Mozart Live At Lunch
2024-11-13 12:00 (Australia/Sydney) | The Concourse Concert Hall, 409, Victoria Avenue, Chatswood, NSW, 2067, Australia
The Concourse Concert Hall in Chatswood presents it final Live at Lunch concert for 2024 with a selection of Mozart Flute Quartet and Arias with a glance at the real and operatic women in Mozart’s life and a preview of the 2025 concert season.
Curator and flautist Jane Rutter is joined by a superb trio of Australia’s finest string players comprising violinist Rachael Beesley, violist Stephen King and cellist Danny Yeadon in a reprise of Jane’s Paris performances at La Sainte Chapelle.
Live at Lunch is Jane Rutter’s successful ‘social inclusion’ concert series, now in its 12th year. Audiences can join Jane and the performers for lunch after the concert by purchasing a lunch and concert ticket package.
Bookings

Lyrebird Festival Returns In November
2024-11-14 19:00 - 2024-11-17 17:30 | NSW
The Lyrebird Festival returns to the spectacular Megalong Valley in November 2024, with music, art, food and wine, talks and nature walks.
Founded and directed by the Bowerbird Collective, this event brings together some of Australia’s finest musician, among them, violinist/vocalist Eric Avery, classical accordionist James Crabb, the Bowerbird Collective, harpist Hannah Lane, soprano Anna Fraser and others.
An iconic Australian species, and an evolutionary marvel, the lyrebird represents all that is sacred in the bush. They can be heard in the Megalong Valley imitating the calls of hundreds of other species, as well as producing their own thrilling sounds.
The Lyrebird Festival brings together art, science and conservation, and includes local culinary delights, intimate, world-class performances and an installation by internationally renowned artist Janet Laurence.
All events have been scheduled to allow for plenty of time moving between each location. All concerts and other events can be booked separately, or together with a festival pass. Pricing includes a ‘Pay what you can’ option.

Highlights include the opening concert Earth Emotions on Thursday 14th, a geology walk, a harp and soprano recital, interviews, sunrise music and yoga and the closing concert The Eyes of the Earth featuring soprano saxophone and strings on Sunday 17 November at 5 pm.

Read our review of Bowerbird Collective’s recent album release, Life on Land’s Edge.
Bookings

Phoenix Collective On Tour
2024-11-16 14:00 | Hunter Baillie Presbyterian Church,, Cnr Johnston St and Collins Street, Annandale, NSW, 2038, Australia
The Phoenix Collective presents BEETHOVEN – VASKS – DAFT PUNK in three concerts, Sydney, Canberra and the NSW Central Coast.
As iconoclastic in his own time as any rock star today, Beethoven is recognised as a titan in the history of the string quartet. Although not always appreciated by his contemporaries, Beethoven’s string quartets now represent the pinnacle of composition in the genre. Phoenix Collective Quartet pair his turbulent ‘Serioso’ quartet with the serene, meditative work of Latvian composer Peteris Vasks. Dance music by the legendary French electro-pop duo Daft Punk adds a
modern twist to this diverse program.
Dan Russell, Artistic Director of PC has recently returned from London, on a quest to find a violin. After playing some 120+ violins he returns with an exquisite c1730 Carlo Antonio Testore violin. Hear the violin in this upcoming program.
Launched by Charmian Gadd at the Crossroads Festival, The Phoenix Collective Quartet is a premier string quartet performing concerts in Sydney, Canberra, Newcastle, the Central Coast and regional NSW. Its members come from the ranks of national and international orchestras such as Opera Australia Orchestra, Canberra Symphony, Sydney Symphony,
BBC Philharmonic, Kammer Philharmonie Köln, Boston Symphony, and Academy of St Martin in the Fields.
15 Nov – 7pm, Wesley Uniting Church Forrest, Canberra
16 Nov – 2pm, Hunter Baillie Annandale, Sydney
17 Nov – 2pm, Anglican Community Church Kincumber, Central Coast

Ripples And Echoes: A Hidden Curiosity From Kammerklang
2024-11-16 14:00 | Church Street Studios, 62-68 Church Street, Camperdown, NSW, 2050, Australia
Kammerklang continues its Hidden Curiosities series with Ripples and Echoes: A Hidden Curiosity championing underperformed Australian music in danger of being lost, this time with double bass repertoire, to be followed by works for viola in early 2025.
This concert features Sydney performer and curator Will Hansen performing a world premiere written for by Cameron Lam, Before We Leave, a part of Lam’s ongoing Palette Pieces series, a collection of solo pieces inspired by watercolour paints and duo works combining colours into musical paintings. Hansen also performs a selection of memories and experiences, stretching from the sky to the cosmos in a one-hour solo instrumental cabaret which promises a relaxed environment, good stories, and incredible local music.
The concert includes music by other composers from around Australia, including Declan Postlethwaite, Elissa Goodrich, Keyna Wilkins, Mark Oliveiro, Naomi Dodd, Stephen Hornby, William Varga and Zoe Gougousidis.
More information and bookings.

