Partnering with Sydney’s Pinchgut Opera, The ANU School of Music will present a week of concerts, recitals, workshops and talks culminating in its 2026 Keyboard Institute Open Day, showcasing what it describes as the largest accessible and playable historic keyboard collection – more than 40 significant period instruments and modern historical copies – in the Southern Hemisphere.

The program begins on Tuesday 29 September with an instalment of the School of Music’s regular lunchtime concert series, featuring three contrasting keyboard instruments from the ANU Keyboard Institute.

Instruments of the ANU School of Music’s Keyboard Institute. Photo supplied

Faculty pianists Sophie Min and Edward Neeman will be joined by violinist Chris Latham for a program spanning Bach and Beethoven alongside reimagined jazz standards. The concert will offer audiences the opportunity to hear three different instruments from the Institute’s collection.

On Thursday 1 October, guest artist (and Pinchgut Artistic Director) Erin Helyard will give a solo harpsichord recital featuring music by Bach and Handel.

Erin Helyard. Photo © Cassandra Hannagan

The centrepiece of the week will be the Keyboard Institute Open Day on Friday 2 October, when the School of Music will open its Historic Instrument Collection to the public.

The full-day program will include workshops, masterclasses, talks and tours, providing opportunities to see and hear rare historic keyboard instruments and learn more about their construction, history and performance.

The collection includes instruments that are available for musicians to play, reflecting the Institute’s focus on historically informed performance and the practical study of keyboard instruments.

The Open Day will conclude with an evening showcase concert featuring students, faculty members and guest artists. The concert will provide a final opportunity during the week to hear instruments from the collection in performance.

Established on 2005, the ANU Keyboard Institute is dedicated to the study, preservation and performance of historic keyboard instruments. Its collection provides musicians and researchers with access to instruments representing different periods and approaches to keyboard design and performance.

The ANU Keyboard Institute Open Day and associated concerts will take place at the ANU School of Music in Canberra, 29 September – 2 October.