“The Dreaming Track in the sky! Planets making the pathway! Travelling pathway joins to all different areas.”

The words of Wardaman Elder Bill Yidumduma Harney take us to the heart of Bach – A Child of the Stars, the September concert series from the Bach Akademie Australia.

Inspired by the Morning Star, Venus, the program curated by founding artistic director Madeleine Easton features astral-themed pieces by JS Bach, Tomás Luis de Victoria and Vincenzo Galilei, lutenist, composer, and father of astronomer Galileo Galilei. Nestled among these pieces which reach back in time, is a new commission, Clans – also inspired by the Morning Star – composed by Indigenous musician Troy Russell.

As we talk, Easton points breathlessly to the sky. “Look! There it is!” Venus is sparkling in the fading light in its incarnation as the Evening Star. “That’s the star that Bach saw, and the Indigenous people of Australia. It connects us through time and place and now Troy is writing a piece especially for us, inspired by that very same star.”

Madeleine Easton. Photo supplied

Easton outlines her vision. “My aim was to find a way to unite our inspiration...