Selected Highlights
Cheetham Eumeralla: A War Requiem for Peace
2018, 2019 & 2023
Port Fairy, Hamer Hall, Queensland Performing Arts Centre
The Consort of Melbourne is extremely proud of it’s long association with the wonderful First Nations composer Deborah Cheetham Fraillon AO.
Cheetham wrote Australia's first requiem based on the frontier wars between first nations people in South Western Victoria and settlers between 1840–1863. The requiem, "Eumeralla, a war requiem for peace" is sung entirely in the Gunditjmara language. The Consort of Melbourne sung in the World Premiere performance, on country, in Port Fairy on 14 October 2018.
The first symphonic performance of the requiem on 15 June 2019 featured Cheetham with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the MSO Chorus the Dhungala Children's Choir and the Consort of Melbourne. The most recent performance featuring the same companies again on 14 October 2023 at Hamer Hall.
Homophonic!
Midsumma Festival Annually
La Mama Courthouse, Carlton
Homophonic! Brings the disco ball to the concert hall by celebrating the long and proud history of queer musical artistry with a program written by, for, and about LGBTIQ+ Victorians. Including works from the RESPECT commissioning project, telling the stories of LGBTIQ+ elders through music.
World premiere compositions by Louisa Trewartha, Caerwen Martin, Meta Cohen, Naima Fine and Andrew Aronowicz to name a few; these works for voices and strings are inspired through intergenerational conversations between composers and the elders being recognised. They are emotional, powerful storytelling; maintaining our shared cultural queer history through music, humour, and a healthy dose of shared outrage.
Homophonic has been a regular of the Midsumma Festival since 2010 & an association of which The Consort of Melbourne is very proud
Taylor Mac's 24-decade History of Popular Music
Wednesday 11 October 2017
The Forum Theatre, Melbourne Festival Headline
From murder ballads to speakeasy jazz, Women’s Liberation anthems to Walt Whitman, this is a show 240 years in the making and 24 hours in the telling.
Taylor Mac’s mission is nothing short of extraordinary: to chart a complete social history of a nation through the music that scored its rebellions and revolutions, triumphs and tragedies.
Across four six-hour epics of staggering scale, Mac enlists the aid of over one hundred local and international performers—from acrobats and burlesque artists to choirs and marching bands—to join this fearless quest.
Hailed as a Ring Cycle for the 21st century, this once-in-a-lifetime experience has never been seen outside the US and is co-commissioned by and exclusive to Melbourne Festival. Part celebration and part exorcism, it’s a no-holds-barred extravaganza of music, history, performance and art that will take its place as one of the most spectacular stage events Melbourne has ever witnessed.
The Consort of Melbourne appeared as the Temperance Choir in Part 1 of this event..
Acis & Galatea
Thursday 14 & Saturday 16 July 2022
75 Reid St, Fitzroy North
George Frideric Handel’s Acis and Galatea, his much-loved pastoral opera, traverses pathos, joy, humour, rage, and tragedy in equal measure.
Genesis Baroque is joined by Karen Fitz-Gibbon (Galatea), Robert Macfarlane (Acis), Nicholas Dinopoulos (Polyphemus), and The Consort of Melbourne, for this contemporary production staged semi-in-the-round in the charming 1920s surrounds of 75 Reid St in Fitzroy North. Directed by Macfarlane, this is a rare Baroque opera treat for Melbourne!
Past appearances
This is where you can check out what we've been up to. Feel free to get in touch via the Contact page if there's something you'd like to hear more of, or if you've attended one of these events and you'd like to give us some feedback!
Homophonic! Out in the Open
Featuring The Consort of Melbourne
Sunday 10 November 2024, 3:00 - 4:30pm
Shepparton Brewery, Shepparton
Homophonic are coming BACK to the Goulburn Valley this OUT in the OPEN Festival!
“Championing LGBTIQ+ composers, and bringing the disco ball to the concert hall! Led by Artistic Director Miranda Hill, Homophonic! is a leading voice in queer classical music since 2011. Through performance, regional touring, commissioning, the Homophonic! Pride Prize Composition Competition and the RESPECT project telling the stories of LGBTIQA+ elders in music.”
While you wait for more information on their next performance in Shepparton, here is a little information on the respect project and one of our own local volunteer, Jenni! Singing the life stories of regional LGBTQI+ Victorians into the history books – ABC News.
Repertoire: Meta Cohen Swerve (Jenni George), Caerwen Martin I am who I am (Yvonne Sillett), Kym Alexandra Dillon Robbie's Daydream (Robbie Heywood), Cameron Lam Melbourne for the Weekend, Andrew Aronowicz Blown Away (Peter Harbinson) & Kevin March Love from Electric Cathedral.
The Consort of Melbourne will feature the voices of Katherine Norman, Kirsty Biber, Alex Ritter, Robin Parkin, Ben Owen & Steven Hodgson.
Closing Gala: The Planets
Featuring the Entire Known Cosmos
Sunday 13 October 2024, 3:30pm
Reardon Theatre, Port Fairy
The 2024 Closing Gala brings together instrumentalists and choristers from all over Southwest Victoria, alongside Melbourne musicians and magnificent soloists, led by PFSMF co-artistic directors Monica Curro and Stefan Cassomenos, on one enormous shared stage.
Homegrown talent Demby McKenzie launches us into outer space with Andrew Ford’s A Martian Sends a Postcard Home – a setting of Craig Raine’s imagined visitor’s impression of life on planet Earth – with Carla Blackwood (French Horn) and Rhodri Clarke (Piano).
We continue our interplanetary journey with Gustav Holst’s seven-movement smash-hit in a new arrangement that completely reimagines The Planets as a choral work with chamber orchestra, and text variously exploring scientific planetary observations, early writings about the mythological figures after whom the planets are named, and diverse descriptions of the planets drawn from ancient astronomical traditions across the globe, including the many names given to the planets in different languages.
Holst’s work did not include Pluto – which remained an undiscovered planet until 1930, and then in 2006 was deemed too small to even be called a planet – and so we conclude our 2024 PFSMF with the world premiere of a fresh new work entitled Pluto, collaboratively created by local Southwest schoolchildren together with facilitator Stefan Cassomenos, in a voyage of discovery of what even the smallest of us can and will achieve, in the face of the unimaginable parameters of our Cosmos.
The Consort of Melbourne will feature the voices of Katherine Norman, Monika Harris, Alex Ritter, Hannah Pietsch, Robin Parkin, Timothy Reynolds, Lachlan McDonald and Steven Hodgson (Director).
Repertoire: ANDREW FORD: A Martian Sends a Postcard Home; GUSTAV HOLST: The Planets Op 32 (arr. Cassomenos); STEFAN CASSOMENOS: Pluto (world premiere) composed collaboratively with Southwest Victorian schoolchildren
All the World's a Stage
Music Theatre Superstar Josh Piterman in his Element
Saturday 12 October 2024, 8:00pm
Reardon Theatre, Port Fairy
Following recent triumphs in London’s West End headlining seasons of Phantom of the Opera and Les Misérables, the endlessly vibrant and versatile Josh Piterman returns to his spiritual home of Port Fairy, with a sumptuous feast of his favourite tunes from the worlds of opera, cutting-edge music theatre, and the mainstream. Joining Josh on stage are two brilliant artists from Southwest Victoria – soprano Anna-Lee Robertson and tenor Demby McKenzie – as well as the Consort of Melbourne, the PFSMF Chorus, and Stefan Cassomenos, in a night to remember for all eternity.
The Consort of Melbourne will feature the voices of Katherine Norman, Monika Harris, Alex Ritter, Hannah Pietsch, Robin Parkin, Timothy Reynolds, Lachlan McDonald and Steven Hodgson (Director).
