more famous Appalachian carol ‘I Wonder As I Wander’. It also featured a truly stunning solo from countertenor Cortez Mitchell.

The final pieces of the evening were arrangements of two Christmas spirituals, ‘(Everywhere I go) Somebody talkin’ ‘bout Jesus’ and ‘Oh, Jerusalem in the mornin’ by Chanticleer music director emeritus Joseph H. Jennings — a joyful ending to the concert which brought the audience to their feet. After two curtain calls, the singers of Chanticleer took the steps at the front of the nave once more to give us another Jennings arrangement – this time of the cosy ‘Christmas Time Is Here’ by Vince Guaraldi from the 1965 A Charlie Brown Christmas television special.

Shortly before the encore began, bass Andy Berry thanked us all for joining him and his fellow singers that evening and reminded us that coming together to share in familiar song during the holiday season not only brings us joy but can also serve as a reminder that no matter what may be happening in the world, light can always be found in the darkest places. This holiday season, may we all carry a little of that light with us, strive for peace on earth and show good will towards all.

Images supplied. Credit Alexis Branagan, Princeton University Concerts.

Every film, even those written off at release, is the result of at least some care and effort. In fact, many ‘forgotten’ films stand the test of time, and are well worth revisiting.

Celebrating its 30^th birthday this year, one such film is the underrated children’s comedy Baby’s Day Out. Produced by the legendary John Hughes, fresh off the mammoth success of the first two Home Alone films, the film follows the hapless efforts of three hair-brained kidnappers and the wily baby that outsmarts all of them.

Receiving mixed reviews upon release in July 1994 – opening in Australian cinemas in December – Baby’s Day Out underperformed at the box office, raking in US$30 million against its enormous US$48 million budget. By all accounts, the Home Alone magic of Hughes’ earlier efforts could not be replicated.

But there is still much to enjoy in this film, such as Thomas E. Ackerman’s vibrant cinematography and an effervescent score from composer Bruce Broughton. A veteran of the industry with over 50 years of film and television credits to his name, as well as an Academy Award nomination for his work on 1985’s Silverado, Broughton adds a tremendous sense of play to the zany goings-on of the film’s madcap plot.

Looking back, Broughton (pictured above) remembers his time on Baby’s Day Out with particular fondness. His landing the job, however, occurred several years prior to the film’s production, when he first crossed paths with Hughes who was shooting Home Alone.

Before John Williams ultimately took up the baton for that film, Broughton was first choice as composer.

“I went to a screening of it and afterward spoke with the production team,” he recalls.

The film’s tight production schedule gave him serious second thoughts.

“I was working on Disney’s The Rescuers Down Under and didn’t want one film to get in the way of the other. When I was a boy, my only ambition had been to become an animator, and Disney was my hero. So, to work on a complete Disney animated feature – with no songs – was a fantasy come true.”

The two films had to record in the same week, and that was that.

“I turned it down, thinking it was impossible.”

Fortunately, it was not the last time Broughton would cross paths with the powerhouse producer. The musical duties of Baby’s Day Out originally landed on the desk of Oscar-winning composer Jerry Goldsmith, but he was still busy on another project.

Broughton was still on the list, so he was offered the job.

“After the Home Alone debacle, I was very happy to get another call from John Hughes,” Broughton remembers. 

Early scoring “spots” took place on two occasions during the production of Baby’s Day Out, first with Hughes and then, a few weeks later, with director Patrick Read Johnson. Early test screenings found that the music spotting under Hughes’ guidance was less effective than that of Johnson’s input.

“We looked at a somewhat different film the second time, and I started from scratch,” Broughton says. Thanks to the film’s unusually large budget, funded by the box office tailwinds of Hughes’ recent hits, there were plenty of resources available.

“I enlarged the size of the orchestra to include 12 woodwinds rather than eight or six. I had a full brass section, a large ensemble of strings, a piano, harp, lots of percussion, and a large women’s choir.”

It was a grand undertaking, to be sure.

“The mass of instruments is often unnecessary for the film. But in this case, I was able to create a really rich sound, using as many doubles as I needed and including a full-bodied chorus.”

Recorded in the famed Newman Stage at Fox Studios, Broughton credits sound mixer Armin Steiner for “making things that sound naturally good even better”.

“His recordings are clear, spacious, and just beautiful.”

As such, it remains a score Broughton has always loved for its rich audio.

Baby’s Day Out is also distinctive for the sheer amount of music Broughton recorded, occupying 80 minutes of a 100-minute movie. It was a decision shared by Broughton and the director, who Broughton recalls was “very clear about where he felt music should be”.