Piano And Violin Brilliance In November
2024-11-16 19:30 | Verbrugghen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium, Macquarie Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia
Two gifted young prize-winning soloists, pianist Jeonghwan Kim and violinist Yeyeong Jenny Jin will delight Sydney and Melbourne audiences in November with The Young Virtuosi. Presented by Piano+, the two musicians will perform music by Bartók, Chopin and Tartini, along with the Australian premiere of New Zealand composer Michael Norris Waipounamu.
As well as their Sydney concert on 16 November, The Young Virtuosi will tour Aotearoa from 27 October through to 10 November and perform at the Melbourne Recital Hall on Monday 18 November.
The musicians were both 2023 winners of prestigious music competitions, the Michael Hill International Violin Competition (NZ) and the 50 year old Sydney International Piano Competition.
About the artists
Yeyeong Jenny Jin began her violin studies at the age of two in her hometown of Seoul, South Korea. At nine, 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 was the winner of numerous national competitions before moving to Berlin at eleven 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 program:
Giuseppe Tartini: Devil’s trill Sonata in G minor GT 2.g05/ I. Larghetto affettuoso/ II. Allegro (Tempo giusto)/III. Andante – Allegro

Camille Saint-Saëns: Violin Sonata No.1 in D minor Op.75/ Ia. Allegro agitato (attacca)/Ib. Adagio/IIa. Allegretto moderato (attacca)/ IIb. Allegro molto
Eugène Ysaÿe: No.5 Sonata in G major /from 6 Sonatas for Solo Violin Op.27
Henri Wieniawski: Polonaise de Concert Op 4
Béla Bartók: Burlesques Sz.47: I. Quarrel/II. Slightly Tipsy/III. Capriccioso
Frédéric Chopin: Andante spianato et Grande polonaise brillante Op.22
Michael Noris: Waipounamu or Gillian Whitehead: Bright Silence
Bookings

Ku-ring-gai Philharmonic Orchestra With Simon Tedeschi
2024-11-17 15:00 | The Concourse Concert Hall, 409, Victoria Avenue, Chatswood, NSW, 2067, Australia
Ku-ring-gai Philharmonic Orchestra completes its 2024 season with a concert featuring Rimsky-Korsakov’s sensuous Scheherazade, Gershwin’s spectacular Rhapsody in Blue and Peter Sculthorpe’s iconic Australian masterpiece Kakadu. KPO artistic director Paul Terracini, leads the orchestra in this fabulous concert that spotlights the popular Australian pianist Simon Tedeschi interpreting one of his iconic works.
Peter Sculthorpe’s Kakadu, one his most well-known works, was composed in 1988. It draws inspiration from the Kakadu National Park and the composer’s lifelong interest in Aboriginal music.
Rhapsody in Blue was written by George Gershwin in 1924. This landmark work, which combines classical and jazz influences, was commissioned by bandleader, Paul Whiteman. In the first performance at Aeolian Hall, New York, Gershwin himself dazzled as the soloist.
The symphonic suite, Scheherazade, was composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in 1888 and finds its inspiration in the paintings, ‘One Thousand and One Nights’, by Leon Bakst. Concerning his intentions, Rimsky-Korsakov wrote: ”All I desire is for the hearer, if they like the piece, to carry away the impression that is beyond a doubt an oriental narrative of numerous fairytale wonders of Arabian nights”. The work, in four movements, is a prime example of late 19th century romanticism in music. Characterised by soaring melodies, rich harmonies, and brilliant orchestration, it amply fulfils the hopes of the composer and concludes what is set to be a glorious finale to the afternoon’s music-making and an extraordinary year for the KPO!
The program: Sculthorpe: Kakadu/ Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue/ Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade
Conductor: Paul Terracini | Soloist: Simon Tedeschi, piano
Tickets: $20-$55. Bookings www.kpo.org.au or Concourse Box Office 8075 8111

TOSC Presents Rusalka In Chamber
2024-11-20 19:30 - 2024-11-28 19:30 | Goethe-Institut, 90, Ocean Street, Woollahra, New South Wales, 2025, Australia
The Opera and Song Collective (TOSC) is delighted to be presenting Rusalka in Chamber in small venues on selected dates from 20 – 28 November, bringing the music to where the people live.
There are three performances at Boronia Park Uniting Church, 93 Pittwater Road, Gladesville (20, 22, 28 November at 7,30 pm) and one performance at the Goethe Institute, 90 Ocean Street Woollahra, on 24 November at 3 pm.
The concept was born in the lengthy second Sydney lockdown when founding Director Jill Sullivan created an online programme for singers to learn selections of Dvořák’s opera Rusalka with assistance from Czech- born and trained pianist, Šárka Budínská and Sharolyn Kimmorley AM. The project was created to provide ongoing educational and performance opportunities for young and mature professionals, first during the lockdown and now as TOSC participates in the Year of Czech Music 2024.
Under the extremely capable musical direction of Ms Kimmorely TOSC is presenting a semi-staged, slightly reduced version of Rusalka, with piano, performed in the original Czech language accompanied by English surtitles.
In the title role is young full lyric soprano, Jillian Halleron who sings opposite tenor Hongxin Jiang. Lisa Munckton and Jill Sullivan are sharing the role of Ježibaba the Witch, and Michael Lampard takes the leading bass role of Vodník the Water Gnome. Soprano Leah Thomas and Bronwyn Douglass perform Foreign Princess.
Matt Gaskin and Maria Hemphil as Gamekeeper and Kitchenhand bring comic precision to their partnership and provide a light relief from the intense nature of most of the remainder of the music. The Water Sprites alternate on different performances, sung by Alya Meyer and Emily Turner as First Sprite, Dana Kingsford and Emma Häll as Second Sprite and Yolanda Lorenazato and Angelique Tot as the Third Sprite.
NB: Both Matthew Reardon and Lucas Tamao have needed to withdraw for personal reasons and will not perform as mentioned on the flyer.
Bookings