Kawai Opening Gala: Cosmos
A Musical Meteor Shower
Friday 11 October 2024, 8:00pm
Reardon Theatre, Port Fairy
The 2024 Festival launches into hyperspace with a stellar line-up of 21 artists presenting spectacular music from across the ages. Opening with a newly commissioned world premiere string quintet from visionary Wiradjuri composer Shauntai Sherree Abdul-Rahman – Wula Murun, speaking life into existence – the journey continues with haunting solo horn shooting for the stars, pulsations of Polish folk music, ancient cosmographic a cappella, and culminating in a ravishing and rarely performed piano quintet by legendary Hollywood film composer, Erich Wolfgang Korngold. There’s something for everyone in this exploration of a multiverse of genres, from thrilling works of right now back to our most familiar favourites. We have lift off!
The Consort of Melbourne will feature the voices of Katherine Norman, Monika Harris, Alex Ritter, Hannah Pietsch, Robin Parkin, Timothy Reynolds, Lachlan McDonald and Steven Hodgson (Director).
Repertoire: SHAUNTAI SHERREE ABDUL-RAHMAN: Wula Murun (world premiere), LUKE STYLES: A Shot at the Stars, SLAWOMIR CZARNECKI: String Quartet No 2, Op 33, “Spis”, THOMAS WEELKES: Thule the period of cosmography, CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS: Veni creator spiritus, CARLO GESUALDO: When you, my star, look at the beautiful swarm of stars, WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART: Cantato Domino omnis terra, ERICH WOLFGANG KORNGOLD: Piano Quintet, Op 15
Step into Electric Cathedral, a groundbreaking multi-media experience featuring six ‘a capella’ (unaccompanied) singers within a projected digital environment.
Here, luminous human forms dance around you - a 'virtual cathedral' cast in digital stained glass. Against this backdrop, the haunting voices of The Consort of Melbourne guide you through uniquely human questions, in glorious six-part vocal harmony: How do we begin? How do we live, love, and face mortality? Delve into the essence of these experiences, exploring their meaning in our modern world.
This 60-minute feast for the senses is a vivid audio-visual expression of how a new, contemporary, human spirituality might look and sound, and how a person’s desire to remain deeply human might be expressed in a digital age.
A world-premiere season, with music by Kevin March, text by ReVerse Butcher and Kylie Supski, and digital sculptures and environments by ReVerse Butcher.
The Consort of Melbourne will feature the voices of Katherine Norman, Kristy Biber, Alex Ritter, Robin Parkin, Lachlan McDonald and Steven Hodgson (Director).
Songs of Fire and Ice
Sunday 21 July 2024, 3:00pm
Wyselaskie Yuma Auditorium, Parkville
Escape the Winter chill with The Consort of Melbourne for this afternoon of luscious vocal harmony. We explore 1000 years of music on themes of fire and ice (but no throne games), featuring Poulenc's 'Un soir de neige', Elliott Gyger's explosive 'Fire in the heavens' and Vivaldi's 'Winter' from the 'Four seasons' as you've never heard it before!
In the intimate acoustic of Parkville's Wyselaskie Yuma auditorium, let The Consort of Melbourne envelop you with 'Songs of Fire and Ice'.
The Consort of Melbourne will feature the voices of Katherine Norman, Kristy Biber, Alex Ritter, Hannah Pietsch, Robin Parkin, Timothy Reynolds, Lachlan McDonald and Steven Hodgson (Director).
Repertoire: Hildegard von Bingen: O ignee spiritus, Vivaldi: Winter from the Four Seasons, Gesualdo: Ardo per te, Poulenc: Un soir de neige, Casulana: Occhi vaghi e lucenti, Casulana: Se de l'ardente humore, McDowall: Brightest Star, Gyger: Fire in the heavens, Purcell: Cold Song, Lauridsen: Se Per Havervi, Oime [Encore Gjeilo: In the bleak midwinter]
Hidden Thoughts I
Sunday 21 April 2024, 11:00am
Iwaki Auditorium, Southbank
The Consort of Melbourne are featured artists for the 2024 MSO Chamber Series.
Katy Abbott’s series of works Hidden Thoughts is presented throughout 2024. Each work includes text sourced from the public, elevating the perceived ‘ordinary and mundane’ into powerful and meaningful statements of grace and kindness. The first of the series, Do I Matter?, uses anonymous answers from a survey created by Katy Abbott and writer and cartoonist Kaz Cooke asking women for their ‘hidden thoughts’. The audience at this performance is also invited to submit their responses at the concert for incorporation into the performance that day.
The Consort of Melbourne will feature the voices of Katherine Norman, Kristy Biber, Hannah Pietsch, Timothy Reynolds, Andrew O’Connor and Steven Hodgson (Director).
Homophonic!
Friday 9 February 2024, 7:30pm, Saturday 10 February 2024, 2:00pm*, Saturday 10 February 2024, 7:30pm, Sunday 11 February 2024, 4:00pm
* Sat 2pm Relaxed Performance / 1 hour show (reduced / tailored program)
La Mama Courthouse, Carlton
The Consort of Melbourne are featured artists for the 2024 Midsumma Homophonic Series.
Homophonic! is bringing the disco ball to the concert hall and celebrating the wonderful sound world of LGBTQIA+ composers today. Featuring the premiere of the Midsumma-Homophonic! Pride Prize for 2024 by Sophie Rose, performed by Judith Dodsworth. Performed by The Homophonic! Chamber ensemble and The Consort of Melbourne.
The Consort of Melbourne will feature the voices of Katherine Norman, Kristy Biber, Alex Ritter, Hannah Pietsch, Robin Parkin, Ben Owen, Lachlan McDonald and Steven Hodgson (Director).
Homophonic! The Respect Project
Saturday 3 February 2024, 1:30pm
The Consort of Melbourne are featured artists for the 2024 Homophonic Midsumma Series
Photo Credit: Darren Gill
Singing our stories, loud and proud
Works for voices and strings inspired by intergenerational conversations between queer Victorian composers and seniors. This is emotional, powerful storytelling; maintaining our shared cultural queer history through music, humour, and a healthy dose of shared outrage.
Performed by Miranda Hill, The Consort of Melbourne and the Homophonic! String Quintet.
The Consort of Melbourne features the of Katherine Norman, Kristy Biber, Alex Ritter, Robin Parkin, Ben Owen and Steven Hodgson (Director).
Repertoire: Meta Cohen Swerve (Jenni George), Caerwen Martin I am who I am (Yvonne Sillett), Louisa Trewartha Shimmer (Max Primmer), Kym Alexandra Dillon Robbie's Daydream*, Andrew Aronowicz Blown Away (Peter Harbinson)
* Featuring the World premiere performance of Kym Alexandra Dillon's 'Robbie's Daydream'
Your People Shall Be My People
Sunday 28 January 2024, 10:00am
St Michael’s Uniting Church, Melbourne
A joyful service celebrating inclusive community and the courageous faith of queer people, as we claim our place in the church. Led by St Michael’s LGBTIQA+ minister, Rev Dr Margaret Mayman with St Michael’s members and friends. All are welcome to this gathering of inspiring liturgy, peaceful reflection and beautiful music.
Featuring The Consort of Melbourne LGBTIQA+ choir, singing from their Midsumma 2023 ‘Homophonic!’ repertoire.
The Consort of Melbourne will feature the voices of Katherine Norman, Kristy Biber, Alex Ritter, Hannah Pietsch, Robin Parkin, Ben Owen, Lachlan McDonald and Steven Hodgson (Director).
MSO’s Eumeralla: A War Requiem for Peace
Saturday 14 October 2023
Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne
The Consort of Melbourne is extremely proud of it’s long association with the wonderful First Nations composer Deborah Cheetham Fraillon AO.
