After a thrilling weekend of Music Making, the Adelaide Festival Chamber Landscapes program is finally behind us. Huge thanks to all the fine musicians involved. Pictured above are myself and Claire Edwardes playing as part of the Twin Peaks experience, and pictured below are Australia’s three finest string quartets – the Australian, Goldner and Tinalley Quartets , who played together for the very first time – performing Shostakovich’s Op.110a Chamber Symphony.

Reviews of elements of the program are here:

In the Australian  ,

the Australian Stage ,

Adelaide Now ,

InDaily

and a 2nd in Adelaide Now

Dear friend and advanced human Tim Minchin let me loose on his most glorious song ‘White Wine in the Sun’. Now sitting in South Freo doing exactly as he asks.The link to the performance on the Late Late Show with James Corden can be found here.

Between Steven Magnusson’s guitar, Katie Noonan’s voice, Zac’s Sax, Michael Leunig’s live drawing and the exquisite sounds of the Sydney Symphony, it’s been a very weepy and wonderful week here in Sydney. Last show tonight at 8pm.

Pictures by @daisyhofstetterphotography

At the invitation of Rachel Healy and Neil Armfield, joint Artistic Directors of the Adelaide Festival, I have curated the chamber music program that will take place up in UKARIA, the magnificent intimate venue in the Adelaide Hills. Featuring some of Australia’s finest musicians, you can see the full program at the Adelaide Festival website.

I’m also involved in the opening weekend’s outdoor event – built by the creators of ‘Stomp’ – it’s the Lost & Found Orchestra – expanded out to include 500 Adelaide performers. You can see it here.

I was humbled to be granted an Honorary Doctorate from UWA last week. At the ceremony, I spoke of the primacy of Indigenous thinking in the cultural landscape of Australia – you can see the video on Facebook here.

With great joy I share the program for the Port Fairy Spring Music Festival for 2017 – filled with old friends and new, singing songs of their family’s histories, which together help form our country’s history.
Visit the website here

Whilst there’s only Pak Panggah’s and my name on this Helpmann, it so belongs to the whole magnificent Satan Jawa team. The statuette got delivered by members of the MSO to Solo last night, so that it can sit overlooking the rice paddies around Pak Panggah’s house, a symbol of Australia’s love for great Indonesian artists.
Thanks to all at asiaTOPA and MSO for making it happen.

See you tonight at the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay for Setan Jawa Movie Esplanade Concert Hall, July 21,2017 at 8 pm.

You can see us rehearsing here for the performances last month in Amsterdam with the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra for the Holland Festival.

And read a review in Realtime from the premiere performance in Melbourne in February here

You can read an article from Limelight Magazine about the composition process here.

The LPO are a marvel. They followed Meow to the end of the world.

And the audience stood and cheered, and we had the most wonderful time on stage.

P.S. I was accompanied at all times by my daughter’s soft toy Ailie.