Festival Concert 5: Horizons

Genre: New Art Music (Classical)

Ensemble: Brisbane based Cerulean Collective

Time: Saturday 4 October, 10:30–11:30 AM

Venue: Palmwoods Memorial Hall, 1 Main Street, Palmwoods, Sunshine Coast Hinterland, Gubbi Gubbi (Kabi Kabi) Country.

Artists: Abigail Lui (vln), Emily Winter (vc), Alexandra Mison (piano), Bridget Wegner (vla)

About the Morning Concert:

Step into the future of Australian classical music with Cerulean Collective, a dynamic ensemble of emerging composer-performers from Meanjin/Brisbane.

Passionate about championing new sounds, stories, and voices, the group brings sensitivity, imagination, and a bold spirit of experimentation to the concert stage.

This special program and recently recorded new album, Horizons, shines a light on fresh works by Sophia Mackson, Alexandra Mison, and Abigail Lui, exploring themes of place, memory, landscape, and renewal.

From intimate reflections to expansive soundscapes, the concert offers a compelling snapshot of Australia’s next wave of new art music.

About Cerulean Collective:

Founded by UQ School of Music alumni Abigail Lui (violin), Emily Winter (cello), Alexandra Mison (piano), and Sophia Mackson (viola), the ensemble is committed to performing new Australian music with care and vitality. In April 2025, they launched their debut album Horizons with Corella Recordings, featuring works by Lui and Mackson alongside guest artists.

Music: Composers and noise makers based in Meanjin/Brisbane, Cerulean Collective are passionate about composing, programming, and championing Australian contemporary classical music. All alumni of UQ School of Music, they are merging as strong voices in the next wave of new art music and creative writing.

Concert Program:

Sophia Mackson - Centre for viola and cello
Alexandra Mison - Edna for solo piano
Alexandra Mison - Nostalgia for solo piano
Abigail Lui - Edge of a Blazing Sky for piano quartet
Abigail Lui - Wayfarers for piano trio (Venturing, Opal-lit, Homeward)

About the Ensemble:

Cerulean Collective is a Meanjin/Brisbane based ensemble that seeks to perform new music with sensitivity, creativity and care, championing local composers and instrumentalists. Comprised of core members Abigail Lui, Alexandra Mison, Sophia Mackson and Emily Winter, the group combines composition, performance, and creative writing to bring vivacious and engaging events to local audiences.

In April 2025 the group celebrated the launch of their first album, Horizons, through Corella Recordings. The album features music composed by Lui and Mackson, performed by Mackson, Helena Burns, Cerulean Collective, and Flora Wong, and is available on all streaming platforms.

About the Music:

Centre – Sophia Mackson

Inspired by the contrast between her quiet regional NSW upbringing and the bustle of Brisbane, Centre explores dualities of place and the search for balance. Moments of energy and stillness mirror the shifting pace of city and country life.

Edna – Alexandra Mison

Written in 2021, Edna was inspired by an abandoned house the composer imagined as a character. Tender and melancholic, the work reflects on lives unseen and the reminder to look beyond appearances.

Nostalgia – Alexandra Mison

A meditation on longing for the past, Nostalgia blends joy with melancholy to evoke the bittersweet essence of memory. Originally for solo instrument, it has since been reimagined for chamber ensemble and choir.

Edge of a Blazing Sky – Abigail Lui

Commissioned by Camerata in 2025, this work draws on Gil Jamieson’s outback panorama Jay Creek. Expansive and dramatic, it contrasts blazing light with shadow, evoking Australia’s vast landscapes and our smallness within them.

Wayfarers – Abigail Lui

This trio, inspired by Mary Hannay Foott’s poem Where the Pelican Builds, traces adventure, loss, and renewal. Three movements capture the thrill of journeying, the beauty of new horizons, and the healing found in community.

This project is proudly supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland, Queensland Arts Showcase Program, and the Regional Arts Development Fund, a partnership between the Queensland Government and Sunshine Coast Council supporting local arts and culture in regional Queensland.

This project is supported by the generosity of individual donors who supported our BOOST donor campaign matched by the Australian Government through the Australian Cultural Fund. Our fundraising partners are Sunshine Coast Arts Foundation and the Australian Cultural Fund.