Martel’s my collaborator in thinking, dreaming and scheming. She and I ran the Autumn Music Festival together at the turn of the century, and out of that was born a friendship I couldn’t do without. Nowadays, she’s my international producer, taking my work far and wide through her company Arts & Parts. She’s an exceptional creative thinker.
Perth Festival 2019, Ruth was Writer in Residence, and I had the privilege of being interviewed by her. She’s intellectually brilliant. deeply sensitive, principled, and the best of company. She's quickly become central to any new idea and work: Breathing Space, Bower, Consort of the Moon, Solveig all have been shaped in her care and company.
Amos makes gripping, deeply thought and felt work. It's radical and beautiful, uncompromising on many fronts. We’re creating Solveig together, and I can’t wait to see what emerges.
I’ve been in the thrall of Alexis’ books for years. I had the privilege of meeting her through my work with Black Arm Band, and since, she’s generously agreed to lend her words to a couple of projects. Her wisdom is central to Breathing Space: her texts inspired and gave shape to the entire work.
Lou has a huge heart, and a voice that takes you straight to Country. We had some amazing adventures together through Black Arm Band and Four Winds, and more recently, she lent us her stunning Baiyan Woka for Bower. Lou's also central to Breathing Space, and the project is deeper, more resonant and wiser thanks to her presence and contribution.
Erkki’s brilliance and kindness were central to A Brief History of Time. He’s a remarkable thinker and musician, whose compositions I’ve had the pleasure of commissioning, playing, recording, and performing. I’m very excited to be working with him on Consort of the Moon, our first major work created as a collaborative duo.
Creating UKARIA 24 together with Alison in 2016 was the beginnings of a significant collaborative relationship. She’s passionate, strategically brilliant, and has an unshakable commitment to music. I love working with Alison, and what’s possible between us keeps expanding.
Kath’s an astonishing shape shifter, with a heart and mind of beautiful integrity. We worked first on Heard this and thought of you, then devised and perform All the Hemispheres. Kath's also been an invaluable collaborator and advisor on Breathing Space and Finding Our Voice, and we intend a long creative partnership ahead.
I treasure the ease I have with Marshall, and our joy in sharing many different musical conversations. He’s a remarkable friend and musician and our duo keeps deepening. Bower is a portrait of our more than 20-year collaboration.
Jim and I have worked closely together for more than twenty years, on projects as diverse as recording classic repertoire, experimenting with new ways to amplify and manipulate sound, and creating a raft of large-scale, multi-artform works. Jim is an essential collaborator and friend.
Way back in 2010, Paul stepped late into en masse and made an invaluable contribution. More than a decade later, he joined our team for Breathing Space, and his calm, kindness and skills have only increased in the intervening years.
A gifted designer, and a delightful person, Ashley has worked her magic with many of my projects, turning vague notions into striking and persuasive design. She designed this website, our Finding Our Voice one too, and created the identity for Breathing Space.
A brilliant communicator, Rosie's passion for stories, people and music makes her a delight, and a huge asset on any project. She's central to our Finding Our Voice team.
Jess was the associate producer for one infinity. She’s an exceptional woman, the embodiment of grace and intelligence in her ability to move seamlessly between cultures and languages. She’s also part of our team for Breathing Space.
A beautiful designer, Paula brought to en masse not just her exquisite eye, but an acute perception of the spirit and essence of the work and its preoccupations. More recently, she joined us for Bower, which reminded me how much I love being in her company, so she’s part of our Finding Our Voice team too.
Our duo goes back further than any other, and our friendship is central to me. My apprenticeship in baroque music began in Linda’s living room as a teenager, but she has taught me much more than that. Recently, we've had the joy of working closely again, on Breathing Space, where Linda's art, sounds, and remarkable mind all have been central to the project.
Austin has a stunning voice, a glorious intellect and imagination. He’s central to Consort of the Moon, and it’s a joy to be in his presence.
As a reader, I’m humbled by Chloe. Hers is a fierce intelligence, an extraordinary imagination, and exceptional heart. As a collaborator, I can’t believe my luck.
Deb and I have worked together from Moscow to Brisbane, conspiring on music from the 17th-21st centuries. She is a woman and musician of uncommon grace and gravitas, and is central to Consort of the Moon.