The overall guidance from Johnson as to what he wanted from Broughton’s baton was emotional more than stylistic.

“He wanted to be sure that people saw a beautiful baby. To him, it was all about the baby,” Broughton remembers.

Though the director was present at the scoring sessions to offer some words of guidance, Broughton’s main concern remained the opinion of Hughes.

In the end, Broughton was safe. Once the recording sessions wrapped, “we used all the music. The baby was beautiful, and the film was funny, too”.

The success of Broughton’s music speaks to the strong creative relationship the composer shared with Hughes throughout the film’s production. As such, the two worked together again shortly after, on the remake of Miracle on 34^th Street – released several months after Baby’s Day Out.

Hughes again served as a screenwriter and producer, with Broughton as composer.

“I got on well with John Hughes,” Broughton says of his relationship with the revered filmmaker, who died in 2009.

“He was a very interesting and very intelligent guy. I can honestly say that working with him twice was a pleasure. I like both of the films I did for him and their scores.”

Above all, Baby’s Day Out occupies a special place within his long career. The warmth and humour of the film’s gags kept Broughton in high spirits as he was composing the score. Even today, “I’ve always thought it was a funny movie, and I still think the film is much better than the reception it received when it was released”.

One of Broughton’s more recent celebrated scores is that of the Disney TV movie Eloise at the Plaza, adapted from the beloved children’s books by Kay Thompson and broadcast in April 2003. Broughton won an Emmy for his work on the film, and won the same award again for the sequel Eloise at Christmastime.

Following the sprightly activities of the titular Eloise and her adventurous life within the iconic Manhattan hotel, the films share much of the brash spirit of Broughton’s work on Baby’s Day Out.

Both scores are heavy with strings, brass, and percussion, as well as a handful of references to other famous works of classical Western canon. Indeed, Eloise’s character motif opens with a direct quote of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.

“I never thought of Baby’s Day Out and the Eloise movies as being similar,” Broughton says.

“But I suppose they are. Eloise, of course, is older and knows what she’s doing. She’s able to make decisions and directly intervene in someone’s life if she thinks it’s necessary. She’s kind-hearted and well-meaning, but also a ball of fire.”

Meanwhile, “the baby can only crawl”.

In the 30 years since its release, Baby’s Day Out has not undergone the fervent reappraisal of many cult comedies. It is not a film that frequently undergoes rediscovery among new audiences, remaining well-liked by many who remember seeing it in their childhood.

“I still occasionally listen to it,” Broughton says.

“I love the recording, the sound of the orchestra and choir; it brings back nothing but good memories.”

As Broughton reflects with some pride, “I did some things musically in it that I had never done before, so there are many reasons to include this movie in my happy memories box”.

High praise, surely, for a film unfairly dismissed as a Home Alone rip-off.

Liam Heitmann-Ryce-LeMercier is a freelance writer and reviewer based in Melbourne.  

Photo of Bruce Broughton (supplied) by Stephen Busken. Featured image by Sawyer Bengtson via Unsplash.

From commissioning 67 Australian composers in one project to presenting opportunities for musicians to play solo with a world-renowned symphony orchestra, the Australian National Academy of Music has long established itself as a champion of the arts. As orchestras, ensembles, and educational institutions are redefining what it means to stay relevant in classical and art music, ANAM is placing local composers at the forefront of its festival programming, and training the next generation of Australian musicians to connect with the sounds of their home.

ANAM’s upcoming Sounds of Australia Festival, which takes place this November, brings local musicians together to perform local works. The program spans the beloved Australian classics — including music from Miriam Hyde, Margaret Sutherland, and Percy Grainger — to pieces that have been written closer to our present day. Living composers Rachel Bruerville, Matthew Hindson, and Brenda Gifford are just a few of the musical voices you will hear in this festival — a series of concerts that “resonates with the spirit of Australia”.

Anne Cawrse is one of the acclaimed Australian composers whose work will feature in the Sounds of Australia Festival. Before her original composition Art of the Determined will be premiered by ANAM musicians, we sat down with Anne to learn more about the work.

This festival features the world premiere of your new composition Art of the Determined. I understand this music is about “personal and collective strength” — tell us more!

The work was commissioned by John Daley in memory of Professor David Penington (1930-2023), physician, former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Melbourne, and long-time supporter of ANAM. 

Although I didn’t know David, I wanted to honour the spirit of the ‘in memoriam’ commission by connecting the work to his life and legacy in some small way.

Following discussions with John, the characteristics that stood out repeatedly in his stories of David were determination, conviction, and discipline. I used these concepts as starting points for each movement of the piano quartet.