Cheetham wrote Australia's first requiem based on the frontier wars between first nations people in South Western Victoria and settlers between 1840–1863. The requiem, "Eumeralla, a war requiem for peace" is sung entirely in the Gunditjmara language. The Consort of Melbourne sung in the World Premiere performance, on country, in Port Fairy on 14 October 2018.
The first symphonic performance of the requiem on 15 June 2019 featured Cheetham with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, the MSO Chorus the Dhungala Children's Choir and the Consort of Melbourne.
The Consort of Melbourne will again feature in this incredibly moving work on 14 October 2023 at Hamer Hall, joining the MSO, the MSO Chorus, Dhungala Children’s Choir, St Paul’s Choir, all under the Baton of Maestro Benjamin Northey.
The Consort of Melbourne will feature the voices of Katherine Norman, Kristy Biber, Marjorie Butcher, Hannah Pietsch, Alexandra Amerides, Niki Ebacioni, Ben Owen, Anish Nair, Alex Gorbatov, Alex Owens, Paul McDonald & Steven Hodgson. MSO Chorus & The Consort of Melbourne Rehearsed by Steven Hodgson & Warren Trevelyn-Jones
Songs of Heart and Soul
Saturday 9 September 2023, 2:00pm
Wyselaskie Yuma auditorium, Parkville.
The Consort of Melbourne perform a program of sacred and secular masterpieces spanning three continents and 1000 years. We celebrate the glorious harmonies of the British cathedral tradition (Cecilia McDowall & William Henry Harris), the dramatic multi-choir textures of the Italian Renaissance (Tomás Luis de Victoria) and the expressive mastery of German Baroque and Romantic composers (Heinrich Schütz), alongside stunning choral gems from Australia (Meta Cohen and Dan Walker) and the USA (Samuel Barber and Nico Muhly). Don’t miss this opportunity to hear how composers throughout Western musical history harness the power and beauty of human voices in perfect harmony.
Repertoire: Cecilia McDowall Alma redemptoris mater, Sergei Rachmaninoff Bogoroditse Devo, Edward Elgar There is Sweet Music, Tomás Luis de Victoria Super Flumina Babylonis, Samuel Barber To be Sung on the Water, Meta Cohen Caedo*, Robert Lucas Pearsall Lay a Garland, Heinrich Schütz Selig sind die Toten; Nico Muhly I Cannot Attain unto it, Dan Walker Dusk, William Henry Harris Faire is the Heaven [Encore Grainger’s Londonderry Air].
* Featuring the World premiere performance of Meta Cohen's prize-winning 'Caedo'
The Consort of Melbourne will feature the voices of Katherine Norman, Monika Harris, Alex Ritter, Hannah Pietsch, Robin Parkin, Tim Reynolds, Lachie McDonald & Steven Hodgson. Directed by Steven Hodgson
All Rise: Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and The Sydney Symphony
Thursday 31 August and Friday 1 September 2023, 8:00pm
Sydney Opera House
The genius of Wynton Marsalis brings together two orchestras and a choir to create the kaleidoscopic jazz symphony, All Rise.
With the talented musicians of Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, and The Consort of Melbourne, the number of musicians on stage will be a visual spectacle – but wait until you hear them.
Over twelve epic movements of All Rise, Marsalis discovers fresh creative freedom within the classical form. It’s a tour de force that combines New Orleans jazz, gospel, spirituals, African chant, symphonic modernism, ragtime, blues, folk song and Latin dances.
Joyous and energetic, tantalising and transcendent – All Rise pulses with grandeur, complexity and contrasts, much like its great inspiration, multicultural America.
Artists include: Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, Benjamin Northey conductor, Emma Pearson soloist, Michelle Nicolle soloist, Sydney Philharmonia Choir, The Consort of Melbourne: Frederica Cunningham (Alto), Timothy Reynolds (Tenor), Steven Hodgson (Baritone), Jerzy Kozlowski (Bass)
All Rise: Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis and the MSO
Friday 25 & Saturday 26 August 2023, 7:30pm
Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne.
For the first time since their sold-out 2019 shows, the one and only Wynton Marsalis and his legendary Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (JLCO) return to Melbourne to reunite with the full symphonic sound of the MSO.
All Rise, first performed with the New York Philharmonic in 1999, is a jazz symphony of a scale not seen before in this country. It’s a 100-minute work that crosses musical terrain from African chant and New Orleans parade music to symphonic modernism.
The world-conquering JLCO musicians will team up with the entire MSO as well as the MSO Chorus and Melbourne’s premier vocal ensemble, the Consort of Melbourne. Conducted by Benjamin Northey across two nights only in Hamer Hall – tickets are selling fast!
Artists include: Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, Benjamin Northey conductor, Emma Pearson soloist, Michelle Nicolle soloist, MSO Chorus, Warren Trevelyan-Jones chorus director, The Consort of Melbourne: Frederica Cunningham (Alto), Timothy Reynolds (Tenor), Alex Owens (Baritone), Jerzy Kozlowski (Bass)
Music at McClelland
Sunday 20 August 2023, 2:00pm
McClelland Sculpture Park & Gallery, Langwarrin
The Consort of Melbourne perform a program of sacred and secular masterpieces spanning three continents and 1000 years. We celebrate the glorious harmonies of the British cathedral tradition (Cecilia McDowall, William Henry Harris and Hubert Parry), the dramatic multi-choir textures of the Italian Renaissance (Tomás Luis de Victoria and Raffaella Aleotti) and the expressive mastery of German Baroque and Romantic composers (Heinrich Schütz and Josef Rheinberger), alongside stunning choral gems from Australia (Dan Walker) and the USA (Samuel Barber). Don’t miss this opportunity to hear how composers throughout Western musical history harness the power and beauty of human voices in perfect harmony.
Repertoire: Cecilia McDowall Alma redemptoris mater, William Henry Harris Faire is the Heaven, Hubert Parry There is an old belief, Tomás Luis de Victoria Super Flumina Babylonis, Raffaella Aleotti Ego flos campi; Surge, propera amica mea; Vidi speciosam, Heinrich Schütz Selig sind die Toten; Unser Wandel ist im Himmel, Josef Rheinberger Abendlied, Dan Walker Dusk, Samuel Barber To be Sung on the Water, William Byrd Ave Verum Corpus, Edward Elgar There is Sweet Music, Gianandrea Pauletta Agnus Dei, Robert Lucas Pearsall Great God of Love; Lay a Garland, Sergei Rachmaninoff Bogoroditse Devo
The Consort of Melbourne featured the voices of Katherine Norman, Monika Harris, Alex Ritter, Hannah Pietsch, Robin Parkin, Tim Reynolds, Alex Owens & Jerzy Kozlowski.
The Heart is Burning - Lost love songs of Maddalena Casulana
Saturday 8 July 2023, 3:00pm
Wyselaskie Yuma Auditorium, Parkville
Join Melbourne’s premier vocal ensemble for an unforgettable afternoon of musical discovery as, for the first time in Australia, The Consort of Melbourne breathes life into the lost madrigals of Maddalena Casulana. Thought incomplete, the recent discovery of a lost partbook allows these captivating works to be performed for the first time in 400 years. Something of a musical celebrity of the Italian Renaissance, Casulana defied societal norms to become the first female composer to appear in print – hear the boundary-breaking music that made her the ‘muse and siren’ of her time.
Selections from this lost book of five-part madrigals will be interleaved with vocal gems by Claudio Monteverdi, Hubert Parry, Max Reger, Dan Walker and others – each reflecting an aspect of Casulana’s work. Don’t miss this chance to celebrate a pioneer of musical history, and the rich tradition of storytelling through intimate vocal harmony that continues today.