Sophie is a free spirit, able to turn her many creative gifts to pretty much anything. She imagined and brought the nutty Recorder Queen character into being, and together, we made her (my) story into a short film. It was beautiful to see this released in 2020, and now to watch her travelling far and wide.
Musician, composer, producer, Jared’s passion for sharing music and his love for it is contagious. He did a brilliant job on Breathing Space, and I look forward to whatever's ahead.
Eugene and I have been contemporaries for decades, and he's someone I admire as a leader, creator and person. We work together all too rarely, but Eugene and Speak Percussion have made brilliant contributions to Breathing Space. He has a stunning imagination, and an ability to conjure exquisite sounds from the most unexpected sources.
Alex and I have known one another since he was a child, when I would appear at his family home for recorder lessons with my beloved teacher, Alex's mother, Ruth Wilkinson. It's a joy now to be working with him as a sound engineer, where he brings to every listening experience the musicianship, intelligence and sensitivity that run deep in his DNA.
Working alongside Aura as part of FutureMakers was a rare privilege. Beautiful pianist, deep and radical thinker, gifted creator and collaborator, she’s an inspiring colleague.
I’d admired Matthias’ work for years before a joyful chapter working together as part of FutureMakers. His is such a distinct, refined voice, and it’s brilliant seeing his work flourish. We’ve commissioned him for Finding Our Voice.
I’ll never forget the first time I heard Graham sing, the intense, uncompromising beauty and strength of his performance. Now as director of Arts Management, he plays another role in my life, as a constant source of advice, help and humour, for which I’m so grateful.
Pia is a beautiful artist and thinker, who takes remarkable portraits. It's a pleasure being in her company. Her photos somehow catch the feel and flow of the conversation, which gives them such life and integrity.
Maddie, Tim and I first worked together on The Seagull, for Four Winds. Since, we've each inhabited a shed for Acoustic Life of Sheds, they composed a piece for our Bower, and then created their gently transformative DarkQuiet for Finding Our Voice. They’re people of deep heart, intelligence, and integrity.
Writer, artist and photographer, Sarah brings her acute sensibilities and intelligence to anything she does. Her performance and rehearsal photos take you straight to the essence and experience of the work.
Photographer, dancer, gardener, Gregory’s a beautiful person. When he walks into a room, you feel better, and when you’re in his care as photographer of a work you’ve poured your heart into, you know he’ll meet that passion with his own.
Ulrike’s a visionary. She’s a fearless risk taker, who has wrapped her life around a profound love for music. Her generosity in sharing that knows no bounds.
one infinity was Ziyin’s beautiful brainchild. Ziyin’s spent the best part of a lifetime creating connections between Australia and China, and we are so much the richer for her generosity and cultural leadership.
Guardian angel of artists and the arts, Carrillo is an inspiring and tireless advocate for culture. Be it deft moves behind the scenes, or public campaigns, he does whatever it takes to create opportunities, audiences, and income for artists.
Paul wrote me into Shirley Avenue, with Scott Tinkler and Niko Schauble, way back when I felt a complete imposter in the company of improvisers. He was also generous enough to commission en masse for his first Adelaide Festival, something for which I will always be thankful. Nowadays, we’re working together on Solveig.
A gracious, generous man, Steven’s become an essential part of Solveig. Always poetic in his response to the natural world, he’s passionate about his work as an Antarctic scientist, and brings great depth and knowledge to our collaboration.
Jane’s playing insists that you rethink what is possible on a bassoon. She pours formidable intelligence and passion into it, with the result that music speaks, rather than the instrument. I have infinite respect for her uncompromising way of living and her magnificently quirky sense of humour.
My duo with Poul is a touchstone. It helps me define what is important, not just in music. He’s a kindred spirit, and our first twenty years of playing together are simply a prelude for the next twenty!
Kirsty’s a musician with highly attuned sensibilities and an ability to play exactly as she is – with warmth, intelligence, and whole-hearted commitment. She’s also a person of acute intellect, and a passion for the big picture, who has made many contributions to our community's cultural life.
Stev and I have worked together in many contexts, most formatively as co-conspirators for A Brief History of Time. He has a rare gift with people, and takes remarkable care of anyone in his orbit. This, alongside many other attributes, makes him an irreplaceable colleague.