How do you feel these themes of determination and conviction might resonate with today’s listeners?

I wanted to connect characteristics and personality traits with musical forms or procedures. Just as a person could be considered determined, what might it look like to have a piece of music with a clearly determined personality? This is where the ideas and the structure came from.

Art of the Determined is in three movements: ‘Conviction’ is a fast and rhythmically exuberant moto perpetuo in Rondo form; ‘Perseverance’ has a song-like form with an otherworldly chorale interlude, maintaining a stubborn ‘immovable do’ (the note B) throughout; ‘Commitment’ presents as a quasi-theme and variations, building gradually upon an opening perfect 4^th motif and staying stubbornly diatonic — well, mostly! — throughout. 

What does it mean to you to have musicians of ANAM performing this new music?

I couldn’t be happier to have violinist Sophia Jones [QLD], violist Angelina Kim [QLD], cellist Cindy Masterman [QLD], and pianist Ronan Apcar [NSW] premiering this work. My previous experiences of working with ANAM musicians through the ANAM Set — I composed Ruby for clarinettist Clare Fox in 2021 — was a hugely positive and memorable one. When you feel safe and assured that your notes will be treated with the utmost respect and performed with sensitivity, thoughtfulness, and professionalism, you can compose freely and confidently.

Equally, I love that the piece will have its first outing in an all-Australian concert series, performed by incredible up-and-coming Australian musicians. 

Why do you think it’s essential for next-generation musicians to be building these strong connections to Australian music in the earliest stages of their performance careers?

As an Australian composer, of course I am biased in thinking that all Australian musicians should be performing, commissioning, and premiering Australian works. If we don’t celebrate who we are and what we make, then why should anyone else?

I love the idea of musicians at all stages of their career being taught and mentored to respect, appreciate, and engage with the music that is being written around them by their contemporaries. Classical music is so much more than reproducing the great works of the past — it is equally about representing and listening to the voices of today and the future. Building this mentality into performers early in their careers is pivotal to ensuring a healthy Australian musical ecology into the future.

What do you most love about working with these musicians and then hearing them bring your music to life?

Working with Clare in The ANAM Set, 2021 was a dream. The initial idea of the work Ruby came from her. From there, I passed on various sketches and ideas for her to comment upon, she selected the ones that resonated the most with her, and from there I constructed the piece.

It was a really special experience to know that the work had extra layers and connection points built into it courtesy of the collaborative approach. Clare really made the work her own. Having a performer invest so much of themselves into your music — and genuinely love playing it — is a very humbling experience.

I’m yet to hear the piano quartet play Art of the Determined but am told they are enjoying it very much!

Before we go, are there any parting words you’d like to share about your world premiere before the world hears it in the Sounds of Australia Festival?

Only that I’m very excited to hear it, and am incredibly grateful to John for commissioning me and the performers for bring the music to life.

I will be at all the Sounds of Australia concerts, and can’t wait to experience, celebrate, and bask in all the Aussie-music goodness.

Experience the Sounds of Australia Festival with musicians from the Australian National Academy of Music, 28-30 November in Abbotsford Convent. For full program information and bookings, visit the ANAM website.

Images supplied. Featured image credit Sam and Ben at Headshot Laboratory. Headshot above by Emma Luker.

Award-winning director Madeleine Hetherton-Miau’s latest offering is an evocative and hard-hitting documentary with a strong message. Mozart’s Sister investigates the life of Maria Anna Mozart, the older sister of the more famous Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

The film portrays a sensitive and well-researched investigation into Maria Anna’s life – illuminating how the draconian attitudes that prevailed during her time condemned her to a lesser life than her brother, even though she was similarly talented.

It also reminds us of the importance of championing women musicians today, as “if we don’t encourage women now, it (discrimination) only repeats”.

Who was Maria Anna Mozart?

Maria Anna was the first-born child of Leopold Mozart. He himself was a musician and composer and had his daughter schooled in music from a very young age.

Maria showed amazing talent – a child prodigy in playing and composing. When Wolfgang was born, he quickly became engrossed in playing and composing music with his sister.

Mozart’s Sister features wonderfully poignant recreations of this childhood bond over music – emphasising the siblings’ playfulness and engagement with music in a noncompetitive way.

Leopold recognised his children’s prodigious talents. He soon had them travelling and playing concerts all over Europe, where they were lauded by the highest aristocracy. Maria Anna and Wolfgang were inseparable during this time and composed many works together.

Women musicians in the 18th Century

But all of this came to an abrupt end when Maria Anna turned 15. As custom would dictate, it was considered unsuitable and unseemly for a girl of that age to perform in public, likening this form of public performance to that of a prostitute.