Singers: Katherine Norman, Kristy Biber, Hannah Pietsch, Tim Reynolds, Bailey Montgomerie & Steven Hodgson
Directed by Steven Hodgson
Musica Viva Edge with Aaron Wyatt
Tuesday 14 March 2023, 11:00am
The Edge, Fed Square Melbourne
Melbourne’s Viva Edge is a bold, imaginatively curated daytime concert series every bit as unique as the space it inhabits at Fed Square. Discover brilliant new works and musicians, hear favourites of the chamber repertoire as if for the first time, and witness how virtuosity and intimacy can exist hand in hand.
The Consort of Melbourne are joined by viola player Aaron Wyatt in an unusual and intriguing combination of musical forces. Experience surpassingly beautiful choral works encompassing themes of loss, nostalgia, and joy, many of them by Australian composers.
Repertoire: Paul STANHOPE Dawn Lament, EŠENVALDS Ancient Prairie, Carl VINE Miniature I, Clare MACLEAN Beannaicht an long: Blest be the boat, TORMIS Incantation for a Stormy Sea SHAW Its Motion Keeps, GENZMER Viola Sonata (excerpt), GJEILO Serenity, Deborah CHEETHAM Wooroongi Biik, MAHLER (arr. HODGSON) Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen
The Consort of Melbourne will feature the voices of Katherine Norman, Kristy Biber, Monika Harris, Jenny George, Hannah Pietsch, Alex Ritter, Tim Reynolds, Chris Watson, Ben Owen, Lachlan McDonald, Bailey Montgomery, Alex Owens & Paul McDonald. Directed by Steven Hodgson.
Fairfield in Feb – Spirit
Sunday 12 February 2023, 7:30pm
Fairfield Amphitheatre, Fairfield
The Consort of Melbourne was delighted to feature in this FREE festival - Fairfield in Feb.
Curated by Anish Nair, Fairfield in Feb presents a surprising and ever-changing feast for your ears by the beautiful banks of the Yarra River. Showcasing many vocal groups including Fiore Chamber & Alta collective alongside the Consort of Melbourne.
Program included works by Mozart, McDowall, Aleotti, Walker & Bach
The Consort of Melbourne featured the voices of Katherine Norman, Kristy Biber, Jenny George, Hannah Pietsch, Anish Nair, Tim Reynolds, Lachlan McDonald & Steven Hodgson (Director)
3MBS Marathon Concert 3 – Spirit
Saturday 11 February 2023, 2:00pm
Elizabeth Murdoch Hall, Melbourne Recital Centre
The Consort of Melbourne is delighted to feature yet again in the 3MBS Marathon.
In the hands of David Griffiths with Artamidae Quartet, Mozart’s iconic Clarinet Quintet will scale expressive heights leading naturally to the communicative power of the human voice as magnificently displayed by the Consort of Melbourne.
Program includes works by McDowall, Aleotti, Walker & Bach
The Consort of Melbourne will feature the voices of Katherine Norman, Kristy Biber, Jenny George, Hannah Pietsch, Anish Nair, Tim Reynolds, Lachlan McDonald & Steven Hodgson (Director)
Celebrating Queer Spirit - Justice and Joy!
Sunday 29 January 2023, 10:00am
St Michael’s Uniting Church, Melbourne
The service will include inspiring liturgy and beautiful music that honours the spirituality and resistance of queer people of faith. Led by St Michael’s lesbian minister, Rev Dr Margaret Mayman, with St Michael’s members and friends. Featuring The Consort of Melbourne LGBTIQA+ choir, singing selections from their Midsumma 2023 ‘Homophonic!’ repertoire.
The Consort of Melbourne will feature the voices of Katherine Norman, Kristy Biber, Alex Ritter, Hannah Pietsch, Robin Parkin, Ben Owen, Bailey Montgomerie and Steven Hodgson.
Directed by Steven Hodgson
Homophonic! 2023
Friday 27 & Saturday 28 January 2023, 8:00pm & 2:00pm 28 January
La Mama Courthouse, Carlton
New music by queer composers!
Homophonic! is bringing the disco ball to the concert hall! Celebrating Sapphic Symphonists, Homosexual Harmonies, and the long and proud tradition of queer music.
The Consort of Melbourne will feature the voices of Katherine Norman, Kristy Biber, Alex Ritter, Robin Parkin, Ben Owen and Steven Hodgson. Directed by Steven Hodgson & Miranda Hill.
#2:00pm Saturday 28 January is a Relaxed Performance
Vox Feminae
Thursday 10 November 2022, 8:30pm
Athenaeum Theatre 2 and Australian Digital Concert Hall
Melbourne’s premiere a capella ensemble breathes life into 1000 years of vocal harmony by women composers. From contemporary Aboriginal Australian composer Deborah Cheetham’s arresting Tarimi Nulay to Hildegard von Bingen’s twelfth-century O virtus sapientiae, hear how women composers in the last millennium have harnessed the power and beauty of human voices in perfect harmony. This concert was originally scheduled for July 2020 as part of the Women in Music festival, but postponed due to COVID restrictions.
The Consort of Melbourne will feature the voices of Katherine Norman, Amelia Jones, Jenny George, Hannah Pietsch, Timothy Reynolds, Ben Owen and Lucien Fischer. Directed by Steven Hodgson.
Homophonic! Out in the Open
Saturday 5 November 2022, 4:00pm
Top Floor, Shepparton Art Museum (SAM) | 530 Wyndham Street, Shepparton
Homophonic! is bringing the disco ball to the concert hall, celebrating homosexual harmonies, sapphic symphonists, and the glorious sound world of Australian LGBTIQ+ composers.
Featuring new works for voices and strings written inspired by the lives of regional LGBTIQ+ Victorians, including the Shepparton premiere of “Swerve”, written by Meta and Leona Cohen and inspired by Shepparton’s own Jenni George: one of Goulburn Valley Pride’s most loved community members!
Only one performance, so book now to experience this emotive, hilarious, and soaring music at the gayest chamber music concert the Goulburn Valley’s ever seen.
Directed and Presented by Homophonic! Artistic Director Miranda Hill; performed by The Consort of Melbourne and the Homophonic! string quintet.
The Consort of Melbourne will feature the voices of Katherine Norman, Kirsty Biber, Amelia Jones, Timothy Reynolds, Ben Owen & Steven Hodgson.
I Heart Artemis
Tuesday 27 September 2022, 7:30pm
Elizabeth Murdoch Hall, Melbourne Recital Centre
The Consort of Melbourne and The Melbourne Recital Centre presents the Australian premiere of a ground-breaking new piece by award-winning composer Wally Gunn and librettist Maria Zajkowski.
Rendered in stunning six-part vocal harmony, I heart Artemis is a concert-length reimagining of Greek mythology; goddesses Athena and Artemis meet, fall in love, and live a brief eternity of passion. But their paradise can’t last; on earth, men wage war, indulge their lusts, and exploit the land. The lovers must unite to defend what cannot defend itself.
I heart Artemis is a story about a mythological love and a very real crisis, which asks the most pressing questions about humanity’s future.
The Consort of Melbourne will feature the voices of Katherine Norman, Amelia Jones, Kristy Biber, Robin Parkin, Alex Gorbatov & Steven Hodgson. Directed by Steven Hodgson.
3MBS Music She Wrote Festival - Concert 1: RESTORE
Friday 23 September 2022, 7:00pm
Malvern Banquet Hall, Melbourne
The opening concert of this 3 day festival rediscovers things we’ve lost over the last two and a half years – the vibrant energy of life’s bubbling rhythm, and voices raised together in song. Firecracker flautist Eliza Shephard (pictured) doesn’t beat around the bush in smashing stereotypes of women composers’ music. There’s not a whiff of quiet domestic wallflower in her solo set, called Bring the Beat Back, filled with driving rhythms and wild exuberance.