Man with a beautiful mind, a passion for music, and ears and heart wide open, Paul’s someone whose judgement I often call upon, and whose books are a source of wonder. He’s also a fabulous cook and host, and many glorious evenings have been spent around his table.
Louise volunteered to be a participant in Soliloquy, and we had a beautiful time sharing a stage. I clicked on her email footer afterwards to discover her gorgeous art-making life. She and Gracia created sumptuous artwork and design for Bower, and I loved every minute working with them. They even lent me some for this website — thank you!
Gus makes exquisite films, with an ability to capture the essence of whatever subject he’s contemplating. He’s also endlessly kind and generous with his skill and time.
Clare produced Recorder Queen. She’s a woman of integrity, generosity and passion, and she’s a dear, invaluable part of Recorder Queen. She was extraordinarily tenacious and faithful, bringing the film to life over its seven years of making.
James is a musician with whom I feel anything is possible. Our album Heard this and thought of you, was released in 2015, and went on to become a radio serial.
Andrea dreamt up our Three Lanes trio and has written a series of beautifully expressive works for me over the last years. She’s brave, incredibly talented, and constantly searching. I’m so grateful to have been invited into her world.
Working with Jo is a privilege. She makes exquisite recorders, and many of the beautiful instruments I play are her creations. We share an obsessively attentive love for the sound of the recorder. She’s uncompromising, in the best way, which I find very inspiring.
Gideon and I created one infinity together, and the experience was so inspiring, we created Soliloquy soon after. He’s brave and singular, and his work is achingly beautiful.
Collaborator over many years, through Surman’s Three Landscapes to Black Arm Band and much more, Jude’s a producer with a beautifully considered way of seeing the world, who gives genuinely wise counsel.
Scott invited me into his Big hART world for Namatjira. Working together demanded of me things I had not thought possible. Scott's a visionary, and the way he sees the world is a call to action of the most beautiful kind.
Toby has a beautiful intelligence and a marvellous willingness to embrace impractical ideas. He brings great integrity and passion to whatever he does, and collaborating with him is entirely joyous.
Steven created the space in which en masse could be made. He's a central person in my transformation from player to creator, and I’ll always be grateful to him for his leap of faith, and his generosity in creating opportunities for me to risk and flourish.
Being on a board that Rupert chairs is a masterclass in grace and vision in action. All delivered with the lightest of touches, his is a remarkable mind, and ability to bring people together for the greater good.
Kate leads A New Approach with incredible verve. She's acutely intelligent, fabulously persuasive, and a woman of great warmth and integrity. It's a privilege to be in her orbit.
Mat and I met on the advisory group for A New Approach. During the pandemic, he invited me to create a sound installation for the National Museum of Australia. Breathing Space has been an extraordinary opportunity for so many musicians, through very challenging times.
Paul was a fine leader in his role of Head of Music at Australia Council, generously and fearlessly advocating, advising, challenging, creating space for music and musicians. It's great that he’s now freelance, and that we’re working together on Finding Our Voice.
Bass voice and recorder are not an obvious pairing, but when you meet a musician and person with whom you have such empathy, you have to find ways to work together. So — we do.
Michaela produced Soliloquy and worked alongside me in Future Makers. She’s an amazing producer, and a woman of great integrity. Her commitment to art and artists is inspiring, and a force to be reckoned with, in the very best sense.
Margaret’s a woman of far-reaching intelligence, with a deep commitment to the common good. She’s central to Finding Our Voice, and was a core member of the leadership team for FutureMakers.
Recorder player, composer, creative instigator, Rhia’s an inspiring woman who leads and enables life-changing work in London. We met when she was 10, and I knew right away she was a keeper!
Beautiful curator and person, Jeff’s a deeply thoughtful man. We met on Rising’s Council of Good Ideas, and I’ve been honoured to work alongside Jeff since, sharing ideas for music for his annual festival of experimental art, Liveworks.
A beautiful musician with imagination to burn, Katie makes opportunities for others. She's a joy to play and spend time with, and watching her create her generous life in music is inspiring.
Amrita and I met on Rising's Council of Good Ideas, where her intelligence and creative acumen were strikingly impressive. Exciting to see her career go from strength to strength.