The film portrays the unfortunate fate that befell many 18th-Century women who wanted to pursue a career in music. Regardless of their aptitude, these women would have no real career prospects. They were even banned from playing musical instruments deemed unseemly, including the violin and cello.

Composing and playing music was largely taken up by the nuns in monasteries. As Mozart’s Sister highlights, even though this was a time of enlightenment, this “enlightenment” was reserved for men – and white men at that. It definitely didn’t flow on to women.

Maria Anna was forced to stay home while Wolfgang continued pursuing music uninterrupted – and the rest is history.

The film ponders what it must have been like for her to be left at home, away from her brother (who was once her constant companion) and unable to play as she used to. Her life is poignantly illustrated through her diary entries, which are mainly filled with references to the weather, as though nothing else was happening for her.

Maria Anna eventually married, but continued to practice music each day. Upon her husband’s death – now a woman of means and a baroness in her 50s – she returned to solo concert performances.

A documentary on two levels

Mozart’s Sister is a documentary that functions on many levels.

On one level, it’s a biopic that portrays Maria Anna’s story through recreations of her childhood in Austria, with a voiceover narration and interviews highlighting her relationship with her brother. Much is shot on location in Austria and framed through the perspective of present-day museum curators and experts.

On another level, the film is a broader statement on the underrepresentation of female composers. I thought the director did an excellent job in portraying this duality through the juxtaposition of Maria Anna’s trajectory with the young British composer Alma Deustger. Deustger displayed many of the characteristics we could imagine Maria Anna having.

Like Maria Anna, Deustger is a brilliant modern-day composer with a deep appreciation for for composing and conducting. But unlike Maria, she has been able to pursue her passion and turn it into a career. I was particularly struck by the film’s closing, in which Deustger discusses writing her waltz based on the police sirens of New York.

Mozart’s Sister follows a recent literary trend of discussions of appropriation – and the overlooking of talented women in history who have been overshadowed by their more famous male counterparts. Anna Funder’s Wifedom and Hernan Diaz’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book Trust are two other examples of this.

It is an interesting and provocative film that will appeal to classical music lovers, as well as those interested more broadly in the issue of female underrepresentation in the arts.

Mozart’s Sister is in cinemas from today.

Diane Charleson, Senior Lecturer in media School of Arts Australian Catholic University, Australian Catholic University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Images via Wikimedia Commons.

Unlike the larger-scale events that see her performing as a soloist with an orchestra, or on the stage of an opera, the Australian soprano delights in the opportunities for connection that come with intimately sized performances.

“Looking into your colleague’s eyes, or sharing a smile with an audience member, adds to the meaning of the music for us all,” she says.

The award-winning artist will present music in this fashion this November, singing alongside Ensemble Liaison in Elisabeth Murdoch Hall.

“I’m so happy for the chance to perform such a chamber concert in Australia,” Eleanor says.

The concert is part of the series Ensemble Liaison & Friends. It’s a heartfelt initiative from the Australian group featuring pianist Timothy Young with a husband-and-wife team — clarinettist David Griffiths and cellist Svetlana Bogosavljevic (pictured below).

In this event, they’ll also be joined by Australian violinist Elizabeth Sellars.

“The best music always happens between friends – and these guys have been friends for a long time!” Eleanor shares. Eleanor, who co-founded Live at Yours, presented more than 50 salon concerts in people’s homes during the pandemic, and Ensemble Liaison was one of the groups to feature.

“Their combination of clarinet, cello, and piano opens up so many repertoire vistas that we just had to do a concert together,” Eleanor says.

“Playing with friends is the best.” 

As she prepares for her upcoming Melbourne Recital Centre concert, Eleanor finds herself reflecting on her music experiences in Europe, drawing comparisons between this Australian venue and her favourite concert hall — the Musikverein in Vienna.

She says “they both share the ‘shoebox’ form, which is ideal for classical music”.

“The acoustic for a musician or singer is like the fabric for a couturier: without the right material, they cannot achieve the result.”

The warmth of the wooden interior also reminds her of a family home, “embracing and relaxed”.

Eleanor will sing chamber works from Beethoven, Schubert, Korngold, and Strauss. As a soprano who has sung on the Opera Australia mainstage, taking on roles the likes of Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Eleanor will now sing as herself – something she can perform “personally and completely truthfully without going through the filter of a character”.

But she doesn’t consider the experiences to be too far apart: “The music that I sing is always with my own emotions and my voice. So even if the character and I don’t have that much in common, I’m always putting my stamp on the character.”