Following Eliza is the sublime Consort of Melbourne, who will set the Malvern Banquet Hall ringing with their six-piece a cappella line-up. Their concert celebrates the music written by women against all odds: from some of the first published female composers to Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel and Clara Schumann (who sacrificed their own careers for their families), to contemporary Australian and British composers.
Sally Whitwell/Hildegard von Bingen O wisdom; Raffaela Aleotti Vidi speciosam (I saw the fair one); Vittoria Aleotti O dolce eterno Amore (O sweet eternal love) & Io, dal sofferto fuoco (I, scorched by the fire); Maddalena Casulana Io di odorate fronde (I, from the scented fronds) & O notte, o cielo, o mare (Oh nigh, oh sky, oh sea); Cecilia McDowall Alma redemptoris mater (Loving Mother of the Redeemer); Clara Schumann Abendfeier in Venedig (Evening celebration in Venice); Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel Schöne Fremde (A beautiful foreign land) & Schiflied (Reed song); Alice Chance Shadow
The Consort of Melbourne featured the voices of Katherine Norman, Amelia Jones, Alex Ritter, Timothy Reynolds, Lucien Fischer & Steven Hodgson. Directed by Steven Hodgson
Homophonic! presents RESPECT
Sunday 24 July 2022, 7:30pm
The Reading Room, Fitzroy Town Hall
Homophonic! is bringing the disco ball to the Fitzroy Town Hall and celebrating the long and proud history of queer musical artistry with a program written by, for, and about lgbtiq+ victorians. Presenting for the first time, 5 works from the RESPECT commissioning project, telling the stories of LGBTIQ+ elders through music.
Written by Louisa Trewartha, Caerwen Martin, Meta Cohen, and premieres by Naima Fine and Andrew Aronowicz; these works for voices and strings are inspired through intergenerational conversations between composers and the elders being recognised. They are emotional, powerful storytelling; maintaining our shared cultural queer history through music, humour, and a healthy dose of shared outrage.
Meta Cohen Swerve; Caerwen Martin I am who I am; Naima Fine Safe Hands*; Louisa Trewartha Shimmer; Andrew Aronowicz Blown Away* World Premieres*
Directed and Presented by Homophonic! Artistic Director Miranda Hill.; performed by The Consort of Melbourne and the Homophonic! string quintet.
The Consort of Melbourne will feature the voices of Katherine Norman, Renée Heron, Alex Ritter, Timothy Reynolds, Ben Owen & Steven Hodgson.
Homophonic! presents RESPECT is supported by On the Road Again, a Victorian Government initiative to bring live music back across the state.
Acis & Galatea
Thursday 14 & Saturday 16 July 2022, 7:30pm
75 Reid St, Fitzroy North
George Frideric Handel’s Acis and Galatea, his much-loved pastoral opera, traverses pathos, joy, humour, rage, and tragedy in equal measure.
Genesis Baroque is joined by Karen Fitz-Gibbon (Galatea), Robert Macfarlane (Acis), Nicholas Dinopoulos (Polyphemus), and The Consort of Melbourne, for this contemporary production staged semi-in-the-round in the charming 1920s surrounds of 75 Reid St in Fitzroy North. Directed by Macfarlane, this is a rare Baroque opera treat for Melbourne!
The Consort of Melbourne will feature the voices of Katherine Norman, Amelia Jones, Renée Heron, Elizabeth Chong, Leighton Triplow, Ben Owen, Lucien Fischer & Steven Hodgson.
Women in Song
Sunday 3 July 2022, 3:00pm
St George’s Anglican Church, Travancore
Performing this FREE concert as part of the City of Moonee Valley ‘Winter Fest’, The Consort of Melbourne celebrates the music written against all odds by women composers throughout Western musical history: Vittoria/Rafaela Aleotti and Maria Casulana, whose music was among the first by a woman to appear in print; Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, who published works under her brother Felix’s name to protect the family’s reputation; and Clara Schumann, who felt she needed to curb her compositional output in order to better care for her family. This music is heard alongside works by some of our favourite composers of vocal music active today – Australian composers Sally Whitwell and Alice Chance, and British composer Cecilia McDowall.
Hildegard von Bingen O rubor sanguinis; Sally Whitwell O wisdom; R Aleotti Vidi speciosam, Exurgat Deus & Ascendens Christus in altum; Smyth Komm süsser Tod; V Aleotti O dolce eterno Amore & Io, dal sofferto fuoco; Casulana Io di odorate fronde & O notte, o cielo, o mare; McDowall Photo 51; Schumann Abendfeier in Venedig & Gondoliera; Mendelssohn Hensel Schöne Fremde & Schiflied; Alice Chance Shadow
The Consort of Melbourne will feature the voices of Marjorie Butcher, Amelia Jones, Alex Ritter, Chris Roache, Lucien Fischer & Steven Hodgson. Directed by Steven Hodgson.
Palimpsest
Tuesday 31 May 2022, 7:30pm
Elizabeth Murdoch Hall, Melbourne Recital Centre
A concert of ancient texts brought to life with luscious vocal harmonies. Works by Ola Gjeilo, Ildebrando Pizzetti, Christopher Theofanidis and Orlande de Lassus, based on poetry by Sappho and Rumi as well as excerpts from the Song of Songs and a new work by Melbourne Recital Centre composition award winner Irene Zhong.
Hear how composers through the centuries draw on ancient words to create music of transcendent beauty.
Irene Zhong Sappho Fragments*; Ildebrando Pizzetti 2 Composizioni Corali; Ola Gjeilo Northern Lights; Christopher Theofanidis Messages to Myself; Orlande de Lassus Surge propera, Veni in hortum meum and Quam pulchra es; Eric Whitacre This Marriage
*World Premiere
The Consort of Melbourne will feature the voices of Katherine Norman, Kristy Biber, Jenny George, Hannah Pietsch, Robin Parkin, Alex Gorbatov, Lucien Fischer & Jerzy Kozlowski. Directed by Steven Hodgson.
Wominjeka Song Cycle
Tuesday 12 April 2022, 7:30pm
Elizabeth Murdoch Hall, Melbourne Recital Centre
Yorta Yorta composer and soprano Deborah Cheetham together with Melbourne’s leading choral and orchestral musicians from Short Black Opera, Dhungala Childrens’ Choir, Ensemble Dutala, Orchestra Victoria, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and The Consort of Melbourne.
A night of celebration and reconciliation, audiences will be taken on a journey through the traditional languages of the Boon Wurrung, Yorta Yorta and Wadawurrung nations in this powerful and evocative performance.
The Consort of Melbourne featured the voices of Katherine Norman, Kristy Biber, Jane Wiebusch, Jenny George, Hannah Pietsch, Alex Ritter, Leighton Triplow, Alex Gorbatov, Ben Owen, Paul McDonald, Bailey Montgomery & Steven Hodgson - Directed by Steven Hodgson
Geelong Rainbow - Homophonic!
Friday 8 April 2022, 7:30pm
Geelong West Neighbourhood House, 89 Autumn Street, Geelong West, VIC 3218
Homophonic! brings the disco ball to the concert hall! Celebrating sapphic symphonists, homosexual harmonies, and the strong artistic legacy of composers being queer as the day is long. Returning to Geelong Rainbow Festival with music written by, and for, regional queer Victorians played on string quintet with vocal ensemble The Consort of Melbourne.
Featuring: a new work by ARIA award-winning composer and pianist Sally Whitwell, detailing the A-Z of her lockdown experience with humour, pathos, and a healthy amount of ranting; a premiere by Meta Cohen, inspired by the life and stories of a long-term Goulburn Valley Pride volunteer; and more! Come and experience the sound world of todays composers, and the music inspired by our very gay lives.
Directed and MC'd by Miranda Hill, performed by the Homophonic! String Quintet and the Consort of Melbourne directed by Steven Hodgson. Supported by Creative Victoria.
