First Voices Showcase Program
MSO First Voices
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s First Voices Composer Program is an initiative for emerging Australian First Nations composers. It aims to strengthen capacity and enhance cultural vibrancy through collaborations and the nurturing of talent. Each year, the program offers two participants an orchestral music commission, together with the opportunity to workshop their music with MSO musicians and staff as well as guest composer–mentors. The commissioned works are then premiered in the First Voices Showcase, now in its third year. Previous First Voices Composer Program recipients were James Henry, Vonda Last, Adam Manning and Leon Rodgers.
MSO musicians performing in this concert
Violins
Anna Skálová
Tiffany Cheng
Viola
Christopher Moore Principal Di Jameson OAM and Frank Mercurio*
Cello
Joshua Jones MSO Academy
Double Bass
Benjamin Hanlon Acting Assistant Principal
Flute
Joolee Kim MSO Academy
Oboe
Michael Pisani Acting Associate Principal
Clarinet
Philip Arkinstall Associate Principal
Bassoon
Jack Schiller Principal Dr Harry Imber*
Learn more about our musicians and the MSO Academy on the MSO website * Position supported by
Horn
Nicolas Fleury
Principal
Margaret Jackson AC*
Trumpet
Joel Walmsley MSO Academy
Trombone
Michael Lo MSO Academy
Percussion
Robert Cossom
Drs Rhyl Wade and Clem Gruen*
Artists
MUSIC AND IDEAS
First Voices Showcase
Wednesday 4 June at 6:30pm
Iwaki Auditorium, ABC Southbank Centre
Members of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Aaron Wyatt conductor and host Program
An evening of music and conversation featuring:
James Howard Nyirrimarr Ngamatyata // To Lose Yourself at Sea* [10’]
Leon Rodgers Seven Sisters [10’]
Nathaniel Andrew Fragments* [10’]
* World premiere of MSO commission
This concert begins with Deborah Cheetham Fraillon’s Long Time Living Here – a musical Acknowledgement of Country.
CONCERT EVENTS
This event will be filmed; there will be cameras in the auditorium
Running time: 1 hour without interval. Listed durations are approximate.
First Voices Showcase is proudly presented by MSO NAIDOC Week Major Partner Equity Trustees and MSO First Nations Circle.
Music and Ideas is supported by City of Melbourne.
Aaron Wyatt conductor
Aaron Wyatt is a violist, conductor, composer, programmer and academic. As a violist, he played regularly with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra before moving to Melbourne to take up an assistant lectureship at Monash. He continues to play with the award-winning Decibel New Music Ensemble and is the developer behind the Decibel ScorePlayer app, the group’s cutting edge, animated graphic notation software for the iPad. In 2021, he was the soloist in the premiere of Deborah Cheetham Fraillon’s Nanyubak for viola and orchestra, presented by the MSO.
An emerging conductor, he was musical director of Cat Hope’s first opera, Speechless, at the 2019 Perth Festival, receiving a Helpmann Award nomination. He has since taken on the role of director of Ensemble Dutala, a group created by Deborah Cheetham Fraillon AO to bring together Indigenous classical musicians from around the country. In 2021 he conducted the premiere of the first opera in Noongar, Koolbardi Wer Wardong by Gina Williams and Guy Ghouse, followed in 2024 by their opera Wundig Wer Wilura, both for WA Opera. In 2022, he became the first Indigenous Australian to conduct a state symphony orchestra in concert, directing the MSO in Long Time Living Here at the Myer Music Bowl. He has since conducted the Adelaide, Sydney and West Australian symphony orchestras, including opening the WASO’s 2024 Master Series with his own work The Coming Dawn.
As a composer, he was a participant in the Ngarra-Burria First Peoples Composers program, writing for Ensemble Offspring, and his recent commissions include work for the Canberra Symphony Orchestra. He has also written a number of electro-acoustic works for Decibel, GreyWing, Ensemble Dutala, and Kyla Matsuura-Miller’s Freedman Fellowship project, Three Conversations, and he is Artist in Residence with Speak Percussion.
Aaron Wyatt’s work with the MSO is generously supported by the Sage Foundation.
PHOTO: JESSICA BADER PHOTOGRAPHY
Program Notes
James Howard (born 1991)
Nyirrimarr Ngamatyata // To Lose Yourself at Sea
This work is an autobiographical spin on a classic tale of being lost at sea amidst a raging storm.
Following the opening theme, the scene reveals a picturesque nautical journey informed by swaying sextuplet rhythms. The sun is shining and the skies are clear. Our protagonist, a passenger aboard the vessel, is depicted by both the oboe and the clarinet, informing multiple layers of identity and personality. An underlying harmonic tension bubbles over. Night falls and a fierce storm hits. The passenger is thrown overboard, clinging to flotsam as relentless, rolling waves threaten all sense of direction and hope.
Following the calamity, the scene shifts to a calm and incorporeal space. A beacon of light cuts through the darkness, but what it signifies is unclear. The composition closes with a reinterpretation of the opening theme as the sun rises over the water. The passenger has reached their destination, but where that is, we cannot be certain.