I wrote to Jennifer on spec, in the depths of Covid. I’d loved her books, and was working on a new album, inspired by bowerbirds. I wondered if she’d consider contributing with an essay. To my delight, she accepted, creating touching and erudite liner notes for Bower.
Brad’s someone with a formidable intellect and capacity. He’s deeply musical and passionate about music’s role in our society. As board colleague, conductor, collaborator, technological entrepreneur, friend, he’s an inspiring presence.
Jan and I created the music for Pleasure Garden together. He’s a true collaborator – generous, open-hearted and minded, uncompromising and brilliant.
Musicians I love dearly, and with whom I have a deep affinity. Neal and Danny are extraordinarily sensitive people, with an ability to bring warmth, laughter, generosity to any project, any situation.
Elizabeth’s sensibilities and mine are deeply linked. She takes stunning photos, and is a wonderful storyteller. Her photos are an integral part of upon a time.
John helps me to be brave. He’s a musician I love, with ears and mind that defy description. His brilliance is so gentle and kind that it’s easily possible to be vulnerable with him, and out of this, to learn so much.
Gentle and whimsical, just like Max, Minutia is the first piece of Max’s that I encountered, which I recorded for weaver of fictions. We created the music for one infinity with Jun Tian Fang, and we’re now embarking on Solveig.
Beautiful person and producer, Kara takes exceptional care with artists, ideas, and audiences, and has generously hosted multiple projects in the glorious Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne. She’s a dear and treasured colleague, gently brilliant at her job.
Playing with Karin is like playing with a sister – very little needs to be spoken. When you meet a musician like this, their brilliance insists that you become your best self. It’s a gift, as is Karin.
A pianist, musician, and woman I take to heart, Sonya is fierce in her passion for music and life. It’s been inspiring to see her transform her life in music over the last decade, and to inspire the many people around her: audiences, collaborators, and a new generation of artists.
Steph was central to the creation of Soliloquy. Mesmerising dancer, gifted choreographer, she’s also the loveliest of people. It was a rare pleasure, inhabiting Telemann’s fantasias with Steph, bringing them to life in a whole new way in her presence.
Elena wrote Re-Inventions for me, and they’re infused with her vivacity and lyricism. I’ve travelled far and wide with Elena’s joyful music, and hope I always will.
Ruth taught me as an undergraduate, and I cannot imagine a more enabling teacher. I owe a great deal to her, and because of who she is, it never feels like a debt. I love that our relationship has transformed from my role as student to friend and colleague, which speaks of characteristic grace and generosity on her part.
Beautiful musician, deeply thoughtful man, Phil and I worked together first on a Hush album, then on Andy Ford’s Untuning the Sky, onto The Acoustic Life of Sheds and Ngeringa 24.
Em has a voice and a presence that hold your heart to account. She sings and lives with deep integrity. I feel honoured to have worked alongside her, and rapt to call her a friend.
Making en masse together with Marc was a turning point in my life. Marc's possessed by a need to uncover and tell stories. He’s brave, tireless, capable of great poetry, and I loved creating with him.
Gifted artist, generous man. Marshall McGuire and I played for one of Brook’s exhibitions some years back. Most recently, he gave me the gift of a series of artworks for my CD Line Drawings – they’re exquisite.
Generous, fearless, a brilliant leader and role model, Mary is an inspiring example of a life lived with integrity and intelligence. She also has a marvellous sense of humour and gives great advice on learning to say no!
Composer, curator, public intellectual and philanthropist, Kim’s a passionate champion of Australian culture. Without his support, we would not have been able to complete Recorder Queen, and we’re so grateful to him for bringing this labor of love to audiences around the globe.
Passionately devoted to classical music, Mary Jo has shaped her life around creating space for music to flourish. She's been incredibly generous and supportive of me, as I know she has been for many others.
Silja is a pianist and organist, with one of the most beautiful creative minds I know. She adopted me in Denmark, and that’s for life, as far as I’m concerned.
When I lived in Denmark, I met Laura and her beautiful work. She’s someone with whom I have endless affinity. Laura created the artwork for two.
I met this company in 2008, and began working with them in 2010, first on Namatjira, then Acoustic Life of Sheds. It is no exaggeration to say that they changed my life.
It was a privilege and joy to play with the Black Arm Band. From Thursday Island to Vancouver, and so many places in between, this experience shaped me deeply.
