The Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra's Voyage of Musical Discovery music education series was established and designed by the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra and its founding artistic director and world-renowned educator, the late Richard Gill.
Presented in Melbourne for the first time in 2023, the Voyage of Musical Discovery is equal parts concert and demonstration. It comprises three separate programs, closely aligned with the Victorian secondary music curriculum. Co-artistic directors, Rachael Beesley and Nicole van Bruggen present each Voyage featuring musicians of the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra in the first half, and a contemporary guest artist or ensemble in the second half.
By placing new Australian music alongside earlier Classical and Romantic works, young listeners are shown the many compositional links and similarities in structure, tonality, rhythmic function, orchestration and modes of expression.
Since 2018, over 6,000 secondary school music students from Greater Sydney, Brisbane, and regional NSW and Queensland have attended the Voyage of Musical Discovery education programs. Each Voyage comes with a downloadable Education Kit, written by musician and educator Charles MacInnes.
The 2023 series of three Voyages in Terms 1, 2 and 3 shines the spotlight on female composers and can be bought individually or as a subscription.
Photo: Robert Catto
Design & Innovation
Thursday 9 March, 6.30pm
David Li Sound Gallery
The Ian Potter Centre for Performing Arts, 48 Exhibition Walk, Clayton
Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra
MOZART | Clarinet Quintet in A major, K.581 (1789)
Sally Whitwell | Composer, Piano
Anna Fraser | Soprano
Katy B Plummer | Video Installation Artist
Sally WHITWELL | Pictures at an ExHERbition
Sally WHITWELL | WE ARE ALL ASTONISHINGLY WISE
The first Voyage of Musical Discovery of 2023 introduces, demonstrates and explains key concepts of design and innovation in music across the centuries. Witness core elements of composition, performance and musicology align in contemporary creative practice, in Mozart's Clarinet Quintet presented by the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra, and in the latest Australian works performed by composer/pianist Sally Whitwell and guests.
Sally Whitwell, photo credit Maja Baska
Photo: Robert Catto
Cultural Narratives
Thursday 8 June, 6.30pm
David Li Sound Gallery
The Ian Potter Centre for Performing Arts, 48 Exhibition Walk, Clayton
Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra
Louise FARRENC | Nonet in E flat major, Op.38 (1849)
Anna McMichael | Violin Louise Devenish | Percussion
Damien BARBELER | Pressed
Bree VAN REYK | How We Fell
Kate MOORE | Memory Rings
The second Voyage of Musical Discovery charts the links between music, culture and narrative, from music from the early Romantic period performed by the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra to new music by Cathy Milliken, Daniel Blinkhorn, Kate Moore, Damian Barbeler and Bree van Reyk, performed by violinist Anna McMichael and percussionist Louise Devenish.
Photo: Robert Catto
Musical Identities
Thursday 3 August, 6.30pm
Robert Blackwood Hall
Monash University Clayton Campus
49 Scenic Boulevard, Clayton
Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra
MENDELSSOHN | Symphony No.3 in A minor, Op.56 ‘Scottish’ (1843)
Australian Art Orchestra Miyama McQueen-Tokita | koto
Aaron CHOULAI | Excerpt from Umi no uzu (Stirring the oceans)
The third Voyage of Musical Discovery reveals the multiple identities of composer and performer and the links between them. The Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra and members of the Australian Art Orchestra will explore common threads in music from the past and in the latest Australian music by Felix Mendelssohn and Aaron Choulai.
Miyama McQueen-Tokita, photo credit: Alex Kwong
“We teach music because it is unique and good. We teach music so that children can make their own music. We teach music because it acts in a unique way on the heart, mind, soul and spirit of the child, stimulating thought and imagination in very special ways. These are the real reasons for teaching music.”