Voyage of Musical Discovery

Musical Identities (NSW)

Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra

Ensemble Offspring

Brenda Gifford | Composer

Fiona Loader | Composer

Nardi Simpson | Composer

The 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 AO. Each of the three programs is designed for intergenerational audiences. Both school groups and the general public are warmly invited to discover this unique way to explore music from the past and present in a new light.

The Voyage of Musical Discovery is equal parts concert and demonstration. It comprises three separate programs, closely aligned with the NSW high school music curriculum, in Terms 1, 2 and 3 in 2023. 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 featured in the second half. By placing Australian music written in the last 25 years 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 between old and new music.

Since 2018, over 6,000 secondary school music students from Greater Sydney, Brisbane, and regional New South Wales and Queensland have attended the Voyage of Musical Discovery education programs presented by the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra.

Each Voyage presentation comes with a free, downloadable Education Kit, written by musician and educator Charles MacInnes. Each kit identifies common elements between historical and contemporary music, guiding participants to design their own collaborative works in the classroom and in ensembles. Drawing on the latest research in the field of historically informed performance, students 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.

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