Gondwana Choirs presents Voices of Angels
2024-12-09 19:00 (Australia/Sydney) | 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

Salut! Baroque's Baroque Spirit
2025-04-13 15:00 | Sydney Conservatorium of Music, 1, Conservatorium Road, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia
Salut! Baroque are delighted to present the second concert in their 30th anniversary year, Baroque Spirit.
Reflecting the variety and diversity in styles across regions and time periods, Baroque Spirit highlights composers’ thirst and curiosity in exploring new styles. Apart from one piece, the music on this program was composed within a 150-year period but is all remarkably different in character. This multicultural mix contrasts the familiarity of a Bach Chorale Prelude with Scottish, English and Irish folk melodies, Moldavian dances written in a Turkish idiom, and Spanish guitar music that hints at West-African influences.
Linking the past with the present, the concert begins with the Allegretto from Palladio (1995) written by Sir Karl Jenkins in the year Salut! Baroque began! Baroque Spirit explores the common ground between all these different styles and presents them in a way that both informs and entertains.
Concerts in Sydney and Canberra: Canberra: Friday 11 April 2025, 7.30pm, Wesley Church, Canberra
Sydney: Sunday 13 April 2025, 3.00pm, Sydney Conservatorium of Music
Performers: Sally Melhuish and Alana Blackburn, Recorders; John Ma and Julia Russoniello, Baroque Violin; Brad Tham, Baroque Viola; Tim Blomfield, Bass Violin, Violoncello Piccolo; Jude Hill, Baroque Double Bass; George Wills, Baroque Guitar; Jack Peggie, Percussion; Monika Kornel, Harpsichord
The program: Jenkins Allegretto from Palladio (1995)/ Erlebach Ouverture-Suite No.6 in G minor (1693)/ de Murcia Folias Gallegas/ Rameau Ouverture from opera Zoroastre (1749)/ Gow Lament (1805)/ O’Carolan James Betagh, Jig to James Betagh/ Playford Wallom Green from The English Dancing Master (1651)/ Telemann Ouverture-Suite in B-flat major TWV 55:B8/ Cantemir Moldavian Dances (1700)/ Orme Sonata in F major from 8 Sonates à trois Parties (1700)/Anonymous Hungaricus 58 (1730)/ de Murcia Cumbées/ Pla Sonata in D minor/ Bach Chorale Prelude Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 639 (c1708)/ Bach Concerto in D minor, BWV 1043 (1731) (arr. Teddy Bor)
Bookings
Read our review of Salut! Baroque’s The Genius.

Autumn Piano School Returns In 2025
2025-04-14 09:00 - 2025-04-17 17:00 | New England Conservatorium of Music, Faulkner Street, Armidale, New South Wales, 2350, Australia
The Autumn Piano School (APS) returns in 2025 following the success of the inaugural edition. Piano+ and the New England Conservatorium of Music are once again holding this event in the beautiful autumnal setting of Armidale, NSW from 14-17 April 2025.
In the 2025 edition, participants will attend a range of daily workshops, seminars and masterclasses in a welcoming and relaxed atmosphere. Students can also choose to have one-on-one lessons with teachers of their choice. They’ll have the unique opportunity to learn from some of Australia’s most outstanding pedagogues and pianists, who will generously share insights from their international careers. The Autumn Piano School is a perfect platform for artistic growth, inspiration, and connection.
New in 2025 is a concerto opportunity when a selected senior student enrolled in the Autumn Piano School 2025 will be given the opportunity to perform one movement of a concerto from a preselected list, accompanied by the Sydney Youth Orchestras’ (SYO) Peter Seymour Orchestra conducted by Stephen Williams.
The Autumn Piano School 2025 is designed to accommodate pianists of every level through four different streams: Junior Student, Senior Student, Adult, and Pedagogy.
Full information
Autumn Piano School 2025 – Piano+