Sydney Chamber Choir People's Choice
2024-11-23 17:00 | Verbrugghen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium, Macquarie Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia
Sydney Chamber Choir under conductor Sam Allchurch has turned the tables on its fans and asked them for their favourites, compiling them into one glorious evening of choral delights.
The versatile mix of music with organ and piano, includes the sublime polyphony of the Renaissance, the glory of Bach, the warmth of the Romantics, and the Australian composers who have made a home in our hearts.
The program: JS Bach Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied/ Jonathan Dove Ring out, wild bells from The Passing of the Year/ Maurice Duruflé Ubi caritas et amor/ Gabriel Fauré Cantique de Jean Racine/ Handel Zadok the Priest/ Lennon/McCartney, arr. Whitwell Yesterday/ Clare MacleanChrist the King/ Monteverdi Christe, adoramus te/ Henry Purcell/Sven-David Sandström Hear my prayer, O Lord/ Rachmaninoff Bogoroditse Devo (Ave Maria) from All-Night Vigil/ Joe Twist From Timeless Land: An Australian Song Cycle Magpie Lorikeets/ VictoriaO magnum mysterium/ Vivaldi From Gloria Gloria in excelsis Deo Cum sancto spiritu
Tickets
Or call SCC Box Office 1300 661 738
Image Robert Catto

The Metropolitan Orchestra's Children’s Christmas Concerts
2024-11-30 09:30 - 2024-12-01 11:30 | Petersham Town Hall, 107 Crystal St, Petersham, NSW, 2049, Australia
Make Christmas extra special this year with The Metropolitan Orchestra’s Magic of Christmas Cushion Concerts especially for young music fans and budding musicians.
Meet Elf Nat from the North Pole who has just been promoted to Number One Head Elf. Enter into Elf Nat’s wonderful workshop with Conductor Sarah-Grace Williams, narrator Nat Jobe and The Metropolitan Orchestra (TMO) as Nat reads letters from special girls and boys to make their Christmas wishes come true.
Children will get to sing and dance to some of their favourite Christmas Carols in this magical musical concert and enjoy a unique walk-through of the orchestra as it performs live. A popular concert that will leave everyone glowing with the special magic that this wonderful time of year brings.
Tickets: from $20.00/ Family passes from $61.00
Saturday 30 November – 9:45am and 11am
Sunday 1 December – 9:45am and 11am

Omega Ensemble Presents World Premiere In Force Fatale
2024-11-30 14:00 - 19:00 | ACO Pier 2/3, The Neilson, Hickson Road, Dawes Point, NSW, 2000, Australia
Omega Ensemble’s 2024 National Concert Season ends with Force Fatale, an expansive program featuring the music of Johannes Brahms, Nigel Westlake and Joe Chindamo. The ensemble tours to Sydney and Melbourne with two concerts in Sydney.
Johannes Brahms’ Clarinet Quintet is a popular rhapsodic masterpiece, written as part of the composer’s surprising re-emergence from retirement. It is an impassioned musical epilogue that has dominated classical music stages for generations.
Nigel Westlake is one of Australia’s most remarkable musical voices whose career spans four decades. He is celebrated equally for his expansive film scores and concert hall repertoire. From the haunting last chord of the first movement to the violent rhythmic finale, Westlake’s singular Piano Trio is revered as one of the composer’s most stunning and captivating chamber works.
A musical polyglot, Joe Chindamo’s music cannot be easily characterised. Hailed as one of Australia’s leading jazz pianists, Chindamo’s music transcends genre in a daring, unapologetic and formidable style. In an exciting season finale, Chindamo delivers a feat of daring virtuosity with The Next Room which will receive its world premiere on this tour.
The Program: Nigel Westlake Piano Trio/ Johannes Brahms Clarinet Quintet/ Joe Chindamo The Next Room (World Premiere) *
Bookings
Approx. 90 mins without interval

Gondwana Choirs presents Voices of Angels
2024-12-09 19:00 | Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia
Gondwana Choirs presents Voices of Angels. Be inspired this festive season by the uplifting sounds of Australia’s finest young voices, featuring The Sydney Children’s Choir, Gondwana National Choirs and the 35th Year Anniversary Choir.
Since 2006, Voices of Angels has been a highlight of Sydney’s cultural calendar, with the uplifting sounds of young people singing during the festive season. This year, the performance will take place under the sails of the iconic Sydney Opera House. Bask in the divine sounds of The Sydney Children’s Choir, joined by choristers from across Australia forming the Gondwana National Choirs.
Bookings