Being surrounded by the extraordinary musicians of the ACO is exhilarating. I’ve had the honour of playing multiple seasons as soloist with them: classic baroque concertos through to pieces written for us, including Erkki-Sven Tüür’s stunning Whistles and Whispers from Uluru.
I will forever be grateful to Paul, Bruce and the ABO for welcoming me home when I returned to Australia after my years in Europe. They created an opportunity that led to so many others, and to years of joyful music making.
Working with this community from 2008-2012 was an experience that was profoundly formative. My term as Artistic Director has finished now, but what I learnt during that time will be at the heart of my work for years to come.
My conversations with dear Flinders go back decades now. Elena Kats-Chernin’s gorgeous Re-Inventions was written for us, as well as Sculthorpe’s Song for Neilma, Paul Grabowsky’s, The Nightingale and the Rose and Stuart Greenbaum’s Translations.
Thanks to an introduction from the Gantners, Jun Tian Fang invited me into their richly beautiful world in 2015. I learnt so much from them about ancient, classical Chinese culture. They were the inspiration for, and heart of one infinity. Their musicianship, and particularly their relationship with silence, taught me so much.
Dynamic, passionate, unswervingly committed to creating and performing brilliant new work, Dance North are inspiring colleagues and collaborators, who were central to one infinity.
Harriet has a way of sizing up not just colours, shapes, textures that will suit you when she’s dreaming up costumes, but an uncanny way of divining something of your spirit. Central to both one infinity and Soliloquy, I really look forward to what’s ahead for our collaboration.
I first met Phoebe as a brilliant young violinist, and soon discovered she had a mind and heart to match. She's played an essential role in this website, and I hope there's more ahead for us.
Trevor and I worked together in Namatjira. Rarely have I shared a stage with someone with such presence, grace, and generosity.
Davo created the remarkable Namatjira documentary. She’s a filmmaker whose poetic cinematography reveals layers most of us don't notice. And, she’s a brave, beautifully uncompromising woman, with a particularly subversive take on life.
Some of my favourite memories from touring Namatjira are of Derik, holding the room in thrall.
Sally and I worked together on the Australian Music Centre board. Her unfailingly clear head, warmth and humour, generosity and integrity make her an invaluable friend, colleague and role model.
David brings huge experience and intelligence to anything he does, a beautiful calm and a remarkably clear head.
Caroline has given me great counsel in many situations. She’s warm and compassionate, highly intelligent, unwaveringly ethical. I trust and admire her deeply.
Liza’s weaver-of-fictions is a composition of stunning eloquence. Playing this, the long forgetting, and The Navigator are musical experiences that define a chapter of my life.
Playing Erkki-Sven’s Whistles and Whispers from Uluru is like stepping into a world of pure sound and thought, minutely traced. I perform this piece with great pride – Erkki wrote it for me and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and I’ve since played it in many countries, as well as recording it with brilliant Olari Elts and Tapiola Sinfonietta for Ondine.
A pioneer in Australia, Ros is an inspiring role model for creating and walking your own path. She’s also extremely generous, and has shared scores, ideas and many a wonderful conversation over the years.
Virginia took me into her agency in the early days of my professional career as a musician. She was a guardian angel, full of wise counsel that still informs my decisions, years down the track.
Jane commissioned Pleasure Garden. Her generosity and trust allowed an idea that had been brewing for decades to come to life. For that huge gift, I’ll always be grateful.
A gentle, understated man, Andrew produced Acoustic Life of Sheds with a feather-light touch. Quietly making himself invisible, he created opportunities, conversations, relationships and artworks that wouldn’t exist without him.
I’ve admired Robin’s work for years. I was over the moon when he agreed to join the creative team for Pleasure Garden, where his warm, gentle presence and quiet brilliance were invaluable.
Dear and trusted colleague, Tim and I worked closely together designing and delivering FutureMakers. He’s an insightful and compassionate man, who takes beautiful care with people.
Wise and generous, a voracious reader and deep thinker, Chris embodies leadership. Hers is collaborative — it comes from listening, and it’s remarkably free of ego.
Katherine lends her considerable intelligence to a life of serving music, and enabling other musicians. Thanks to Katherine, Erkki Sven Tuur’s Whistles and Whispers concerto exists, and many other things beside.