Megalong Music Festival Chamber Concerts
2025-04-18 17:00 - 2025-04-20 11:00 | Megalong Community Hall, Megalong Road, Megalong Valley, New South Wales, 2785, Australia
The Megalong Music Festival (MMF) announces its inaugural chamber music concerts, taking place from April 18th to 20th, 2025, in the heart of the NSW Blue Mountains’ stunning Gundungurra country.
Over the Easter weekend, attendees are invited to escape the city, and immerse themselves in these exceptional musical offerings against the breathtaking backdrop of the Megalong Escarpment. Young and old, family and friends, locals and visitors, will gather at the Megalong Community Hall to experience the vibrant joy of live, collaborative music making.
Led by Artistic Director Asmira Woodward-Page, the festival will feature distinguished Australian and international guest artists performing alongside emerging talents. The MMF is committed to nurturing the next generation of musicians through its 2025 Fellows Program for Piano and Strings, seeking to foster collaborations between generations of talent, culminating in a showcase of vibrant and dynamic performances.
A celebrated violinist, chamber musician, and winner of the Concert Artists Guild Competition in New York, Asmira Woodward-Page is joined by violinist Kristian Winther, pianist Ieva Jokubaviciute, double bassist David Campbell, viola player Lisa Grosman and cellist Timothy Nankervis.
Festival Highlights include: ● Friday Frolic: April 18th, 5:00 PM/ ● Saturday Sunset: April 19th, 5:00 PM/ ● Sunday Farewell: April 20th, 11:00 AM
All concerts will be held at the Megalong Community Hall. Programs include dance-inspired works, newly minted compositions by the 2025 cohort of artists, and pieces by composers such as Ross Edwards, Josef Haydn, Michi Wiancko, Astor Piazzolla, György Ligeti, Dimitri Shostakovich, Rebecca Clarke, John Adams, Christopher Theofanidis, Claude Debussy, Robert Schumann, Reena Esmail, Antonin Dvořák, Anne Cawrse, Fanny Mendelssohn, and Felix Mendelssohn.
Bookings
Image credit: © Megalong Music Festival / Gabriel Hutcheon

The Metropolitan Orchestra 2025 Young Instrumentalist Festival
2025-05-04 10:00 - 17:00 | Ashfield Town Hall, 260, Liverpool Road, VAUCLUSE, New South Wales, 2131, Australia
The Metropolitan Orchestra presents its TMO Junior, 2025 Young Instrumentalist Festival, open to primary and high school students of all standards playing wind, brass, strings or piano.
Unlike an Eisteddfod, there are no rankings awarded or winners announced. Each student is on their own musical journey, all of whom we want to celebrate. Each performer will receive written feedback from our highly experienced adjudicators, along with a TMO Young Instrumentalist Medal.
Providing a welcoming, non-competitive performance opportunity for young musicians in a supportive environment, young musicians of all ages and abilities are invited to play one piece, either solo or with accompaniment. Performers will be allocated a session along with similarly aged/skilled musicians, where they will get to perform their chosen piece on-stage. Each session will be a total of one hour in duration, with adjudications and medals presented immediately at the end of each session.
OFFICIAL ACCOMPANIST An official accompanist will be provided free of charge for the performance if needed.
WHERE AND WHEN? Sunday 4 May – Ashfield Town Hall – 5 Session times between 10am-5pm
SESSION TIMES There will be 5 sessions throughout the day between 10am and 5pm. Musicians of a similar age and standard will be grouped together. Participants will be advised of their session time 2 weeks prior to the event.
ENTRY FEE The entry fee for each performer is $45. Audience members attend FREE.
CLICK HERE TO ENROL TODAY
Or Visit www.metorchestra.com.au/event/yif25/
ENTRIES CLOSE Friday 4 April 2025. Places are strictly limited.

Parrwang Lifts The Sky
2025-05-09 13:00 - 2025-05-11 19:00 | Sydney Conservatorium of Music, 1, Conservatorium Road, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia
Parrwang Lifts the Sky is a captivating dreamtime story for all ages. Presented by the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, it features a cast of classical voice students and the SCM Chamber Orchestra. Deborah Cheetham Fraillon directs this production of her own presented music and libretto conducted by Aaron Wyatt.
Did you know that the Magpies created the first dawn?*
A long time ago…. The sky was a blanket on the land.
The earth was in darkness and the people were afraid. It was a very sad state of affairs and would have stayed that way except for the courage of Parrwang the Magpie. Tjatja and Koki are young, adventurous and tired of living in the dark. When they manage to climb to the highest branches of an ancient gum tree they discover an exciting new world and a steadfast friend in Parrwang – who decides to help the young humans lift the blanket of darkness from the ground. A plan is devised – but can Parrwang convince Mr Waa, Bunjil and the Great Council of Birds to agree?
Parrwang Lifts the Sky is based on an original story from Wadawurrung Country told to the children of the Wathaurong by community Elder, the late Uncle David Tournier.
Featuring a cast of Sydney Conservatorium of Music classical voice students and the SCM Chamber Orchestra, Parrwang Lifts the Sky is a captivating dreamtime story for all ages.
Bookings
Image credit Billy-Jay O’Toole