Cinderella Opens 2025 For Opera Australia
2024-12-31 19:30 - 2025-03-28 19:30 | Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point, Sydney, 2000, Australia
Opera Australia presents the Australian premiere season of French director Laurent Pelly’s magical production of Massenet’s Cinderella (Cendrillon) in the Joan Sutherland Theatre of the Sydney Opera House this summer.
A rarity in the opera canon, Cinderella features an almost all-female principal ensemble and for its Australian debut, four powerhouse Australian women will lead the cast.
In the title role, mezzo-soprano Emily Edmonds debuts in the title role. Europe-based Margaret Plummer will return from her international career to play the ‘pants role’ of Prince Charming, sharing the role with OA principal Sian Sharp, while popular soprano Emma Matthews will perform the Fairy Godmother. Angela Hogan and Dominica Matthews will share the outrageous role of Cinderella’s wicked stepmother and Ashlyn Tymms will debut as an OA principal, pairing up with Jennifer Black then Jane Ede to add to the fun as the stepsisters.
Rounding out this showcase of homegrown talent are Richard Anderson as Cinderella’s father and Shane Lowrencev as the King while Iain Henderson and Virgilio Marino will share the role of Dean of Faculty. The OA Chorus join to display their powerful voices and comic timing.
Sung in English but set in fairytale France, Cinderella will be a visual feast of shape and colour enveloped by Barbara de Limburg’s set of the pages of an old storybook coming to life, with costumes that reference the story’s 18th century origins, touched by comedic touches and haute couture. Duane Schuler’s lighting adds a magical glow. OA will stage Pelly’s abridged version, lasting 90 minutes which debuted at New York’s Met in 2021.
Cinderella is presented in association with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, London, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, L’Opéra de Lille and Gran Teatre del Liceu. The original production was by the Santa Fe Opera. This production was first seen at the Royal Opera House, London on 5 July 2011.
Principal Conductor of Washington National Opera Evan Rogister will make his company debut to conduct the OA Orchestra, followed by OA’s Head of Music Tahu Matheson. Cinderella will open on New Year’s Eve, with packages including options to add a pre-performance dinner and a midnight party to celebrate a most magical midnight. The season runs until the end of March in association with Sydney Festival.

From Skylark to Evensong - a Songbook of Hours
2025-01-25 18:30 | Pitt Street Uniting Church, 264 Pitt Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia
Sydney Intervarsity Choral Festival 2025 (SIV25) with Sydney University Madrigal Society and Sydney University Musical Society invites you to experience an evening of stunning choral music celebrating the canonical hours, in a captivating programme inspired by the Slavonic tradition. Conducted by Sarah Penicka-Smith, From Skylark to Evensong – a Songbook of Hours contains timeless masterpieces by Kalinnikov, Tsupryk, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and others.
Bookings

Salut! Baroque Celebrates
2025-02-02 15:00 | Music Workshop, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, 1 Conservatorium Rd, Sydney, New South Wales, 2000, Australia
Salut! Baroque presents Music to Celebrate, a feast of glorious music launching its 30th anniversary celebratory year, with compositions spanning 400 years. There will be concerts in Sydney and in Canberra.
Creativity bloomed in the baroque period as concerts moved away from the confines of the church and royal courts into the public realm, with different styles becoming the “pop music” of the day. Music became more accessible through printing, creating an independent market for enterprising composers, performers, publishers and promoters alike. Salut! Baroque’s program will include some of The Four Seasons by Giovanni Guido, written around eight years before Vivaldi’s more famous composition, and Jan Rokyta’s enchanting Balkanology, written 300 years later and inspired by traditional Romanian and Turkish music with its complex rhythms and harmonies.
Read our review of Salut! Baroque’s 2024 concert The Genius.
Canberra: Friday 31 January 2025, 7.30pm, Wesley Church, 20 National Circuit, Forrest, Canberra Bookings
Sydney: Sunday 2 February 2025, 3.00pm, Music Workshop, Sydney Conservatorium of Music Bookings

Singapore Symphony Orchestra Debut Tour To Australia
2025-02-12 19:00 | Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia
The Singapore Symphony Orchestra conducted by the renowned Australia conductor Hans Graf, performs in Sydney on its debut tour to Australia. On the program is music by Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Singaporean composer Koh Cheng Jin. The concerts feature violinist Chloe Chua and cellist Ng Pei-Sian. There are also concerts at the Arts Centre Melbourne’s Hamer Hall on Friday 14 February at 7.30pm and the Queensland Performing Arts Centre on Sunday 16 February at 3 pm.

Tickets go on sale on 28 June, 2024.

The Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) has earned an international reputation for its virtuosity, with sterling reviews for its overseas tours and more than 50 recordings. The SSO was awarded third place in the prestigious Gramophone Orchestra of the Year Award 2021 and named one of the 23 best orchestras in the world by BBC Music Magazine in 2022. It is the Orchestra’s first international multi-city tour since 2016.

Along with Brahms’ final orchestral work, the 1887 Double Concerto for Violin and Cello in A minor, Op. 102, the concerts will feature the award-winning Luciola singapura by Singaporean composer Koh Cheng Jin, a shimmering evocation of the Singapore firefly; and Tchaikovsky’s towering Symphony No 5 in E minor, Op. 64.

The program: Koh Cheng Jin Luciola singapura/ Brahms Concerto for Violin & Cello in A minor, Op. 102/ Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64

Tickets: From $69 + $8.95 booking fee
INSIDERS ON-SALE: Tuesday 25 June, 9am
WHAT’S ON PRE-SALE: Wednesday 26 June, 9am
GENERAL PUBLIC ON-SALE: Friday 28 June, 9am
(15% off early bird offer expires Sunday 14 July, 11:59pm)