“This challenge and joy of singing is to open one’s soul and be completely vulnerable.”

It’s an environment that could invite concertgoers to feel equally at ease and connected to the emotions of the music. Eleanor says “it won’t be a stuffy recital where you feel scared to breathe!”.

“We will be relaxed and chatting about the music in between pieces.”

Hear Ensemble Liaison with Eleanor Lyons at 7pm November 20 in Elisabeth Murdoch Hall.

Images supplied.

To round off 2024, the musicians of ANAM present a festival of Australian music, Sounds of Australia. 

This year’s festival will explore homegrown music with works from across the nation, many that are making their way to ANAM for the first time. 

From well known and loved works such as The Incredible Floridas by Richard Meale, to world premiere pieces from the likes of Kate Tempany and Brenda Gifford, explore the sounds of Australia this November. 

A New Energy and On Tradition 

The first performance of the festival explores the rich tapestry of European musical influences intertwined with First Nations connections and avant-garde innovations in the Australian sound. Audiences can expect an exciting program featuring works by Sutherland, Gifford, Grainger, and Harvey, highlighting the fusion of traditional and modern soundscapes. 

In the second program, contemporary Australian composers Miriama Young, Anne Cawrse, Richard Mills, and Rachel Bruerville bring their unique voices to the stage, reflecting the land’s enduring rhythms, resilience, and playful spirit. These works offer a fresh perspective on Australia’s cultural landscape, blending timeless inspiration with modern musical techniques. 

Thursday 28 November 7pm  
Friday 29 November 7pm 
Rosina Auditorium, Abbotsford Convent 

Our Sound and Sacred Sky 

In the Saturday afternoon performance of the festival, journey through Australia’s current musical world with Holly Harrison’s Airbender, a vibrant piece channeling raw energy, and Stuart Greenbaum’s 800 Million Heartbeats, a reflective work contemplating life’s fragility.  

The festival concludes with Sacred Sky, a powerful final concert featuring Nigel Westlake’s stunningly beautiful String Quartet No. 3 Sacred Sky and the world premiere of Kate Tempany’s Wimmera-Mallee. This piece offers a mesmerising fusion of Australian landscapes and Hindustani music, brought to life by ANAM musicians alongside Adrian McNeil on the sarod. These works promise a captivating exploration of place, culture, and connection, rounding off the festival with a celebration of both local and global influences on the Australian sound.  

Saturday 30 November 3pm and 7pm 
Rosina Auditorium, Abbotsford Convent  

Visit the ANAM website for bookings to the Sounds of Australia festival performed by ANAM musicians.

Image supplied. Credit Pia Johnson.

This concert brings together two virtuosic soloists of bright subtlety and emotional depth in a concert centred around one of the most beloved instrumental combinations in music.

The duo will set the stage alight in a night of mesmerising works by Bartok, Chopin and Tartin, along with the Australian premiere of Waipounamu by New Zealand composer Michael Norris.

The Young Virtuosi will tour across Aotearoa/New Zealand from 27 October through to 10 November, before heading to Verbrugghen Hall at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music on 16 November and to the Primrose Potter Salon at Melbourne Recital Centre on 18 November.

The musicians were 2023 winners of two of the most prestigious and celebrated international competitions in the Southern Hemisphere — the Michael Hill International Violin Competition (NZ) and the 50-year-old Sydney International Piano Competition. 2023 was a big year for both artists receiving huge critical acclaim through both competitions’ reach with national live audiences and international broadcasting.

About the artists

Yeyeong Jenny Jin began her violin studies at the age of two in her hometown of Seoul, South Korea. At 9 years old, she was admitted to The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where she studied with the renowned pedagogue, Ida Kavafian. Jenny is currently enrolled at The Julliard School in New York City, studying with Itzhak Perlman and Li Lin. She plays on a violin by Domenico Montagnana, Venice c1735, which is on loan from Rare Violins In Consortium, Artists and Benefactors Collaborative.

Also from South Korea, pianist Jeonghwan Kim was the winner of a vast array of national competitions before moving to Berlin at 11 years of age where he continued to earn extensive recognition. He has performed in some of the most prestigious concert halls around the globe, including the Berlin Philharmonic and the Sydney Opera House. Since 2017, Jeonghwan has been studying at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in the class of Professor Konrad Maria Engel. 

The Young Virtuosi

SATURDAY 16 NOVEMBER, 7.30PM

 Verbrugghen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Sydney: Tickets

MONDAY 18 NOVEMBER, 7PM

Primrose Potter Salon, Melbourne Recital Centre, Melbourne: Tickets

Cécile McLorin Salvant, Vocals
Alexander Hall, Princeton University, New Jersey, 9 October


“The applause of them that judge, is the encouragement of those that write.”

