Following more than 100 performances across regional Australia and internationally, The Bowerbird Collective will perform their award-winning multimedia work Where Song Began at the Melbourne Recital Centre on Saturday, 6 June.

Inspired by Tim Low’s acclaimed book of the same name which reveals the Australian origins of the songbird species, Where Song Began is an hour-long performance hailed as “spectacular” by this masthead and “like being sung to by the country” by audience members. 

Co-founders and performers of The Bowerbird Collective are violinist Simone Slattery, the current ANAM Ian Potter Fellow, and Anthony Albrecht, Australia’s first graduate from The Juilliard School’s Historical Performance program. Both hold PhDs and appear regularly as Principals with Van Diemen’s Band, Bach Akademie Australia, Pinchgut Opera and the Australian Haydn Ensemble, among others. 

The Bowerbird Collective. Photo supplied

In an interview with Limelight, Slattery spoke of her motivations for creating the work as a call to action for the protection of our threatened species.

“Thanks to our incredible birds, Australians are lucky to enjoy one of...