Hans Graf
Image credit: Jack Yam

Sydney Opera House Concert Hall
Image credit: Mikki Gomez

Australian Guitar Quartet Plays Bach, Bossa and Beyond
2025-02-13 19:00 | City Recital Hall, 2 Angel Place, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia
Four of Australia’s internationally acclaimed guitarists, have come together as the newly formed Australian Guitar Quartet to perform Bach, Bossa and Beyond concerts at Melbourne Recital Centre on 11th February 2025 and Sydney’s City Recital Hall on 13th February.
Comprising Andrew Blanch, Vladimir Gorbach and brothers Slava Grigoryan and Leonard Grigoryan, the guitarists are each each renowned for their virtuosic technique and genre-defying performance. Composers, arrangers and champions of Australian music in their own right, each member of the quartet is committed to outstanding musicianship and the power of ensemble, where the whole transcends the sum of its parts. The Australian Guitar Quartet blends the precision of classical guitar with the flair of contemporary music from across the globe.
Spanning the intricate beauty of Bach to the vibrant sounds of Latin America, these concerts blend classical, jazz, tango, and Brazilian music. Astor Piazzolla’s Fuga y Misterio fuses classical form with the passion of tango, while Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 offers a masterclass in Baroque elegance. Bizet’s Selections from the Carmen Suite evokes the drama and sensuality of opera, and Pat Metheny’s Road to the Sun takes listeners on a meditative journey through modern jazz. Luiz Bonfá’s Manhã de Carnaval and Paulo Bellinati’s A Furiosa transport audiences to the heart of Brazil.
Bach, Bossa and Beyond celebrates both tradition and innovation, pushing the boundaries of collective sound and expressing the power of the guitar in an exquisite musical showcase.
Melbourne Recital Centre: Date: Tuesday 11 February 2025/ Time: 7.00pm/ Location: 31 Sturt St, Southbank VIC 3006
More info: https://www.melbournerecital.com.au/events/2025/australian-guitar-quartet/
City Recital Hall, Sydney: Date: Thursday 13 February 2025/ Time: 7.00pm/Location: 2 Angel Place, Sydney NSW 2000
More info: https://www.cityrecitalhall.com/whats-on/events/bach-bossa-and-beyond/
Program: Astor Piazzolla – Fuga y Misterio/ Johann Sebastian Bach – Brandenburg Concerto No. 6/ Georges Bizet – Selections from the Carmen Suite/ Pat Metheny – Road to the Sun/ Luiz Bonfá – Manhã de Carnaval/ Paulo Bellinati – A Furiosa
Image L-R: Leonard Grigoryan, Andrew Blanch, Slava Grigoryan, Vladimir Gorbach. Photo by Keith Saunders.

Operantics' Weill-Brecht Double-Bill
2025-02-21 19:30 - 2025-02-22 19:30 | Mosman Art Gallery, 1, Art Gallery Way,, Mosman, NSW, 2088, Australia
Operantics presents Seven Deadly Sins and Mahagonny Songspiel, a double bill featuring two iconic works by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht.
Directed by Spark Sanders-Robinson and conducted by Philip Eames with pianist Nathaniel Kong, this double- bill is a semi-staged performance blending sharp social commentary with powerful music and drama.
Seven Deadly Sins (1933) is a unique ballet-scenic opera that follows the journey of one woman with two distinct personas, Anna I and Anna II, as she navigates the temptations of seven American cities, each representing one of the deadly sins. Through her contrasting personalities—Anna I’s practical and morally driven nature versus Anna II’s hedonistic tendencies—the piece explores her moral conflicts and the consequences of her actions. Weill’s score, paired with Brecht’s libretto, creates a striking fusion of opera, musical theatre, and cabaret, making for a thought-provoking and visually dynamic experience.
Cast: Anna I: Laura Scandizzo/ Anna II: Mia Rashid/ Father: Ben Oxley/ Brother: Matt Gaskin/ Mother: Timothy Nunn/
Brother: Matthew Avery.
Mahagonny Songspiel (1927), a precursor to the more expansive opera The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, offers a satirical glimpse into the rise and inevitable fall of the fictional city of Mahagonny. In this work, the city becomes a symbol of moral decay, where pleasure and excess rule unchecked. Through a series of musical scenes, Weill and Brecht expose the contradictions and excesses of a capitalist society, using biting humour and vivid imagery to critique the pursuit of unbridled indulgence.
Cast: Charlie: Ben Oxley/ Billy: Matt Gaskin/ Jimmy: Timothy Nunn/ Bobby: Matthew Avery/ Jessie: Katie Miller-Crispe/
Bessie: Laura Scandizzo
Bookings

Sydney Chamber Choir Presents The Bonhoeffer Project
2025-02-23 15:00 | Big Schoolroom, Sydney Grammar School, College Street, Darlinghurst, 2010, Australia
Sydney Chamber Choir in collaboration with award-winning German male-voice quintet Ensemble Nobiles, conducted by Sam Allchurch, commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two and the death of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, an influential Lutheran theologian. Arrested by the Nazis in 1943, Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed on 9 April 1945.
Ensemble Nobiles has commissioned composers from Australia, Germany, New Zealand, the UK and the USA to set to music texts written by Bonhoeffer while imprisoned, interleaved between the movements of a new Mass setting.
the Sydney Chamber Choir gives the world premiere of the complete work in Sydney before joining the Gewandhaus Choir as well as choirs from Melbourne and the UK for a performance of this landmark program in the famous Gewandhaus in Leipzig in May.
This is deeply affecting music that speaks to the importance of our shared humanity.
The Program: Paul Heller (Germany) Mass Dietrich B/ David Hamilton (NZ) Heiliger Geist (Holy Spirit)/ Matthew Harris (USA) Morning Prayer/ Sandra Milliken (Australia) Herr Jesus Christus (Lord Jesus Christ)/ Alec Roth (UK) Die Ruhe der Nacht (The Peace of the Night)/ Manfred Schenker (Germany)Von guten Mächten (By Gracious Powers Protected)
Tickets
Or SCC Box Office 1300 661 738
Read our review of the SCC’s 2024 performance of Mozart’s Requiem.

