In a glittering display of the pinnacles of human creative achievement, our 2026 cast of caped crusaders dazzle with Reich’s heroic multi-clarinet minimalism, eight angelic a cappella voices, the eight Herculean hands of the Hungarian Rhapsody, our blazing string octet’s fearless scream of resistance to oppressive regimes, and culminating with…

Kung Fu in rhythmic technicolour Presented by electronic/acoustic duo Shugorei, The Sounds of Chow Gar is an epic cinematic portrayal of traditional Chinese solo kung fu forms, set to original music for percussion, strings and electronics. The film is accompanied by musicians live on stage, matching the practitioners’ movements and…

Stefan and Stephen We revel in the monumental sound of two spellbinding pianos and their master conjurers, in an exquisite all-French program invoking the spiritual, the enchanted, the mythical, and the delirious. Past and present Festival directors Stephen and Stefan pool their pianistic talents in this celebration of poetic power.…

High-octane album launch Grace Kenny, also known as GK or Greatness Known, is a spoken word poet, hip hop artist and performer from South West Victoria. Sharing her stories through song from before she could talk, Grace finds inspiration in emotion. There’s an undeniable magnetism that draws audiences to GK…

Visions of eternity The acclaimed Darlington Quartet join forces with Festival Co-Director Stefan Cassomenos in a quest to the borderless reaches of time and space. The journey begins with Beethoven’s world-changing Sonata in C-sharp minor, subtitled “Quasi una fantasia” — almost a fantasy — now universally revered as his Moonlight…

Constellation of creativity Still ablaze from its Coriole Music Festival premiere in May, Belinda Gehlert’s shimmering quartet Stellar traces the life-cycle of a star as a mirror for the phases of human existence. To Be Human, a seven-part song-cycle for tenor, electric guitar and strings, asks some essential 21st-century questions…

Starring Deon Cameron Discover an unforgettable world of music and imagination with Carnival of the Animals. Music, mischief, and theatrical sparkle combine in this brand new production of Camille Saint-Saëns’ classic musical masterpiece for children, featuring lions, hens, roosters, wild donkeys, tortoises, elephants, kangaroos, an aquarium, an aviary, a cuckoo,…

Pianists collide Fearless pianistic daredevils Raineri and Cassomenos embark on a supercharged two-piano trajectory of explosive fusion. Musical fragments are hurled back and forth like subatomic particles through plasma in Adams’ Hallelujah Junction; Rachmaninov ’s second suite then strides in Alla Marcia with regimented precision, giving way to the breathtaking…

Our 2026 Closing Gala strikes at the glowing core of what causes our human nature to gravitate to the superhuman. From the birth of the expression of our shared humanity – in the Baroque worlds of Jean-Féry Rebel & Jean-Philippe Rameau, and in the awe-inspiring expression of millennia of culture…