The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s First Voices Showcase is not your typical concert, with the program giving equal time to the music (three short Australian works) and onstage conversations with the composers. The Showcase focusses the spotlight on the different ways in which these emerging composers are forging their identity through their music.  

Aaron Wyatt and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in the MSO’s First Voices Showcase 2026. Photo © Laura Manariti

The Showcase is an annual event initiated by the MSO to present works commissioned under the orchestra’s First Voices Composer Program. This year, it presents two works from the 2025 Program, one of which is a world premiere. 

First Nations conductor Aaron Wyatt has hosted and conducted every Showcase so far. Wyatt’s engaging manner creates a supportive mood and his graceful conducting is a joy to watch. 

James Howard is a Jaadwa composer, producer and sound artist, currently undertaking post-doctoral studies at the University of Melbourne. Nyirrimarr Ngamatyata /To Lose Yourself at Sea was written after the Voice Referendum, and it has an autobiographical spin. The protagonist is...