Journey Through the Present

An exploration of the living voice in classical music — works by composers who are shaping the sound of our time, in Australia and beyond!

Performed by Myee Clohessy (violin) and Andrew Rumsey (piano), this program brings together some of Australia’s most distinctive contemporary composers alongside kindred international voices, offering an afternoon of music that feels immediate, intimate, and alive.

Featuring works by Robert Constable, Kenneth Lampl, John Ford, Lachlan Skipworth, Sally Greenaway, Elena Kats-Chernin and more, the program moves through reflective lyricism, shimmering textures, and rhythmically charged landscapes. These are pieces that speak in a modern language while remaining deeply connected to melody, atmosphere, and storytelling.

Rather than looking backward, this concert listens to the present moment — to music shaped by today’s cultural and emotional landscapes. The works are contemplative without being distant, expressive without excess, and grounded in a clarity that allows both violin and piano to sing with immediacy.

In a subtle nod to the lineage of the past, the program also includes Andrew Rumsey’s own recent arrangement of Rachmaninov’s beloved Vocalise. Reimagined with virtuosity and flair, this version becomes part of the same conversation: a historic melody refracted through a contemporary Australian lens. The past is not abandoned — it is renewed. The program concludes with one of the iconic, tragic, and timeless pieces written for the violin - Schindler's List by John Williams.

Journey Through the Present invites audiences to encounter classical music not as a museum tradition, but as a living art form — unfolding, evolving, and resonant with the world we inhabit now.