Plucky, if not audacious, would describe the decision by the National Capital Orchestra and Canberra Choral Society to take on two contrasting 21st century classical works for a winter concert.

Under the direction of Louis Sharpe, the community-based National Capital Orchestra has taken on big and ambitious projects in its past few seasons. Yet again, this time in collaboration with Canberra’s oldest community choir (prepared thoroughly by Dan Walker), they carried the program off with confidence, great attention to detail and dynamics, and delivered some genuinely magical moments.

Louis Sharpe conducts the National Capital Orchestra & Canberra Choral Society in The Armed Man. Photo © Michael Wilson

One can hardly attend a concert in Canberra in 2025 without Elena Kats-Chernin being on the program. Her Human Waves is an account in nine movements of the different perspectives and experiences of immigration to Australia over the decades.

Often quirky and humorous, but with some darker elements, it begins and ends with the choir singing words from the citizenship pledge with the very effective use of untuned percussion and building/retreating dynamics from the singers.

Traversing the gold rush, the experience of war, depression, Australian landscape...