The Melbourne International Jazz Festival (MIJF) has announced improvising multi-instrumentalist, composer, and educator SOLUNE (Selene Messinis) as the 2025 leader of its Take Note program.

Prominent in Melbourne’s jazz and experimental music scene, SOLUNE is a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts with a major in jazz piano.

Her instrumental project, Mad Vantage – a progressive metal/jazz quartet – earned SOLUNE the MWIJF Recording Prize in 2021 and established her as a presence in the heavy music scene, incorporating synthesisers, distortion, and electronic textures into her compositions. She was recently named the recipient of the APRA AMCOS Professional Development Award for Jazz & Improvised Music.

As the 2025 Take Note leader, she will not only perform at the festival but also engage in educational outreach, mentoring emerging musicians and advocating for greater gender diversity in jazz.

Solune. Photo © Brittany Long

SOLUNE will also receive a cash bursary and professional development to support a new composition, which will premiere at the 2025 Melbourne International Jazz Festival (17–26 October). She will also embark on a Victorian high school tour, leading improvisation workshops across regional and metropolitan schools to inspire the next...