Phoenix Collective Debuts At The Sydney Opera House
2025-03-02 15:00 | Utzon Room, Sydney Opera House, Circular Quay East, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia
Phoenix Collective debuts at the Sydney Opera House with a diverse program of quintessential chamber music masterpieces combined with classics of the future.
One of the most versatile and dynamic ensembles working in Australia today, Phoenix Collective comprises Artistic Director and violin Dan Russell, violinist Pip Thompson, violist Ella Brinch and cellist Andrew Wilson. The ensemble is known for its eclectic and adventurous programming, effortlessly interweaving string quartet classics with contemporary and popular genres.
The timeless beauty of Mozart’s String Quartet no 4 and Shostakovich’s powerful String Quartet no 3 find their match in a commission from Australian composer Emma Greenhill (world premiere) and the effervescent music of rockstar Italian
cellist, Giovanni Sollima.
Launched by Charmian Gadd at the Crossroads Festival, The Phoenix Collective Quartet is a premier string quartet performing in Sydney, Canberra, Newcastle, the Central Coast and regional NSW. Its members come from the ranks of national and international orchestras such as Opera Australia Orchestra, Canberra Symphony, Sydney Symphony, BBC Philharmonic, Kammer Philharmonie Köln, Boston Symphony, and Academy of St Martin in the Fields.
Bookings

The Metropolitan Orchestra Launches 2025 Season
2025-03-09 15:00 | Marrickville Town Hall, 303 Marrickville Road, Marrickville, NSW, 2204, Australia
In the first Met Concert of 2025, The Metropolitan Orchestra (TMO) will showcase a selection of exceptional music to blast off another exciting concert season within the beautifully ornate surrounds of Marrickville Town Hall.
The performance starts with Mendelssohn’s darkly restless and majestic Hebrides Overture followed by Krommer’s joyous Double Clarinet Concerto opus 35 featuring TMO Principal Clarinet Andrew Doyle and TMO Associate Principal Clarinet Alisha Coward. The afternoon of music will climb to a fitting climax with Beethoven’s boisterous Seventh Symphony.
Program: MENDELSSOHN – The Hebrides (Fingal’s Cave) Overture/ KROMMER – Double Clarinet Concerto, op 35/ BEETHOVEN – Symphony no 7
Conductor: Sarah-Grace Williams/ Soloists: Andrew Doyle and Alisha Coward – Clarinet
Duration: Approx 90 minutes with interval
Tickets: https://www.metorchestra.com.au/event/beethoven7/

Australian Haydn Ensemble - Haydn's Sunrise
2025-03-17 19:00 | Utzon Room, Sydney Opera House, Circular Quay East, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia
The Australian Haydn Ensemble performs string quartets by Josef Haydn, Beethoven and Fanny Mendelssohn in Haydn’s Sunrise.
Haydn reputation as the ‘Father of the String Quartet’ is easy to discern from his String Quartet Op. 76 No. 4 ‘Sunrise.’ Whether the hazy, soft-focused opening to his Sunrise quartet is an actual depiction of dawn matters little: the first two of Op. 76 No. 4 are among the most rhapsodically beautiful of all quartet movements.
Fanny Mendelssohn, once hidden from view as a composer is today recognised for her genius. Her String Quartet in E flat major is a revelation, every bit as riveting as the better-known works by Beethoven and Haydn on this program. All are splendid Classical era works to experience live.
The performers: Australian Haydn Ensemble: Skye McIntosh Violin/ Matthew Greco Violin/ Karina Schmitz Viola/Daniel Yeadon Cello
The program: J HAYDN String Quartet Op. 76 No. 4 Sunrise/ BEETHOVEN String Quartet Op. 18 No. 1 in F major/ FANNY MENDELSSOHN (HENSEL) String Quartet in E flat major
Bookings
Read our review of the AHE’s Beethoven’s Fifth program.

Live At Yours Presents Simon Tedeschi With Yamen Saadi
2025-03-19 19:00 | The Great Synagogue, 187 Elizabeth Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia
The Vienna Philharmonic’s youngest ever concertmaster Yamen Saadi, makes his highly anticipated Australian debut with pianist Simon Tedeschi in an evening of unbridled virtuosity presented by Live at Yours. Yamen Saadi plays the 1734 ‘Lord Amherst of Hackney’ Stradivari violin, previously owned by Fritz Kreisler, and a Jacob Eury bow.
The 27-year-old violinist will perform miniature masterpieces by Austrian American composer Fritz Kreisler and Edvard Grieg on Kreisler’s original 1734 Stradivari violin, with performances at the Melbourne Recital Centre on Tuesday 18th March 2025, and
Sydney’s heritage-listed Great Synagogue on Wednesday 19th March 2025.
Saadi has performed as a soloist with the world’s most prestigious orchestras including the Staatskapelle Berlin, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra. In 2022, Saadi, then aged 25, was appointed the youngest ever concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, a position he held with the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra since his teenage years.
Saadi will be joined on stage by one of Australia’s most renowned classical pianists, Simon Tedeschi, who has performed in major concert halls and for festivals around the world and for world leaders including former US President George W. Bush and the Dalai Lama.
Bookings
PROGRAM: Edvard Grieg Sonata No.3/ Fritz Kreisler Marche Viennois, La Vida Breve, Tango, Malagueña, Slavonic Fantasy 5,
La Gitana, Liebeslied & Liebesleid, Midnight Bells – Kreisler, Prelude und allegro/ Brahms: Hungarian Danse 17

