On a hot Saturday in the middle of a long weekend in Victoria’s soon-to-be-over summer, I drove back from a faraway beach to attend Ane Ta Abia, a collaboration between the composer-pianist Aaron Choulai, the Australian Art Orchestra (of which Choulai is Artistic Director) and the Tatana Village Choir.

Tatana is an island just off the coast of Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea (PNG). It is home to a small group of Motu-Koita people who, like so many in contemporary Port Moresby, live in conditions that do not reflect Papua New Guinea’s wealth of natural resources.

Aaron Choulai and the Australian Art Orchestra. Photo © Michael Pham

Held at the Playhouse (under the spire), the event initially seemed like it might be a bit of a fizzer. Just before 8pm, when the show was due to start, the capacious room was only about one-third full.

While we waited to see whether the audience would grow, I asked the woman next to me why she was attending. “Born and bred,” she said. “In Port Moresby.” She recalled attending school in Port Moresby with Choulai’s aunties and uncles.

The AAO has a...