Established and designed by the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra’s founding artistic director and world-renowned educator the late Richard Gill, the Voyage of Musical Discovery is equal parts concert and demonstration. Co-artistic directors, Rachael Beesley and Nicole van Bruggen present each Voyage with musicians of the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra in the first half, and with a contemporary guest artist or ensemble featured in the second half. By placing contemporary Australian music alongside earlier Classical and Romantic works, listeners are shown the many compositional links and similarities in structure, tonality, rhythmic function, orchestration and modes of expression.
Each live Voyage performance and presentation is supported by an interactive digital education kit customised for the senior secondary curriculum of each state and of interest to music educators and lovers of music alike. Written by musician and educator Charles MacInnes, the kits identify common elements between historical and contemporary musics by guiding participants to design their own collaborative works in the classroom and ensemble. Drawing on the latest research in the field of historically informed performance, tomorrow's artists learn that the lines between the styles and centuries are not as distinct as often assumed – and most importantly – that the modern musician is equal parts collaborator, designer and improviser. By making music rather than doing it, a whole world of insight and discovery awaits.