This quote taken from the “Epistle to the Reader” in John Dowland’s Third and Last Booke of Songs or Ayres, published in 1603, was projected onto the screen hanging over the stage in Princeton University’s stately Alexander Hall before Cécile McLorin Salvant’s recent performance there of her own Book of Ayres.

While Dowland was likely referring to applause given in reaction to songs from his first and second books as being a source of encouragement to write his third, this quote led me to think about how the reaction of the audience there with me that evening would indeed encourage and help to shape my own writing about the performance that I was about to witness.

With that in mind, I settled into my balcony seat as the hall lights dimmed and let go of any preconceived notions that I had about hearing a program described as a “fusion of jazz, Baroque music, vaudeville, Sappho and folkloric material” by Princeton University Concerts director Marna Seltzer. I allowed myself to imagine all of us in the audience that evening uniting and morphing into one great, blank canvas – ready to allow Cécile McLorin Salvant to paint her sonic imagery on us. And paint, she did.

Clad in a black satin frock with pearl drop earrings dangling above an Elizabethan-style white ruff around her neck — a stylistic choice reflecting the era of Dowland — Salvant and her troupe of musicians entered the stage all smiles and waves to start the program on a tender note with Say love if thou ever didst find from Dowland’s third book of ayres. Accompanied by expert and sensitive playing from Sullivan Fortner on harpsichord, Dušan Balarin on theorbo, and Emi Ferguson on flute, Salvant’s voice displayed just a hint of nerves around the edges. The seemingly improvised vocal ornamentation she offered was at once fresh and contemporary whilst remaining stylistically appropriate. Known predominantly as a jazz vocalist, I was both surprised and impressed by her affinity for Renaissance music.

After a brief welcome and introduction of the other musicians onstage, also including Yasushi Nakamura on double bass and Keita Ogawa on percussion, Salvant told us about the next piece she would perform – an original composition called Fenestra (Occitan for “window”) inspired by a figure of European folklore depicted as a woman who is serpent from the waist down, known as Mélusine in French. In the legend that inspired her lyrics, Mélusine would only take on her serpent form on Saturdays, prompting her to insist that her fiancé never sees her on that day of the week. Well, one Saturday he did look in on her in the bath and saw her brushing her hair whilst playfully splashing bathwater all over the room with her writhing tail. Upon realising that she had been spotted, Mélusine turned into a dragon and flew out of the window. This delightful song featured a light samba beat and showcased Salvant’s French language, as well as her familiarity with the ancient Occitan language of southern France. Her vocal dynamism was also now fully on display, with an innocent sweetness in her upper and mid-ranges, reminiscent of Betty Carter, and a rich velvetiness in her lower notes akin to Sarah Vaughan. 

Before jumping back in time with her rendition of I attempt from love’s sickness to fly from Henry Purcell’s opera The Indian Queen, Salvant told us a little bit about her love for Baroque music, her studies as a voice student in Aix-en-Provence and how, despite her nerves, she was excited to once more be exploring this familiar musical world. The Purcell aria was followed by two original songs – the first inspired by a letter written by the photographer Alfred Stieglitz to the painter Georgia O’Keeffe, and the second based on a conversation that she had had with a friend about how expectations could be perceived as premeditated resentments. The second song, entitled Obligation, was a masterclass in jazz vocals and lyric-writing and featured exceptional playing from Nakamura on double bass. 

We were then given another selection from Dowland’s third book of ayres, Flow not so fast, ye fountains as well as the exceptionally beautiful D’un feu secret by Michel Lambert, which Salvant said was the very first song she learnt when she began studying with her singing teacher in Aix. However, in between these two gems of early music came an original song called Oh Snap. At this point, Fortner had moved on from harpsichord to simultaneously playing piano and keyboards, producing a wash of sound reminiscent of sunlight on waves, whilst Ogawa drummed out a tropical beat. It was incredible to watch the audience smile and relax as if they had suddenly been whisked away on a Caribbean holiday. The musicians were clearly having fun here, treating us to an extended improvised middle section. The screen above the stage, which up to this point had either shown images of music scores or paintings, was filled with drawings of volcanoes, crosses, cars, and voluptuous figures. It felt as if we had been transported into a dream world.

To finish off the program, we were given another Salvant original called I Am A Volcano, featuring exceptional playing and backup vocals from Fortner, and a song from Dowland’s first book of ayres entitled Can she excuse my wrongs. The lyrics of the Dowland song are attributed to Robert Devereux, 2^nd Earl of Essex, who was once a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I but was later executed for treason. Salvant pointed out that while this is a love song, Devereux’s lust for power is also hinted at in the text. How precarious is the dance between love and power.

