The remarkable Pearls is a celebration of 30 years of proudly cultivating a constellation of virtuosos as one of Queensland’s foremost chamber ensembles.

Co-Artistic Directors Ashley Smith and Margaret Blades carefully selected musical gems to create an intricate and eclectic program of pieces that transcended genres, centuries and continents.

Southern Cross Soloists: Pearls. Photo © Stephen Henry Photography

The didgeridoo of Chris Williams opened the concert with a Reconciliation Week Welcome to Country and provided an opportunity to announce another premiere: Binung goonj, a collaboration with jazz pianist and composer Joe Chindamo. The work adds to the SXS Didgeridoo Commissioning Project, which commissions three works for didgeridoo and classical ensemble annually until the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane.

The powerful, honeyed voice of Wakka Wakka soprano Nina Korbe penetrated the velveted darkness, while Tim Munro’s flute soared in the Concert Hall, transporting the audience to the Middle Ages with Hildegard von Bingen’s lustrous Spiritus Sanctus Vivificans. Korbe and Munro flanked the stage high above, enabling the sonorous, reverential waves of sound to blanket listeners while the strings droned in place of the organ.

Later,...