behind the conversation | CutCommon

The Social Dilemma: A chat with composer Mark Crawford

March 31, 2021

BY HANNAH MAY WITH STEPHANIE ESLAKE Fake news. Algorithms. Manipulation of our perception of the world. Manipulation of our perception of ourselves. Confronting big issues […]

6 ways you can take action against racial discrimination in music

March 31, 2021

BY ADAM TAN Music is supposed to be for everyone to enjoy, create, perform and share freely without prejudice. Yet the systems that are created […]

How Musica Viva is supporting Australia’s arts industry from the inside

February 16, 2021

BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE As an industry, we’ve grown familiar with a situation no musician or concertgoer ever wants to face: the cancellation. In the past […]

A new study is confronting the “sexualisation of Australia’s classical musicians”

January 28, 2021

BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE Does the classical music industry do its best to promote gender equality? It’s certainly a topic that weighs heavily on the minds […]

OPINION // Art isn’t expendable – it’s one of our last hopes

January 11, 2021

BY JOSEPH ASQUITH, LEAD WRITER (EDUCATION) The arts has certainly been among the hardest-hit sectors during the coronavirus pandemic. Concerts have been postponed, playhouses shut, […]

Jochen Gutsch’s new song cycle helps us “make sense of the world”

October 20, 2020

BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE Hinterlandt’s new album shares seven tales of comedy and tragedy, each named after a character that emerged from the composer’s imagination. Jochen […]

How to smash your next online audition

October 12, 2020

BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE A live audition can be one of the most anxiety-inducing experiences of a musician’s career. A panel of industry experts may watch […]

Giving it away for free — why the performing arts risks making the same mistake newspapers did

June 4, 2020

BY CAITLIN VINCENT, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE This story was first published in The Conversation, and we think it’s important enough for you to know about. […]

How one concert grand is providing a lifeline to local musicians

May 29, 2020

BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE By now, you should have heard of the Melbourne Digital Concert Hall. After all, it’s the new COVID-19 initiative fuelling Australian musicians’ […]