Composer, clarinettist and sound artist Aviva Endean has been named as one of three recipients of the Monash University Performing Arts Centre’s 2027 commissioning program.

Aviva Endean. Photo supplied

With the commission, Endean will collaborate with Monash University researchers working in environmental sciences to write a new 50-minute electroacoustic work, Clear Air Turbulence.

The work is inspired by the phenomenon of invisible turbulence and its “increasing prevalence in a changing climate”. Exploring the relationship between breath, wind and sound, the work will be premiered in the David Li Sound Gallery and utilise its Meyer Constellation sound system, which features real-time acoustic processing and 67 loudspeaker outputs.

Working across experimental and improvised music, Endean’s practice explores differing relationships with sound through spatial and participatory experiences. A member of collectives Hand to Earth, The Cloud Maker and Lung Swara. This year, she was awarded an Ian Potter Creative Fellowship and the Phillip Hunter Fellowship. Last week, she was nominated for three 2026 Art Music Awards; alongside guzheng performer Mindy Meng Wang, she is the most recognised artist this year.

Comedian, actor and writer Tom Ballard has also been awarded an MPAC commission. He will collaborate with astrophysics and philosophy researchers to write a solo theatre work The Sun Is Going to Explode, probing meaning in the face of the eventual death of the sun.

Queer arts collective Fast Fashun will develop DEAD FASHUN SOCIETY, an interactive installation and performance using fashion waste as a means of exploring identity, belonging and climate anxiety for teens and young adults.

“At MPAC, commissioning is about creating opportunities for artists and researchers to think and imagine together,” said MPAC Head of Programming Ruth Oakley.

“We are thrilled to support these distinct artistic voices, where all three proposals share deep commitment to curiosity, experimentation and collaboration.”

More about Monash University Performing Arts Cetnre’s 2027 comissioning program can be found here.