About the composer
James Howard is a Jaadwa composer, producer and sound artist with a contemporary music practice that establishes connection to his First Nations culture, Country, and personal identity. His creative work informs a continuous process of cultural reclamation, often layering personal, family, and community narratives into long-form, improvised ambient and electronic works.
Drawing on a sonic palette featuring voice, synthesizers, archival samples and field
recordings, Howard’s compositions are driven by the potential for First Nations storytelling to be realised through contemporary electronic arrangements. In 2021 he released his first album, Variations on Country, followed in 2022 by the mini-album, Music from ‘The Third’. Later this year, he will release his second full-length album, Marrow, adapted from the soundtrack he composed for Australian Dance Theatre’s 2024 production of the same name.
In addition to Australian Dance Theatre, he has worked with a range of creative organisations, including Bangarra Dance Theatre, Rising Festival, Yirramboi and the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art. Gikilangangu Wergaia, his recent live performance project with Alice Skye and Michael Julian, won Best in Music at the 2024 Melbourne Fringe Festival.
In 2022 James Howard was awarded his PhD (Indigenous Arts and Culture) from the University of Melbourne for his thesis, Composing Cultural Reclamation: Reconnecting to an Indigenous cultural heritage through a music practice.
PHOTO:
Leon Rodgers (born 1987)
Seven Sisters
The star-dreaming story of the Seven Sisters holds a prominent place in the ancient narratives of Aboriginal Australia. Widely shared across its diverse regions and spanning half the breadth of the continent, its songline stretches from the depths of the central desert to the western coastline and traverses numerous language groups.
The story revolves around seven celestial siblings who form the Pleiades star cluster within the Taurus constellation. This star cluster extends beyond the celestial dreaming realm; it not only resonates with Indigenous cultures but is also acknowledged by the ancient Greeks.
In the story, seven sisters from one skin group (Napaljarri) are being pursued by a man from another skin group (JukurraJukurra), a Jakamarra man represented by the morning star. The sisters travel across the land and launch themselves from a steep hill into the sky in an attempt to escape. But the Jakamarra man follows the sisters, travelling in the form of a star seen in the Orion’s Belt star cluster, which is also seen as the base of the Big Dipper. Each night, the seven sisters launch themselves from earth into the night sky,
and each night the Jampijinpa man follows them across the sky.
In composing this piece, I sought to capture the essence of the seven sisters’ journey, which is one of flight, pursuit and resilience, engaging with themes of defiance against tradition and the unbreakable bond of sisterhood. It is my humble attempt to pay homage to this timeless tale and to honour the traditions of the past. Let us embark on this musical journey together, guided by the light of the seven sisters.
About the composer
Born and raised on the Sunshine Coast hinterland, Leon Rodgers began his journey into the world of music as a teenager, playing bass in various bands during and after high school. Fuelled by a growing passion for composing, he moved
to Melbourne to study sound production at RMIT. His musical palette is diverse, ranging from the grandeur of lush orchestral arrangements to the subtlety of minimalistic soundscapes. Leon is a proud descendant of the Worimi nation and his cultural heritage holds a significant place in his artistic identity. He is deeply passionate about collaborating with First Nations artists to amplify our stories and traditions through the power of music.
Leon was a 2024 First Voices Composer.
Nathaniel Andrew (born 1987)
Fragments
This work is an exploration of how ideas form, break apart, and reassemble in new ways. It moves through moments of clarity, tension, and uncertainty creating moments that shift and collide to find their place. Some thoughts dissolve, others persist, shaping something familiar yet new. The listener is invited to follow these fragments, letting them take shape in their own way.
This work is my first foray into orchestral composition, building on a foundation shaped by jazz and real-time improvisation. Improvisation has long been my primary mode of expression – composing in the moment, responding intuitively. Taking on this orchestral piece was both a personal challenge and a chance to expand my understanding of classical forms. Writing this score allowed me to shift from spontaneous creation to structured, intentional composition – a rewarding leap from sound in the air to notes on the page.
About the composer
Nathaniel Andrew is a dynamic multiinstrumentalist and vocalist with more than 20 years of experience in the music industry. Known for his versatility, he performs in a wide range of genres, from
jazz and country to contemporary music, making him a sought-after performer and educator.
As a Yamaha Artist, Nathaniel has graced stages worldwide, with highlights including playing at Macy’s Jazz Festival in Cincinnati (2009), where he shared the bill with legendary acts such as Jasmine Sullivan, Robin Thicke, The O’Jays, and Anita Baker. He has also opened for iconic artists such as Al Jarreau (2008), Chrisette Michele and Frankie Beverly & Maze.
With extensive teaching experience, Nathaniel has lectured and tutored at numerous conservatoriums, specialising in instrumental mastery and performance techniques. His work as a guest lecturer at Bootsy Collins’ Funk University highlights his commitment to music education and his passion for sharing the intricacies of music with the next generation.
Nathaniel Andrew is a proud Yorta Yorta, Wurundjeri and Vanuatu man. In his current role as the Senior Manager of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music Office, he works tirelessly to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander music creators, ensuring their voices are heard and their rights protected.
PHOTO: NAOMI ANDREW
