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Sleeping
stories
2025 Australian Series
13 07524 CSO Event Tile SQ Sleeping S

Time-old stories inspire new commissions in this superb showcase of contemporary Australian music.

This expansive program offers contemporary reflections on ancient stories, exploring language, breath and memory.

We open with a new commission from Alice Chance, whose music embraces play and inclusivity. Chance’s radically melodic style welcomes us into a dynamic program of story and song.

Composed in memory of Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho, Spectre by Jane Sheldon weaves together electroacoustics, flute and subtle elements of spoken word. This beguiling piece explores the elusiveness of memory and offers an homage to the rich layers of Saariaho’s music.

The Ensemble returns to present new music from Peggy Polias, following the 2024 premiere of Lacuna, her setting of fragments from the Ancient Greek poet Sappho. Polias continues her enthralling explorations of ancient storytelling in a commission inspired by the lost world of Pompeii.

In Wilga’s Last Dance, Nardi Simpson extends breath to the singular recording of traditional Yuwaalaraay melody. This work honours Uncle Fred Reece from Lightning Ridge who made significant contributions to preserving traditional Yuwaalaraay language and story.

In 2021, Sally Walker played her flute on the bow of a boat near Port Stephens, to which dolphins emerged from the ocean around her. This program culminates in a regenerative commission from Dharug composer Christopher Sainsbury, drawing inspiration from Walker’s encounter and from the rhythm and lyricism of the Dharug word for dolphin: barru-waluri. Only a few Dharug songs survived colonisation; the original song for the barru-waluri is sadly no longer known. Sainsbury writes his new song with a sense of melancholy and as a kind of reclamation – and ‘something of the feel of an invigorating swim’.

Artists
Jessica Cottis Conductor
Sally Walker Flute, Artist in Focus
CSO Chamber Ensemble

Repertoire
ALICE CHANCE World premiere, new CSO commission
JANE SHELDON Spectre: three attempts to summon her
PEGGY POLIAS COMPOSER IN CONNECTION World premiere, new CSO commission
NARDI SIMPSON Wilga’s Last Dance: Last melody of the area
CHRISTOPHER SAINSBURY World premiere, new CSO commission

Duration
Approximately 1 hour.
When
Thu 20 MAR at 6:30PM
Venue
Canberra NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AUSTRALIA (GANDEL ATRIUM)
Accessibility
Wheelchair access
Ticket Prices
$68-76Adults
$62-69Concession (means-tested pensioner, full-time students)
$35Under 35
$16Student rush

* Transaction fee will be applied

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