This year, community radio station 3MBS has themed its annual gala concert around the ‘Music of the Seasons’, a choice that is bound to resonate with weather-conscious Melburnians, who routinely face four in the one day.

The Hawthorn Arts Centre’s stately décor is the ideal setting for the opening item: a charming recital of love songs that anticipates or harks back to the joys of spring. Accompanied by pianist Coady Green, mezzo-soprano Chloe James gives a compelling performance, switching with ease from Berlioz to Hahn, Quilter, Sibelius and, finally, Tosti, while revealing considerable theatrical talent.

Coady Green and Chloe James. The 3MBS Gala Concert: Music of the Seasons. Photo © Samantha Meuleman

Collide Ensemble, comprising Yasmin Rowe (piano), Yelian He (cello) and Joseph Lallo (saxophone), brings the program into the 21st century with Snow, Moon and Flowers, a soundscape by contemporary French composer Camille Pépin. Pépin’s music is atmospheric, and the ensemble deftly exploits their instruments’ contrasting tones to evoke the Japanese scenes that inspired the work.

After Lallo swaps his alto sax for a soprano, Collide launches into a breathtaking arrangement of Percy Grainger’s Molly on the Shore, which sets “Molly”...