Karlin’s skills, ideals, and life are all beautifully aligned. She worked closely with us on FutureMakers, and we learnt a great deal from her, as well as enjoying her company enormously.
Hollis and I have been working with her pied butcherbirds for some years now. They and she are miraculous musicians, and her compositions are a joy to play. She wrote the concerto Absolute Bird for me, which I’ve played in Adelaide, Melbourne, London.
Brett is a composer whose work I admire hugely. I had the privilege of working with him on Miss Genevieve’s Nocturne, and we’ve dreams of making another work one day, with Heather Betts.
Bob's recorded and produced sound in many contexts for me, as well as being the co-composer of the haunting Miss Genevieve's Nocturne, with Brett Dean. He has remarkable ears, and is always up for new adventures.
I had the great pleasure of premiering Iain’s opera The Riders in 2014. Iain’s music is a fine portrait of him – it’s warm, lyrical, intelligent, and fluent in multiple musical languages.
Deline is music embodied. She has a voice and way of singing that open your senses and soul, and go straight to what’s important.
Umberto accepted my invitation to join an unusual cast of characters for UKARIA 24 in 2016. He was relatively new to our Australian community, and his musicianship, openness and intelligence were a joy. We played again late in 2021, after the long Covid drought, and to be in the presence of his wit and deeply expressive musicianship was balm to the soul.
Damian and I first worked together in 2002, and he’s written a series of beautiful pieces for me that have travelled far and wide. He’s endlessly inventive, always alight with his next creative project.
I've been listening to Lachlan for years, and I was excited when he decided to write a piece for bass recorder and string quartet in 2020. It’s eloquent, tender, and quietly expressive.
Publications editor at ABC, Natalie and I have worked closely for years now. She brings exquisite care to every CD booklet, making the most out of every detail with her passionate attentiveness.
I have such strong memories of recording A Midnight Dream of Summer, Jason coaxing unexpected sounds out of me as he urged me to experiment further and further. He's a remarkable musician.
A beacon of light and integrity, Bec brings brilliance and deep kindness to any project and person in her orbit. I'm rapt we're finally finding a way to work together, as I've been admiring Bec for such a long time.
Åsa’s a beautiful mezzo-soprano, a woman of intelligence, intensity and passion. We met when we were both studying in Switzerland, and she performed in my final exam in Denmark – formative times.
Jessica and I met in Basel, as students at the hallowed Schola Cantorum. Already formidably multi-skilled as a young woman, her capacity for learning is astonishing, and her courage in setting her own course, and then charting it, is inspiring.
Classmates from my Danish days, these women befriended me, and taught me so much. Hearing them play reminds me of everything I love about my instrument, and all that I have yet to learn.
Dan’s the teacher who insisted that I dare try to become a musician. Without him, I would not be a recorder player. His recordings still stop me in my tracks.
Sometimes, you're lucky enough to meet people who lead you to discover what might be possible in life. Helen was my recorder teacher through school. She opened a universe for me, which I’m still exploring.
Linda supervised my doctorate, wisely and inspiringly. Conversations with her formed a backbone of my thinking, and I’m very grateful to Linda for that chapter of my life, and her central role in it.
A musician and composer of deep sensitivity and insight, who has had profound influence on many. In 2019, I had the honour of commissioning Deirdre to write a piece for the celebration of the centenary of St Mary’s College, University of Melbourne.
Pete designed and solved scores of complex technical challenges for en masse, and brought to each of them a gentle, thoughtful artistry. He designed the Pleasure Garden website, and often gives great advice about art, tech and design solutions.
I live with one of Heather’s paintings. It brings me daily sustenance, and infuses the house with light. Heather was kind enough to gift Ophelia to the album cover of Soliloquy, and she and I have dreams of a project I hope we'll realise one day.
A woman of striking integrity, formidable intellect and musical acumen, Jessica is a conductor I admire. She brings quiet gravitas to a room and has a real gift for infusing music with clarity and life.
Jana juggles more than most of us can with grace, care and apparent ease. She’s a colleague I respect deeply.
Co-founder of my first ensemble, treasured friend and musician.
Paul’s musicianship is direct, starkly expressive. Working alongside him in Conversations with Ghosts made me try to find that same stripped back truthfulness in my own playing.