Omega Ensemble's Distant World
2025-05-17 14:00 - 19:00 | ACO Pier 2/3, The Neilson, Hickson Road, Dawes Point, NSW, 2000, Australia
Omega Ensemble’s Distant World takes you from Arvo Pärt’s meditative Spiegel im Spiegel with each note meticulously placed, to Jabra Latham’s powerful Fire Music, inviting you to consider the state of our planet and our place within it.
Featuring a transportive world premiere by Melbourne-based composer Miriama Young, as well as Peteris Vasks’ anguished Piano Quartet, this performance is a call for personal reflection and global action.
There are two concerts in Sydney at the The Neilson, ACO on the Pier and one in Melbourne at the Elisabeth Murdoch Hall, Melbourne Recital Centre. Tour dates 13 – 17 May 2025.
Bookings

Handel's Samson
2025-05-17 19:00 | Christ Church St. Laurence, 812 Railway Square, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia
The Pacific Opera Studio partners with The Muffat Collective to present Handel’s towering oratorio Samson.
This tale of strength, betrayal, and redemption brims with soaring arias, dramatic choruses, and richly expressive orchestration. Handel’s epic tells of the biblical hero Samson, his fall from grace, and his ultimate triumph over his enemies. Hear the celestial soprano aria Let the bright Seraphim made famous by Dame Kiri Te Kanawa at the wedding of (then) Prince Charles and Princess Diana.Pacific Opera Studio Young Artists will be conducted by Artistic and Music Director Peter Coleman-Wright AO joined by Baroque music specialists The Muffat Collective, to present this epic work.
Bookings

Selby & Friends Triptych
2025-05-19 19:00 | City Recital Hall, 2 Angel Place, Sydney, NSW, 2000, Australia
Selby & Friends’ upcoming Triptych tour features the extraordinary talents of special guest artists, Australian violinist and Queensland Symphony Orchestra 2025 Artist-in-Residence Kristian Winther and Naumburg-Award winner cellist Clancy Newman, who join Artistic Director and pianist Kathryn Selby in a fascinating and diverse program of piano trios by Lera Auerbach, Robert Schumann and Bedřich Smetana. The program tours to Sydney, Turramurra, Melbourne, Canberra, Adelaide and the NSW Southern Highlands from 10th May to 19th May.
Concerts in Sydney are on Saturday, 10 May: Turramurra at 2:15pm at Turramurra Uniting Church and on Monday, 19 May: Sydney at 7:00pm at the City Recital Hall.
Soviet-born Austrian-American Lera Auerbach is a sought-after composer and musician whose music is performed in the world’s leading concert halls. Opening the program is her piano trio Triptych – This Mirror Has Three Faces (2011) which, in the composer’s words, portrays her interest in “exploring the individuality of the three instruments within the form of one piece.” Following is Robert Schumann’s tempestuous, final Piano Trio No. 3 in G minor, Op. 110, from his highly productive 1851 oeuvre, and, closing the concert, is the moving popular Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 15 by Bedřich Smetana, the “father of Czech music”.
Tickets start at $60 | www.selbyandfriends.com.au or at the door.
Tour dates and venues:
Saturday, 10 May: Turramurra @ 2:15pm – Turramurra Uniting Church
Tuesday, 13 May: Melbourne @ 2:00pm and 7:00pm – Primrose Potter Salon, Melbourne Recital Centre
Friday, 16 May: Canberra @ 7:00pm – The Chapel, Charles Sturt University, Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture Saturday,
17 May: Bowral, NSW Southern Highlands @ 4:00pm – Bowral Memorial Hall
Sunday, 18 May: Adelaide@ 2:15pm – Elder Hall, University of Adelaide
Monday, 19 May: Sydney @ 7:00pm – City Recital Hall