Meta Cohen Swerve; Sally Whitwell - Lockdown Alphabet
The Consort of Melbourne featured the voices of Katherine Norman, Kristy Biber, Alex Ritter, Alex Gorbatov, Ben Owen and Lachlan McDonald. Directed by Steven Hodgson.
3MBS Music She Wrote Festival - Concert 1: RESTORE
Wednesday 6 April 2022, 8:00pm
Chapter House, Flinders Lane, Melbourne
The opening concert of this 3 day festival rediscovers things we’ve lost over the last two years – the vibrant energy of life’s bubbling rhythm, and voices raised together in song.
Firecracker flautist Eliza Shephard doesn’t beat around the bush in smashing stereotypes of female composers’ music in her opening set! There’s not a whiff of quiet domestic wallflower in her solo set, Bring the Beat Back, filled with driving rhythms and wild exuberance.
Following Eliza is the sublime Consort of Melbourne, will set the vaulted ceilings of Chapter House ringing with their six-piece a-capella line up. Their concert celebrates music written by women against all odds. From some of the first published female composers, to Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel and Clara Schumann who sacrificed their own careers for their families, to contemporary Australian and British composers.
Sally Whitwell O wisdom; R Aleotti Vidi speciosam; V Aleotti O dolce eterno Amore & Io, dal sofferto fuoco; Casulana Io di odorate fronde & O notte, o cielo, o mare; McDowall Photo 51; Schumann Abendfeier in Venedig; Mendelssohn Hensel Schöne Fremde & Schiflied; Alice Chance Shadow
The Consort of Melbourne featured the voices of Katherine Norman, Monika Harris, Jenny George, Timothy Reynolds & Lucien Fischer. Directed by Steven Hodgson
Homophonic! Bendigo Pride
Sunday 20 March 2022, 1:00pm
The Engine Room, Bendigo
Homophonic! is bringing the disco ball to the concert hall, celebrating homosexual harmonies and sapphic symphonists, and the work of Australian queer composers. Featuring the Homophonic! string quintet, the transcendent Consort of Melbourne vocal ensemble, and presented by Artistic Director Miranda Hill.
Meta Cohen Swerve*; Sally Whitwell Lockdown Alphabet*
* World Premiere
The Consort of Melbourne featured the voices of Katherine Norman, Kristy Biber, Alex Ritter, Alex Gorbatov, Ben Owen and Lachlan McDonald. Directed by Steven Hodgson.
The Ascendant
Thursday 24 February 2022, 8:30pm
Australian Digital Concert Hall
The much-awaited Melbourne premiere of The Ascendant by Wally Gunn (music) and Maria Zajkowski (text). Between the movements of this work, the musical textures and devices used by Gunn – hockets, canons, rounds and ostinato – are echoed in Le lai de la fonteinne by Medieval master Guillaume de Machaut.
Wally Gunn and Maria Zajkowski The Ascendant#
Guillaume de Machaut Le lai de la fonteinne
#Australian Premiere
The Consort of Melbourne featured the voices of Katherine Norman, Amelia Jones, Alex Ritter, Jenny George, Robin Parkin, Alex Gorbatov, Lachlan McDonald and Steven Hodgson. Directed by Steven Hodgson.
For this performance we are joined by percussionist Dan Richardson on Drum Set.
Transcend
Wednesday 28 April 2021, 6:30pm
Elisabeth Murdoch Hall, Melbourne Recital Centre
Inspired by saxophonist Jan Garbarek’s famous Officium collaboration with The Hilliard Ensemble, the evening features vocal music from the 12th to the 16th centuries, interlaced with delicate piano improvisations and interludes. Musical treasures, including Perotinus’s Beata Viscera and Hildegard von Bingen’s Columba Aspexit, are brought into new light by this evocative collaboration that transcends musical boundaries.
Gemma Turvey piano
Featuring the vocal talents of Katherine Norman, Kristy Biber, Amelia Jones, Alex Ritter, Alex Gorbatov, Chris Watson, Lachlan McDonald & Steven Hodgson. Directed by Steven Hodgson.
"Homophonic": Midsumma
Saturday 24 & Sunday 25 April 2021, 2:00pm & 7:30pm
La Mama Courthouse, 349 Drummond St, Carlton VIC 3053
* Relaxed Performance 2:00pm Saturday 24 April
Homophonic! celebrates 10 years of mind bending queer classical music. Featuring Homosexual Harmonies, Sapphic Symphonists, a double belled bass trombone, and a harpsichord. Come and experience the soundworld of LGBTIQ+ composers as we bring the disco ball to the concert hall!
Homophonic! The queerest classical music concert with a cult following. Featuring the winner of the Homophonic! Pride Prize: Shoeb Ahmad’s work for double belled bass trombone and electronics performed by Ben Anderson; a new work by the creative dream team of Wally Gunn, Maria Zajkowski, and the Consort of Melbourne; and we’re making the old new again with a quartet for baroque instruments by Louisa Trewartha.
Featuring the vocal talents of Katherine Norman, Kristy Biber, Alex Ritter, Daniel Riley, Christopher Roache, Ben Owen & Steven Hodgson. Directed by Steven Hodgson.
This 3 Shades Black Production is Produced and MC’d by Miranda Hill
"Homophonic": Bendigo Pride Festival
Sunday 21 March 2021, 5:00pm
Engine Room Theatre, 58 View St, Bendigo VIC 3550
Classical music has a rich heritage of LGBTIQ+ musicians and composers, and we are celebrating their legacy by performing an exciting program featuring famously gay composers alongside new Australian music that is sure to entertain and enlighten even the most experienced concert goer. Featuring works for strings and voices performed by Melbourne’s most in demand professional chamber musicians, joined by the stunning voices of The Consort of Melbourne.
Featuring the vocal talents of Katherine Norman, Kristy Biber, Alex Ritter, Christopher Roache, Ben Owen & Steven Hodgson. Directed by Steven Hodgson.
Chillout: "Homophonic"
Saturday 6 March 2021, 5:00pm
Hepburn Pavilion Cafe Ampitheatre, Hepburn Springs, Victoria
Classical music has a rich heritage of LGBTIQ+ musicians and composers, and we are celebrating their legacy by performing an exciting program featuring famously gay composers alongside new Australian music that is sure to entertain and enlighten even the most experienced concert goer. Featuring works for strings and voices performed by Melbourne’s most in demand professional chamber musicians, joined by the stunning voices of The Consort of Melbourne.
Featuring the vocal talents of Katherine Norman, Kristy Biber, Jenny George, Christopher Roache, Ben Owen & Steven Hodgson.
Directed by Steven Hodgson.
MDCH: "Elysium: Glimpsing the Beyond"
Wednesday 3 March 2021, 7:00pm
Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne
The Consort of Melbourne will perform for the Melbourne Digital Concert Hall, in front of a Live Audience. Repertoire includes a selection of a acapella works by composers including Esenvalds, Harris, Nielsen, Schütz, Muhly, Bairstow, Bach, Rachmaninov, Chance & Mazzoli.
Featuring the vocal talents of Katherine Norman, Kristy Biber, Jenny George, Hannah Pietsch, Robin Parkin, Christopher Roache, Lucien Fischer & Thomas Drent. Directed by Steven Hodgson.
The Consort of Melbourne Sopranos: Free Lunchtime Concert
Wednesday 10 February 2021, 1:00pm
St Paul’s Cathedral,
Melbourne The Sopranos of The Consort of Melbourne (Katherine Norman & Kristy Biber), accompanied by Michael Fulcher will perform a selection of duets by their favourite composers including Bach, Purcell, Notari, Monteverdi & more
Entry is Free
Homophonic! Daylesford
Friday 6 March 2020, 6:30pm
Daylesford Town Hall, 76 Vincent St, Daylesford 3460
Celebrating Sapphic Symphonists, Homosexual Harmonies, and the long and proud tradition of composers being as gay as the day is long.
