As flautist Sally Walker played her piccolo from the bow of a catamaran off the coast of Port Stephens, NSW, within minutes, there was a dolphin in the water near her.

As the strains of the music were borne by the salty breezes, Walker noticed that the dolphin was keeping pace with the boat. “It was swimming right under me, so I felt like I was flying on top of this dolphin. It was so thrilling and uplifting.”

Soon, the whole pod joined and stayed with the boat, audibly vocalising and being recorded by the boat’s hydrophone.

Sally Walker and dolphins at Port Stephens. Photo © Lyle Chan

Dr Sally Walker is a performer, academic and music educator. She is Senior Lecturer in Classical Performance (Woodwind) at the Australian National University and has a glittering career performing with elite chamber and symphonic ensembles in Australia and overseas.

Her encounter with the dolphins was part of a project she has planned for decades and which she is developing for the Canberra International Music Festival presenting the world premiere of her solo performance, Living Poems of the Sea, a 70-minute multi-media meditation on the...