Omega Ensemble Celebrates The Cello
2025-03-25 19:00 - 20:30 | City Recital Hall, 2 Angel Place, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia
Celebrated cellist and conductor, Umberto Clerici guest directs Omega Ensemble in a musical exposé of the cello that vibrates across style, tradition and time spanning the two-and-a-half centuries of its existence.
The program includes the World Premiere of Peter Gregson’s Everything we hear comes first from silence. Also on the program is music by Vivaldi, Boccherini and Sollima.
A cellist of extraordinary technical skill, Luigi Boccherini was a virtuoso performer and composer. His La Musica Notturna delle Strade di Madrid paints a vivid soundscape of Madrid’s streets at night, evoking the tolling of church bells, the drum rolls of a military barracks, and the minuet of blind beggars—where cellists imitate guitarists.
Described affectionately as the ‘crazy Sicilian,’ cellist and composer Giovanni Sollima’s Violoncelles, vibrez! electrifies from start to finish with its impulsive expression, death defying shifts, and show-stopping virtuosity. In true Southern Italian style, Sollima blends operatic melodrama with Hendrix-like intensity, creating a thrilling journey of intense emotion and breathtaking skill.
Described as a composer and cellist “working at the forefront of the new music scene” (The New Yorker), Peter Gregson’s music is innovative blend of classical and minimal contemporary styles. In a world premiere ‘concerto grosso’ performed by cellist Umberto Clerici and clarinetist David Rowden, Gregson’s music stands at the forefront of contemporary music, while simultaneously reaching far into the heritage of the cello for inspiration.
The program: A celebration of the cello 250 years in the making
Luigi Boccherini La Musica Notturna delle Strade di Madrid/ Antonio Vivaldi Cello Concerto in B minor, RV 424/ Giovanni Sollima Violoncelles, vibrez!/ Peter Gregson Everything we hear comes first from silence (World Premiere)
Approx. 90 mins without interval
Bookings

Bel a cappella O Sing!
2025-03-29 18:30 | St Augustine’s Church, Eaton Street, Balmain, NSW, 2041, Australia
Sydney vocal ensemble Bel a cappella conducted by Monica Buckland presents O Sing! taking up the theme of singing itself in a diverse program of music from Bach’s Singet dem Herrn to Luke Byrne’s Rainforest, via Romantic composers such as Brahms and Fanny Hensel. Much of this repertoire will be accompanying the choir on its tour to Switzerland in May.
The program: Heinrich Schütz – Singet dem Herrn/ William Byrd – Sing joyfully/ JS Bach – Singet dem Herrn/ Anne Cawrse – How can I keep from singing ?/ Gerald Finzi – My spirit sang all day/ Sally Greenaway – Resonance/ Nick Omiccioli – Song of joys/ Josef Rheinberger – Morgenlied/ Luke Byrne – Rainforest/Johannes Brahms – Es geht ein Wehen/ Fanny Hensel – Nachtreigen
Bookings

Bach's Lost Passion On Australian Digital Concert Hall
2025-03-30 14:00 | Wesley Church, Melbourne / Naarm and online, 130 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
The Australian Boys Choral Institute returns to the Australian Digital Concert Hall with a stirring performance that unites three outstanding ensembles for the Australian premiere of Robert Koolstra’s reconstruction of J S Bach’s long-lost 1744 version of the St. Mark Passion BWV 247.
The Australian Boys Choir and The Vocal Consort join forces with Melbourne’s renowned period instrument orchestra, Genesis Baroque in this moving retelling of the Passion story, blending historical insight with vivid musical storytelling, promising a deeply emotional journey for both performers and audience.
Koolstra’s reconstruction breathes new life into this rarely heard work, combining the beauty of Baroque performance with a striking contemporary resonance. With only two performances, one in Ballarat and the other in Melbourne, this is an opportunity to witness a landmark moment in Australian choral music, streamed live on the Australian Digital Concert Hall.
Bookings
Digital Ticket:$20 (direct to artist) plus a $8 charge for credit card fees and streaming costs. To attend this performance in person, please visit the website here.
All digital tickets come with one week’s catch-up viewing. Simply log in and go to your My Tickets folder in the top menu to watch the recording.
The performers: Nicholas Dinopoulos, director & conductor/ Australian Boys Choir / The Vocal Consort/ The Kelly Gang/ Training Choirs of the ABCI/ Genesis Baroque on period instruments

Rachael Joyce, Maid & Soprano Arias/ Heather Fletcher, False Witness & Alto Arias/ Timothy Reynolds, Evangelist & Tenor Arias/ Jeremy Kleeman, Jesus & Bass Arias

The Metropolitan Orchestra Cushion Concerts
2025-04-05 09:30 - 2025-04-06 11:30 | Petersham Town Hall, 107 Crystal St, Petersham, NSW, 2049, Australia
The Metropolitan Orchestra (TMO) brings back the fantastic story of Jack and the Beanstalk in four cushion concerts. Created by Australian composer Adrian Hallam, this delightful childhood fairy tale comes to life in a magical musical setting for narrator and orchestra where audience members journey through the highs and lows of Jack’s adventures with the notorious giant!
Presented by one of Australia’s favourite children’s entertainers, Nat Jobe, and conducted by TMO’s magical Chief Conductor Sarah-Grace Williams, this is a chance to give children a fun and first-class musical experience with a unique opportunity to get up close to the instruments of a symphony orchestra. Little ones will fall in love with this fun and unique musical re-telling of a timeless story.
Duration: Approximately 50 minutes
Venue: Petersham Town Hall, 107 Crystal Street, Petersham NSW 2049
Bookings

