Interlude for the Heart | Music + Art + Poetry

A brief interlude in your busy day to nourish your own heart and soul.

This short, rich program of music and words will take place in front of the wall of glowing glass hearts in the exhibition, Harriet Schwarzrock: Fluid Presence.

You’ll experience an extraordinary performance by acclaimed chamber singers, Luminescence, entitled OF THE BODY VII: HOW TO HOLD A HEART by Dan Walker (2023). With glorious, unaccompanied human voices, a spoken word element written by heart surgeon Dr Kathy Magliato, describes how it feels to hold a human heart.

Participants will also encounter Persian love poetry, read by Dr Yazdan Mansourian as well as a reading of ‘Not Everybody Has a Dancing Heart’, a collection of social media posts written by Kate Morell, across a year when her heart — metaphorically and literally — demanded attention.

Poems, musings and music will be served with a slice of Persian love cake and a cup of cardamom tea.

About Luminescence:

Luminescence Chamber Singers is a vocal ensemble based on Ngunnawal and Ngambri country (Canberra, ACT). Led by mezzo soprano AJ America, Luminescence has emerged as one of Australia's most adventurous and dynamic ensembles, championing our original instrument: the human voice.

About Kate:

Kate Morell is a storyteller living with hearing and vision loss, who explores resilience in facing loss, hope as a radical act of survival, and stories that begin in darkness and grow towards light. Through memoir and fiction, she reflects on belonging, identity, and the courage to be seen even when light fades.

About Yazdan:

Dr Yazdan Mansourian has been a devoted reader of Persian poetry since his youth. For him, it is more than a literary tradition; it is a source of joy, reflection, and resilience in everyday life. Alongside his academic career, he continues to return to Persian poetry in his leisure time, while also enjoying gardening and running.