Classical music has a rich heritage of LGBTIQ+ musicians and composers, and we are celebrating their legacy by performing an exciting program featuring famously gay composers alongside new Australian music that is sure to entertain and enlighten even the most experienced concert goer.
Featuring works for strings and voices performed by Melbourne’s most in demand professional chamber musicians, joined by the stunning voices of The Consort of Melbourne. We’re bringing the disco ball to the concert hall!
Artistic Director: Miranda Hill, Ensemble: 3 Shades Black, The Consort of Melbourne, directed by Steven Hodgson.
Homophonic! is supported by the Victorian Government through Creative Victoria.
Homophonic!
Thursday 30 January - Saturday 1 February 2020, 7:30pm
Saturday 1 February 2020, 1:30pm
La Mama Courthouse, 349 Drummond St, Carlton VIC 3053
Thursday 6 February 2020, 8:00pm
The Potato Shed, 29–41 Peninsula Dr, Drysdale, VIC 3222
Homophonic! is back for it’s 9th fabulous year. Come join us at La Mama Courthouse for an evening of new classical music by queer composers. Celebrating Sapphic symphonists, homosexual
harmonies, and the long and proud tradition of composers being as gay as the day is long.
Classical music has a rich heritage of LGBT musicians and composers, and this concert is celebrating their legacy by performing the work of 20th and 21st century queer composers, in an exciting program featuring famously gay composers alongside new Australian music that is sure to entertain and enlighten even the most experienced concert goer. Featuring the first winner of the Homophonic! Pride Prize! The first composition competition for queer identified composers.
We’re bringing the disco ball to the concert hall! Come along to hear some of Melbourne’s most in demand classical musicians play some outlandishly fabulous music, and experience the sound world of the LGBT composers of today.
Peace on Earth
Saturday 30 November 2019, 2:30pm
Our Lady of Mt Carmel 210-218 Richardson St, Middle Park VIC 3206
A concert of choral masterpieces for the advent season. Hear one of Melbourne's most in-demand vocal ensembles perform some of the most brilliant and moving music ever written, featuring works by Lauridsen, Poulenc, Schoenberg, Distler, McDowall, Distler, Mouton, Perotin and de Lassus in one of Melbourne's best choral acoustics - Our Lady of Mt Carmel, Middle Park.
PROGRAM: Perotin - Beata Viscera; Distler - Es ist ein Ros entsprungen; Lauridsen - O magnum mysterium; McDowall - O oriens; Mouton - Nesciens mater; Poulenc - 4 Motets pour le temps de Noël; de Lassus - Alma redemptoris mater; Schoenberg - Friede auf Erden
Featuring the vocal talents of Katherine Norman, Kristy Biber, Jenny George, Hannah Pietsch, Robin Parkin, Douglas Kelly, Lachlan McDonald and Lucien Fischer. Directed by Steven Hodgson.
Eumeralla: A War Requiem for Peace
Saturday 15 June 2019, 7:00pm
Hamer Hall 100 St Kilda Rd, Southbank VIC 3004
Deborah Cheetham AO soprano (Yorta Yorta) | Linda Barcan mezzo soprano | Don Bemrose baritone (Gungarri) | The Consort of Melbourne | MSO Chorus | Dhungala Children’s Choir
“One day I hope to walk on that country and feel no restless spirit – just the strength of two thousand generations of lives lived and culture sustained.”
Southwest of Melbourne lies a battleground, haunted with the memory of war and loss. The scars of the Eumeralla Resistance War (1840 – 1863) lie heavily upon the country.
“I first walked on this battlefield in 2013. The voices of those lost were so loud that it woke something in me and my immediate response was music. A song. A Requiem. A War Requiem, named in honour of one of the most brutal resistance wars fought on this continent.”
Eumeralla, a War Requiem for Peace brings into focus a period of Australia’s history that is yet to be fully understood. Written and composed by acclaimed Yorta Yorta soprano, composer and Artistic Director of Short Black Opera, Deborah Cheetham AO, this requiem for peace, will be sung entirely in the ancient dialects of the Gunditjmara people.
“It is my hope that this requiem will help the spirits of those who fell to find a lasting peace and that we, their descendants, might find our way to deeper understanding of the legacy of these battles.”
Eumeralla: A War Requiem for Peace will break the silence of so many decades and serve to amplify the importance of our nation’s shared history.” – Deborah Cheetham AO
In 2019 we celebrate the United Nation’s International Year of Indigenous Languages, and the 10th birthday of the Dhungala Children’s Choir.
Between Worlds:Music for viola and voice
Sunday 19 May 2019, 3:00pm
Our Lady of Mt Carmel 210-218 Richardson St, Middle Park VIC 3206
Dr Phoebe Green Viola | The Consort of Melbourne |
Violist Phoebe Green joins the Consort of Melbourne for a moving programme of works by Bach, Kurtag, Gunn and Shaw in one of the city's best acoustics: Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Middle Park.
Featuring an intimate performance of Bach's celebrated funeral motet 'Jesu, meine Freude' interleaved with movements from Kurtag's 'Signs games and messages', this powerful concert is themed around life and death, with a sound world that moves effortlessly between solo viola and a capella voice.
Arvo Pärt: Passio
Sunday 24 March 2019, 3:00pm
Sacred Heart Church - Rathdowne St & Pelham St, Carlton VIC 3053
The Australian Boys Choral Institute is proud to present the magnificent Passion setting by the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt in the lead-up to Easter. Music by one of the most important composers of our time, and an event not to be missed.
The Australian Boys Choir | The Vocal Consort
Soloists of The Consort of Melbourne | Directed by Nicholas Dinopoulos
Homophonic!
Friday 31 January - Sunday 2 February 2019, 7:30pm
La Mama Courthouse 349 Drummond St, Carlton
Homophonic! is back for it’s 8th fabulous year. The Consort of Melbourne joins 3 Shades Black at La Mama Courthouse for an evening of new classical music by queer composers. Celebrating Sapphic symphonists, homosexual harmonies, and the long and proud tradition of composers being as gay as the day is long.
Classical music has a rich heritage of LGBT musicians and composers, and this concert is celebrating the legacy of artists such as Tchaikovsky, Poulenc, Copland and Cage, by performing the work of 20th and 21st century queer composers, in an exciting program featuring famously gay composers alongside new Australian music that is sure to entertain and enlighten even the most experienced concert goer.
We’re bringing the disco ball to the concert hall! Come along to hear some of Melbourne’s most in demand classical musicians play some outlandishly fabulous music, and experience the sound world of the LGBT composers of today.
Performed by 3 Shades Black, and compered by artistic director Miranda Hill. Homophonic! brings together Melbourne’s most in demand professional musicians, to perform some outlandishly amazing music.
Bach’s Four Lutheran Masses
Friday 16 November 2018, 7:30pm
Toorak Uniting Church - 603 Toorak Road, Toorak, Victoria 3142
Beloved musical personality Graham Abbott conducts an all too rare performance of all four of Bach's Lutheran Masses. Featuring the Consort of Melbourne with soloists Amy Moore (Soprano), Max Riebl (Countertenor), Christopher Roache (Tenor), Oliver Mann (Bass) and an orchestra of some of Australia's finest early music practitioners led by Dr. David Irving.
