For its first program of 2026, Sydney’s boundary-pushing chamber collective Ensemble Apex is venturing into shadowy territory.

Behind Me Is The Dark, a new concert conceived by artistic director and conductor Sam Weller, pairs four striking contemporary works with an immersive lighting design that responds directly to the music.

Presented in collaboration with lighting designer Andre Vanderwert – known for his work with the visionary dance company Chunky Move – the program explores what Weller calls the “liminal spaces” of sound and sensation: the thresholds between heat and cold, calm and violence, intimacy and vastness.

Ensemble Apex. Photo supplied

“It’s music that absolutely speaks for itself, but I think it’s also part of our job as musicians to help guide people into unfamiliar territory,” Weller explains. “If you’re asking someone to hear a piece for the first time – a piece that might seem difficult at first – it’s right and good to make that encounter as open and inviting as possible.”

The idea of integrating lighting into the performance was not an afterthought but a central part of the...