Sydney Chamber Choir Sings Fauré’s Requiem
2025-04-05 17:00 | St James’ Church, King Street, 173 King Street, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia
Sydney Chamber Choir celebrates the warmth and wonder of the choral sound with Gabriel Fauré’s sublime Requiem. Blending the pure lines of Gregorian chant with the elegance and intensity of his own melodic genius, wrapped in delicate yet sensually lush harmonies, Fauré re-invented the Requiem in the image of love. Under the direction of Sam Allchurch and with Thomas Wilson at the organ this is an this is an intimate musical afternoon that speaks straight to the heart with courage and honesty.
The choir will also sing Mendelssohn’s celebratory motet Jauchzet dem Herren (Praise the Lord) and two exquisite motets from Australian composer Brooke Shelley, Heavenly Father and Praise the Lord.
Read our review of Sydney Chamber Choir’s Mozart’s Requiem.
The performers: Sydney Chamber Choir/ Sam Allchurch | Conductor/ Angela Brun | Soprano/ Andrew O’Connor | Baritone/ Thomas Wilson | Organ
The program : Gabriel Fauré Requiem/ Felix Mendelssohn Jauchzet dem Herren (Praise the Lord)/ Brooke Shelley Heavenly Father and Praise the Lord
Tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/scc2025-faure-requiem
or call SCC Box Office 1300 661 738

Luminescence Sings Gesualdo's Tenebrae
2025-04-05 19:30 - 20:30 | ACO Pier 2/3, The Neilson, Hickson Road, Dawes Point, NSW, 2000, Australia
Luminescence Chamber Singers presents Gesualdo’s Tenebrae, a program of music featuring Carlo Gesualdo’s Tenebrae Responsories, which will tour to regional NSW (Braidwood, South Coast and Wollongong), Canberra between 22 March and 4 April, culminating in a Sydney performance on 5 April.
Written in 1611, more than 400 years later, the music of Carlo Gesualdo still seems strikingly avant-garde. Composed for his own private use during his final years, and likely unheard during his lifetime, Gesualdo’s Tenebrae Responsories are of unmatched intensity. This is music at the end of an epoch; at once steeped in and a radically unsettling subversion of the traditions of the sixteenth century.
The first set of Responsories for Maundy Thursday (Feria V) evoke Christ’s abandonment, betrayal, and death. Gesualdo’s dramatic settings reflect the angst of the passion story, alongside his own bloody encounter with death – in 1590 he murdered his wife Maria d’Avalos and her lover Fabrizio Carafa, Duke of Andria, when he discovered them ‘in flagrante delicto’. Gesualdo’s punishment was as self-inflicted as the crime. His status as prince saved him from criminal persecution; instead he saw out his days living as a recluse, tormented by grief and guilt.
Translating literally to ‘darkness’, the plural form of ‘Tenebrae’ is fitting; it implies a multiplicity, all-encompassing shadows; a plunge into the twin darkness of deeply personal grief and of universal sorrow.
Luminescence Chamber Singers is a professional vocal ensemble based on Ngunnawal and Ngambri country (Canberra, ACT). The group has emerged as one of Australia’s most exciting professional ensembles, championing the unbound expressive potential of our original instrument: the human voice.
The program: Carlo Gesualdo, Responsoria et alia ad Officium Hebdomadae Sanctae spectantia (1611)
Feria quinta (Maundy Thursday): In monte Oliveti/ Tristis est anima mea/ Ecce vidimus eum/ Amicus meus osculi/ Judas mercator pessimus/ Unus ex discipulis meis/ Eran quasi agnus innocens/ Una hora non potuistis/ Seniores populi consilium
Miserere mei, Deus
Bookings
1 hour no interval

Bach Akademie Australia Showcases The Countertenor
2025-04-06 17:00 | City Recital Hall, 2 Angel Place, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia
Bach Akademie Australia welcomes its first international artist, acclaimed GRAMMY-nominated American countertenor Reginald Mobley, renowned for his purity of tone and deeply personal musicality. Mobley performs cantatas of solace and profundity, including Bach’s great solo vocal cantatas Ich habe genug (I have enough) BWV 82, and Widerstehe doch der Sünde BWV 54 while the orchestra will shine in Bach’s Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor.
The program: J.C. Bach Lamento Ach, dass ich Wassers gnug hätte/ J.S. Bach Orchestral Suite No.2 in B minor/ J.S. Bach Cantata Ich habe genug BWV 82/ A. Vivaldi Salve Regina R.616 (Antiphona)/ J.S. Bach Cantata Widerstehe doch der Sünde BWV 54.
The performers: Reginald Mobley – Countertenor/ Madeleine Easton – Artistic Director/ Bach Akademie Australia
Bookings
or call 8256 2222
Read our review of the BAA’s most recent concert Bach’s Christmas Oratorio from December 2024.

Piers Lane Plays Chopin Nocturnes
2025-04-10 18:00 - 19:30 | Utzon Room, Sydney Opera House, Circular Quay East, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia
Pianist and Artistic Director of the Sydney International Piano Competition will perform a recital of music by Chopin in the Utzon Room of the Sydney Opera House in April.
Presented by Piano Plus Australia and the Sydney International Piano Competition, this concert promises to be an enchanting evening of Chopin’s best loved Nocturnes played by one of Australia’s most celebrated concert pianists.
Bookings