Eumeralla: A War Requiem for Peace
Sunday 14 October 2018, 3:30pm
Southcombe Park Stadium, Port Fairy
As a final chapter for the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival, we are thrilled to present (in collaboration with Short Black Opera) the world première of a major new work from indigenous composer Deborah Cheetham. She writes: “The name Eumeralla is unlikely to be among the theatres of war that you could name. I first walked on this battlefield on Gunditjmara country in 2013 – it woke something in me and my immediate response was music. A song, A Requiem. A War Requiem. It will be called Eumeralla and named in honour of one of the most brutal resistance wars fought on this continent. Sung entirely in the language of the Gunditjmara people, it is designed for non-Indigenous Australians to sing along-side Indigenous brothers and sisters. It is my hope that this song will help the spirits of those who fell – those who resisted and their aggressors, to find a lasting peace and that we their descendants might find our way to deeper understanding of the legacy of these battles.
Deborah Cheetham AO - Soprano (Yorta Yorta), Linda Barcan - Mezzo Soprano, Don Bemrose - Baritone (Gungarri), Dhungala Children’s Choir (Gunditjmara, Wadawurrung, Yorta Yorta), The Consort of Melbourne, Port Fairy Spring Music Festival Community Choir, David Kram - Conductor, PLEXUS Collective +, Jennifer Williams - Dancer (Githabul – Ngarakbul), Peter Barker Lovett - Dancer (Gunditjmara), Gary Lang - Choreographer (Larrakia)
Frank Martin’s Mass for Double Choir
Friday 5 October 2018, 7:30pm
Xavier College Memorial Chapel - 135 Barkers Rd, Kew VIC 3101
The Consort of Melbourne is joining forces with Canberra's Luminescence Chamber Choir to perform Frank Martin's sublime mass for double choir as well as BRAND NEW commissions from Elliott Gyger, Anastasia Pahos, Kim Cunio and Brad Gill, each drawing on a diverse range of spiritual and cultural traditions and texts to respond to Martin's deeply personal mass.
This very special programme will be conducted by Roland Peelman, with performances in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra:
Presented by Luminescence Chamber Choir
Homophonic!
Monday 29 - Tuesday 30 January 2018, 7:30pm
La Mama Courthouse 349 Drummond St, Carlton
Homophonic! is back for it’s 7th fabulous year. The Consort of Melbourne joins 3 Shades Black at La Mama Courthouse for an evening of new classical music by queer composers. Celebrating Sapphic symphonists, homosexual harmonies, and the long and proud tradition of composers being as gay as the day is long.
Classical music has a rich heritage of LGBT musicians and composers, and this concert is celebrating the legacy of artists such as Tchaikovsky, Poulenc, Copland and Cage, by performing the work of 20th and 21st century queer composers, in an exciting program featuring famously gay composers alongside new Australian music that is sure to entertain and enlighten even the most experienced concert goer.
We’re bringing the disco ball to the concert hall! Come along to hear some of Melbourne’s most in demand classical musicians play some outlandishly fabulous music, and experience the sound world of the LGBT composers of today.
Performed by 3 Shades Black, and compered by artistic director Miranda Hill. Homophonic! brings together Melbourne’s most in demand professional musicians, to perform some outlandishly amazing music.
Taylor Mac's 24-decade History of Popular Music
Wednesday 11 October 2017, 5:30pm
The Forum Theatre, Melbourne Festival Headline
From murder ballads to speakeasy jazz, Women’s Liberation anthems to Walt Whitman, this is a show 240 years in the making and 24 hours in the telling.
Taylor Mac’s mission is nothing short of extraordinary: to chart a complete social history of a nation through the music that scored its rebellions and revolutions, triumphs and tragedies.
Across four six-hour epics of staggering scale, Mac enlists the aid of over one hundred local and international performers—from acrobats and burlesque artists to choirs and marching bands—to join this fearless quest.
Hailed as a Ring Cycle for the 21st century, this once-in-a-lifetime experience has never been seen outside the US and is co-commissioned by and exclusive to Melbourne Festival. Part celebration and part exorcism, it’s a no-holds-barred extravaganza of music, history, performance and art that will take its place as one of the most spectacular stage events Melbourne has ever witnessed.
The Consort of Melbourne appeared as the Temperance Choir in Part 1 of this event.
SPIRITUALIZED
Sunday 20 August 2017, 7:30pm
Hamer Hall, SUPERSENSE festival headline & World Premiere
With the Australian Art Orchestra and the Consort of Melbourne
You never know where a Spiritualized album will take you, but you know it's somewhere you'll want to be led. From lavishly synthesised epics to down and dirty blues, soaring gospel melodies to all-out garage rock, the only sure thread to run through the outfit's 27-year existence comes in the form of the enigmatic figure at its centre, Jason Pierce aka J Spaceman.
Beneath the sublime harmonies and gossamer fragility there's always been the kind of timeless songwriting know-how that distinguishes the greats. How else to explain the enduring appeal of an album such as the iconic Ladies and Gentlemen... We Are Floating in Space, hailed as one of the defining works of 90s Britpop yet existing on a plane apart from its peers? Or the crushingly intimate Songs in A&E, composed in the wake of a double pneumonia that almost took its creator's life? By turns symphonic and unadorned, Spaceman's work is marked by a perfectionism that will not be denied.
Experience this one-of-a-kind musical dynamo as Spiritualized takes a tour of its back catalogue, with intriguing hints of what its future will hold.
"All the drama, heartache, torment and redemption you could ever want is right there in the music itself." - NME
Earth songs
Thursday 17 August 2017, 6:30pm
Melbourne Recital Centre, Local Heroes Series
Join Melbourne's elite vocal ensemble at the Melbourne Recital Centre for a programme of vivid musical landscapes painted in rich vocal harmony. The final concert in our 'Elements' series, Earth Songs travels from sleepy gardens to terrifying woods at night, and from the red centre of the Australian continent to green meadows in England. The Consort of Melbourne brings to life the pictures that composers have painted of earthly settings, real and imagined.
Presented by Melbourne Recital Centre and The Consort of Melbourne
Musica Viva: Symphony in Song
Tuesday 27 June 2017
Melbourne Recital Centre, Local Heroes Series
Whispers on the Wind
Sunday 5 March 2017
Castlemaine Old Gaol
Whispers on the Wind
Thursday 2 March 2017
Melbourne Recital Centre, Local Heroes Series
Voices o’er the Waves
Wednesday 9 November 2016
Melbourne Recital Centre, Local Heroes Series
Flames Within
Wednesday 15 June 2016
Melbourne Recital Centre, Local Heroes Series
Glass: Akhnaten Opera
Saturday 19 March 2016
Sutton Grange, Castlemaine
Baroque: Delalande, Desmaret Advent Vespers
Saturday 16 January 2016
Ballarat
Baroque: Delalande, Desmaret Advent Vespers
Saturday 28 November 2015
Newman College Chapel
NGV: Catherine The Great Exhibition
October & November 2015
Nataional Gallery of Victoria
Mozart Requiem
Saturday 7 November 2015
Baptist Church, Collins St Melbourne
Songs of the Home Front
Wednesday 7 October 2015
Melbourne Recital Centre, Local Heroes Series
Russian Concert
Sunday 13 September 2015
Russian Orthodox Church
New Palm Court Orchestra (NPCO) ‘Bridging Traditions’
Thursday 10 September 2015
Deakin Edge, Fed Square Melbourne
Voices of Remembrance
Thursday 6 August 2015
Melbourne Recital Centre, Local Heroes Series
Grainger ‘Glass Harmonies’ Workshop
Thursday 9 July 2015
Brighton Town Hall
Songs of Earth & Sky
Sunday 28 June 2015
Avondale Heights
Songs of Earth & Sky
Sunday 14 June 2015
Healesville
ANZAC Day Concert
Saturday 25 April 2015
St Paul’s Cathedral Melbourne
Songs of Earth & Sky Launch
Wednesday 22 April 2015
Montrose
Visions of Tomorrow
Wednesday 4 March 2015
Melbourne Recital Centre, Local Heroes Series