11 September 2025 Mornington
Aaron Wyatt conductor Eliza Shephard presenter
Aaron Wyatt is a violist, conductor, composer, programmer and academic. As a violist, he played with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra before taking up an assistant lectureship at Monash University. He is a member of Decibel New Music Ensemble and the developer behind the Decibel ScorePlayer app. In 2021, he was the soloist in Deborah Cheetham Fraillon’s Nanyubak, presented by the MSO.
As an emerging conductor, he was musical director of Cat Hope’s Speechless at the 2019 Perth Festival, and is the director of Ensemble Dutala. In 2021 he conducted the premiere of the first Noongar opera, Koolbardi Wer Wardong, followed by Wundig Wer Wilura (WA Opera). In 2022, he was the first Indigenous Australian to conduct a state symphony orchestra in concert, directing the MSO at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. He has since conducted the Adelaide, Sydney and West Australian symphony orchestras.
Aaron was a participant in the NgarraBurria First Peoples Composers program, and has composed for Ensemble Offspring and the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, as well as Decibel, GreyWing and Ensemble Dutala, and he is Artist in Residence with Speak Percussion.
Aaron Wyatt’s work with the MSO is generously supported by the Sage Foundation
Eliza Shephard is a vibrant flutist who is quickly paving her way as an educator, improviser and collaborator. A graduate of the Australian National Academy of Music, she also holds an honours degree and a master’s in Music, is a Teaching Associate at Monash University, and has studied and performed in Canada, New Zealand and the United States. She has received many accolades for her performances, including the International Woodwind Player Award at the Gisborne International Music Competition, and in 2022 she won the ABC Young Performers Award.
A fervent contemporary musician, Eliza has established a course on experimental techniques, The Extended Flute, and is a specialist on the Glissando Headjoint. She was a finalist in the Classical Freedman Fellowship in 2021 and is passionate about amplifying the voices of female musicians and composers. Her March of the Women project (2020–2023) is an exploration of repertoire by female-identifying composers, and she has now recorded a total of 124 works as part of this initiative.
Artists
MSO in Your Neighbourhood
Thursday 11 September 2025 at 4:30pm and 6:30pm
Peninsula Community Theatre, Mornington
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Aaron Wyatt conductor
Eliza Shephard presenter and flute
Program
An interactive musical adventure…
Matthew Hindson House Music: I. Kitchen, Garage, Workshop [8’]
Edvard Grieg Peer Gynt Suite No. 1: Morning Mood [4’] In the Hall of the Mountain King [3’]
Maurice Ravel Boléro [7’]
arranged by Luke Speedy-Hutton
Georges Bizet Carmen Suite No. 2: Habanera [2’]
Ross Edwards Tyalgum Mantras [8’]
Hans Zimmer & John Powell King Fu Panda: Oogway Ascends [2’]
arranged by Alex Johansson
Gioachino Rossini Galop from the William Tell Overture [3’]
This concert begins with Deborah Cheetham Fraillon’s Long Time Living Here – a musical
Acknowledgement of Country – arranged for string quartet by Luke Speedy-Hutton.
4:30pm: This concert will feature a work composed by children from the Mornington region in a creative music workshop at McClelland Sculpture Park on 6 September.
Running time: Approximately 50 minutes without interval
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is Australia’s preeminent orchestra, dedicated to creating meaningful experiences that transcend borders and connect communities. Through the shared language of music, the MSO delivers performances of the highest standard, enriching lives and inspiring audiences across the globe.
Woven into the cultural fabric of Victoria and with a history spanning more than a century, the MSO reaches five million people annually through performances, TV, radio and online broadcasts, as well as critically acclaimed recordings from its newly established recording label.
In 2025, Jaime Martín continues to lead the Orchestra as Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor. Maestro Martín leads an Artistic Family that includes Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor – Learning and Engagement Benjamin Northey, Cybec Assistant Conductor Leonard Weiss, MSO
Chorus Director Warren Trevelyan-Jones, Composer in Residence Liza Lim am, Artist in Residence James Ehnes, First Nations Creative Chair Deborah Cheetham Fraillon ao, Cybec Young Composer in Residence Klearhos Murphy, Cybec First Nations Composer in Residence James Henry, Artist in Residence – Learning & Engagement Karen Kyriakou, Young Artist in Association Christian Li, and Artistic Ambassadors Tan Dun, Lu Siqing and Xian Zhang.
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra respectfully acknowledges the people of the Eastern Kulin Nations, on whose un‑ceded lands we honour the continuation of the oldest music practice in the world.
Learn more about the talented musicians of the MSO at mso.com.au