The audience rose to their feet after the final song, encouraging Salvant and her incredible band to return to the stage for an encore – Dido’s Lament from Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas. Her voice was tender and, in a way, it felt as if we had returned right back to where we started.

As I wandered out of the hall to walk across the campus on that clear October night, Dowland’s words from the beginning of the concert were still very much in my mind. The heartfelt applause of the audience after a performance that defied expectations, crossed cultures and offered new ways to look at both early music and jazz certainly encouraged me to return home and write. I sincerely hope that it encouraged Cécile McLorin Salvant to do the same.

Images supplied. Credit Alexis Branagan, Princeton University Concerts.

Booked your tickets for that concert you were thinking of attending? Great. Now you just need to figure out how you’ll get there on time. Hang around in the foyer until the bell rings. Find your seat then sit still without fidgeting. Don’t get up if you need a break. Don’t make a sound. Only at the end of the work may you clap your hands along with everybody else, and stand for an ovation if the vibe is right.

To many classical music concertgoers, this may sound like a typical live performance experience – and it’s restrictive. It’s so restrictive that artists like Nat Bartsch are taking it upon themselves to design new ways of interacting with audiences in a live performance environment — ways that could be more comfortable or enjoyable, and that prioritise people’s needs over rigid traditions.

The ARIA-nominated composer-pianist has curated two of her own relaxed performances as part of her Forever Changed album launch at the Melbourne Recital Centre this November.

“A relaxed performance is usually a show where the house settings are adjusted to accommodate the different sensory needs of neurodivergent and disabled people,” Nat says ahead of her upcoming events.

Nat is the Melbourne Recital Centre’s 2024 Artist in Residence, and not only has she curated a relaxed album launch – but the album itself was written with the intention to create music she would find soothing, and to potentially share that feeling with neurodivergent listeners.

Created in consultation with neurodivergent people and music therapists, Forever Changed is Nat’s new release that features lullabies for those who find calm in atmospheric music with repetitive rhythms, high-pitched melodies, and ambient effects and textures.

“I hope it just feels good to know that someone took the time to make a project specifically with neurodivergent needs in mind,” Nat says.

“And if it does soothe other people, then that’s a bonus.”

Music is a sensory experience

Nat Bartsch is one of the many neurodivergent women in Australia to receive late diagnoses: “I discovered that I was autistic a few years ago in my late 30s, and ADHD about a year or so after that.”

“I started to learn a little bit about what sensory regulation looks like for neurodivergent people, including others in my life as well,” Nat shares.

“I don’t think we kind of go through life generally knowing much about that, whether it be stimming – so like, repetitive behaviours that people do to calm themselves down – or whether it be adjusting your experience of the environment around you because there are certain things that feel good or feel uncomfortable.”

For an artist who had “never really encountered the word ‘sensory’ before this time”, Nat has since become an advocate for fellow neurodivergent artists, hosting Neurodivergent Artist Meet-Ups designed to accommodate a range of sensory needs.

It was recently announced that Nat would also deliver the annual Peggy Glanville-Hicks Address, sharing how her diagnoses of ADHD and autism have influenced her music making.

When composing Forever Changed, Nat “started to think about what my own sensory profile is as a neurodivergent person”.

Exploring the styles of music that would calm her down during major life transitions, she discovered an appreciation of intricate music with driving and interlocking rhythms, along with layers and walls of sound. Then she branched out, and thought about how her music might be received by listeners other than herself.

“With Forever Changed, I asked some music therapists what kind of parameters they might be working within if they were working with an autistic client,” Nat says. She learnt about the sensory experiences of grounding and repetitive rhythms and synth bass.

“I wanted to see if I could find some common ground between what I wanted to write – or what my gut feeling was telling me I should write and produce – and what others found soothing in music.”

While Nat’s experience of music is her own, her research and musical ideas have seen her generate a suite of lullabies she believes may give others a “feeling of sinking into the music and hearing effects and synths swirl around them”.

Nat’s relaxed performances enhance this musical experience through thoughtful set-ups in a physical space.

Enjoying a relaxed performance

As Nat describes, a relaxed performance accommodates the needs of neurodivergent and disabled audience members. It’s also a space “where people can come and go”.

“Imagine if you left the theatre halfway through the first act of an opera, and had to walk past a whole bunch of people in the audience. It would be viewed by many people in the audience as terrible behaviour.”

