Taking the reins of a music festival in Australia’s current artistic climate might be a bit of a daunting prospect, but percussionist-composer Eugene Ughetti has made his name taking on daring musical bets. When he was offered the position at the head of Canberra International Music Festival, it was a no-brainer.

“I was ready for the adventure,” he tells Limelight.  “CIMF has always had an adventurous spirit. There’s always been this sense of pushing the envelope with doing projects in site-specific locations or taking risks or always commissioning new work; a really strong legacy of work with First Nations artists… what I’m acutely aware of is that I’ve been gifted a 30-year history as well as a festival, and it’s my job to nurture that and build on that legacy.”

Ughetti comes to CIMF as the co-Artistic Director of Speak Percussion, the Melbourne-based ensemble known for its own ambitious scope and engagement with new Australian music. It’s an ethos he’s carried over to his first CIMF program, where one of his primary goals is to “deepen the audience connection with the music”.

“I’m really keen to broaden the tent in terms of people who engage...