Alexander Yau Plays Beethoven Ravel and Liszt
2025-05-24 19:00 - 21:00 | The Independent Theatre, 269, Miller Street, North Sydney, NSW, 2030, Australia
Sydney-born pianist Alexander Yau makes his debut recital at the Independent Theatre performing works by Beethoven, Ravel and Liszt. Alexander Yau is a pianist who continues to seek deep and meaningful interpretations of the great works in classical music and present them to a broad audience in their truest and purest forms. He is a sincere artist and thoughtful musician, who puts his flawless technique to showcasing the genius of the great masters.

In this concert, the multi-award winner and graduate of the Juilliard School will take us into the poetic and fantasy world of piano music which contains direct references and allusions to other art forms, summoning the marriage of poetic ideas and musical thought. He will open the concert with two evocative and rather ‘fantasia-like’ Sonatas Op. 27 by Beethoven, no. 2 being the famous ‘Moonlight Sonata’ and then proceed to Ravel’s fiendishly difficult yet the most intricate and formidable piano work, Gaspard de la nuit, based on the 3 poems by Aloysius Bertrand.

In the second half of the program, Alexander will take us into the journey of Liszt, in a selection of divine and highly passionate works from his Harmonies Poétiques et religieuses and Années de pèlerinage, Year 2 Italy.

2025 marks an important year for Alexander in which he has commenced his position as Associate Lecturer in Collaborative Piano Faculty at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Alexander has performed major concertos including those of Rachmanninpf and Brahms in with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the SBS Youth Orcgestra and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra. He has performed chamber music and solo recitals at the Lincoln Centre NYC, Villa Reale and Teatre Commune di Atri in Italy, in Grieg’s home in Bergen, Oslo, Takamatsu, Canberra Music Festival, the Phoenix Central Park and City Recital Hall in Sydney. In 2022 he released his first album in collaboration with clarinettist Deborah de Graff, featuring his own compositions and works by other Australian composers. Alexander is also a fine clarinetist, vocalist, composer, music arranger and conductor. He and pianist Ching Pong (Dono) Ng, co-founded the Nikolai Medtner Chamber Orchestra, where Alexander conducted the Shostakovich Piano Concerto no. 1 and Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings at its inaugural concert.
The program: Ludwig van Beethoven Sonata no. 13 in E-flat major Op. 27 no. 1 “Sonata quasi Fantasia” / Sonata no. 14 in C-sharp minor Op. 27 no. 2 “Moonlight” / Maurice Ravel Gaspard de la nuit /
—-Interval—-
Franz Liszt Harmonies Poétiques et religieuses, S. 173 – Funerailles, – Benediction de dieu sans la solitude, Années de pèlerinage, Year 2 Italy, S. 161, – Sonetti 104 del Petrarca, – Après une lecture du Dante: Fantasia Quasi Sonata
Alexander Yau, piano.
The performance runs for approximately 100 minutes, inclusive of a 15-minute interval
Bookings

Vivaldi And Vieira From River City Voices
2025-05-28 20:00 - 22:00 | St Patrick’s Cathedral, 1, Marist Place, Parramatta, New South Wales, 2150, Australia
River City Voices presents Vivaldi’s Gloria (RV 589) and the Australian premiere of Brazilian Composer Amaral Vieira’s Stabat Mater in a combination of an Australian premiere, one iconic classic, and Western Sydney’s best performers.
Parramatta’s St Patrick’s Cathedral will ring to the sound of 70 choristers from Parramatta’s flagship choir River City Voices. Glorious choruses and sparkling orchestration, showcase the young musicians of Western Sydney Philharmonic, all conducted by Dr Sarah Penicka-Smith with soloists soprano Sandra Partridge, alto Angelique Tot, tenor Elias Wilson and bass Benjamin Caukwell.
Tickets: Adult $60 | Concession $45 | Under 30 $30 | Under 18 $18 – a booking fee applies.
Bookings
Image: Dr Sarah Penicka-Smith conducting River City Voices and Western Sydney
Philharmonic. Photo credit: Grant Leslie