It’s okay to move around in Nat’s relaxed performances, and she’ll accept latecomers. Sensory beanbags and fidget tools will be made available to concertgoers, and there will be low lighting with colours designed for comfort.

Anyone is welcome to attend.

“I don’t necessarily think that those types of access needs should only be the domain of someone who believes they are eligible to attend a relaxed performance,” Nat notes.

“There are so many people that have some kind of barrier to enjoying a concert – like maybe you’re pregnant, and you have morning sickness, and you feel nauseous in the concert and you’re trying to keep it together.

“Or maybe you’re running late because you just really struggled to settle your kids to sleep and hand over to the babysitter before the concert started.”

This welcoming environment aligns with Nat’s goal of presenting music in a format that tells her audiences: “This is a place where you can be yourself, irrespective of whether you are neurodivergent or not, and try and think about what your own needs are, and how those needs can be met.”

So where do Nat’s own needs fit into this live performance environment?

Are musicians also relaxed during their performance?

While relaxed performances are designed to provide welcoming and accessible spaces for neurodivergent and disabled audience members, a lot can be said of tailoring a performance environment to the needs of the musician, too.

“I think there’s lots of things that need to change in the music industry to better support the needs of neurodivergent and disabled musicians,” Nat says.

She’s starting with her own shows. During a previous performance, Nat recalls listening to her own ambient music swirling around her, and not playing the piano – accepting that, in the moment, she didn’t need to take any action and could “just kind of be”.

“At first it was like, oh, this feels really awkward. But then I thought about it. I looked around and everybody else was chilling out. And I was like, why can’t I chill out?”

To Nat, relaxed performances help her “cope a little better with the demands of performing”.

These events also “helps musicians in general to develop an awareness of the barriers that some parts of the community have to experiencing live music, and to think about how they communicate on stage, how they play their music, what music they’re playing”.

Social stories can take the weight out of planning

Nat also prioritises “social stories” from her perspective as a performer welcoming listeners into potentially unfamiliar territory. The musician describes a social story “like a document that lays out what the show is going to be like”.

At Melbourne Recital Centre, where she is Artist in Residence, their Relaxed show series uniquely includes information about what the music will sound like. There will also be a social story explaining visual projections that will be presented alongside the music so audiences know what to expect.

Logistics are also explained in advance, such as parking, facilities, available staff, and if there are opportunities to take breaks from the music and enter a quieter space.

Nat says she feels more comfortable when playing in a venue like the Melbourne Recital Centre compared to a space she doesn’t know: in unfamiliar spaces, she would “love a social story about where to park, and what to expect when I get there, and who I’m going to meet, and what it looks like in the green room – all these things that help me feel less anxious”.

Lullabies are for anyone

In the past, Nat has composed music to see listeners through “life’s most vulnerable moments” including Searching for the Map and The End of the Decade. Her music has been used in hospital and palliative care settings, and for Hush Foundation project Seeking Solace she curated and wrote music after hearing the stories of patients, staff, and carers at a Women’s Mental Health Centre.

She composed her album Forever, and No Time at All featuring lullabies for babies and parents in light of her own pregnancy. And in Forever Changed, she makes lullabies to celebrate the new changes and stages of her life – the growth of her child, her divorce, her experience of late-diagnosed autism and ADHD, and welcoming new love and family into her life.

Through instruments such as harp, strings, piano, and electronics, Nat shares her belief that “a lullaby is actually for anyone”.

“This is soothing music for a reason, and it’s not necessarily going to be the smallest children on the planet that might find a lullaby soothing,” Nat says. The goal of Forever Changed is to bring calm to listeners of all ages.

“I could never claim that the end result will be regulating for every autistic person, just the same as I could never say that Forever, and No Time at All is going to send every baby to sleep.

“But the aspiration I have is that at least it feels good for the neurodivergent community to know that this project was kind of created with neurodivergent needs and experiences at the absolute centre of it.”

Experience Nat Bartsch – Forever Changed as part of the Melbourne Recital Centre’s Intimate Salon Experiences 2024. This concert takes place at 8pm November 16 in the Primrose Potter Salon.

Nat Bartsch – Forever Changed Relaxed Performance features in the Melbourne Recital Centre’s Relaxed Performances 2024 series. These two concerts takes place at 2pm and 6pm November 16 the Primrose Potter Salon.

Forever Changed is officially released on 15 November via Nat’s label Amica Records.

Nat Bartsch is the Melbourne Recital Centre’s 2024 Artist-in-Residence! We teamed up with MRC to bring you this interview with the composer-performer. Stay tuned for more supporting our Australian music community!

Images supplied. Featured image by Kristoffer Paulsen.