Lindy was endlessly supportive in my early days of learning how to work as an artistic director. She’s a great role model: an inspiring combination of generous, gifted, and principled. I’ll always be grateful for her counsel, and her kindness.
Andy was our director for heard this and thought of you. A born storyteller, an unashamed romantic, a deeply intuitive and good man, it’s a pleasure to know and work alongside him.
Dan and I created Nest together, as part of my year in residence at Melbourne Recital Centre in 2018. His is a singular imagination, and his musicality and intelligence made for fertile collaboration.
Steve wrote me a beautiful piece called et døgn, which I recorded for weaver of fictions, and have played across the world since. He was also central to the electroacoustic score for en masse.
Arcadia were our first FutureMakers artists. They are infectiously optimistic, passionate about Australian music and their role in shaping it. It’s exciting to see them commit to a life of chamber music.
Way back at the turn of the century, in my first job as Artistic Director, Peter was a wise and generous mentor. He’s gone on to play this role for multiple dear people in my life, always with intelligence, integrity and great kindness, and out of our conversations began a long friendship.
With characteristic grace and generosity, John lent me his In the Distance for an early recording, and then, wrote me into the perfectly pastoral Three Landscapes. Playing Three Landscapes with him at the London Jazz Festival in 2014, to celebrate his 70th, was such an honour.
I worked for years with Elision: from Moscow to Paris, Berlin, London, Melbourne and Brisbane, and the almost yearly meeting at Huddersfield. The projects were extreme, and I learnt a huge amount in the company of these outstanding, hilarious colleagues. They shaped me in such important ways.
John and Astra have been inspiring me for years, and whenever I can, I sit in their audience. Sometimes, when I’m really lucky, I play with them.
Ben, Andy and I, together with Jim Atkins, created fade, having also collaborated on Conversations with Ghosts. I love their clean, pure aesthetic.
I was so thrilled when Nicola agreed to create the artwork for weaver of fictions. She and I both grew up in Ballarat, and our connection goes back a long way.
Dave designed my original website. More importantly, conversations with Dave over several decades have shaped who I am and how I see the world.
Stephen produced all of my early recordings. I trust and respect him so deeply as a result, not to mention his beautifully honed sensibilities and musicianship.
I love exchanging thoughts and books with John, talking of life and art. We created Arrivals together with Stephen Grant.
A man with a remarkable mind, generous with his formidable knowledge and creative ideas.
Keith has an extraordinary ability to make me relax and be myself when he’s taking photos. As a result, his portraits feel truthful and confident.
ANAM brims with talent, and being in the presence of such pure energy is inspiring. I’ve played with ANAM musicians in multiple projects, and from 2014-16 I was the professional mentor for ANAM’s Fellowship program. More recently, I've had the joy of working with the seventh semester students as they navigate Covid times.
Heide takes exceptional portraits. She has an ability to capture your essence, not just how you look.
Tim and Francesca took me into their lives during my Four Winds chapter. Conversations around their table and beyond fed and sustained me.
Stephen’s a designer with a truly conceptual mind, and a contemporary, poetic aesthetic. He worked on FutureMakers and Pleasure Garden, and I hope there’s more ahead for us.
Joe is a beautifully understated musician, a man of many skills. He moves across different musical worlds, and I’m so glad to have met him in one of them – he and I play together in Three Lanes, with Andrea Keller.
Oren and I played together in Ian Wilson’s 2011 Sligo Festival, which took us both into unchartered territory. I loved the gentle experience of us finding a common language.
Jim’s written me into many scores: Line Drawing, Folk Song, New Tricks for Old Dogs, Conversations with Ghosts, and Distraction. I feel very fortunate to play a part in his musical language.
Generations of musicians around the country have been inspired by Paul’s musicianship, leadership and warmth.
Andy wrote Bagpipe Music for Marshall McGuire and me. We’ve shared many conversations before and since, on and off The Music Show, most recently, working on his remarkable Untuning the Sky.
Peter and I worked together on my first festival, Four Winds, Ukaria 24, and most recently, on the design for Line Drawings. He’s a poetic designer, who creates deeply sensitive work.
Unsung hero of en masse and Four Winds 2012, Michael is a brilliant production manager.
The first piece of music that I premiered was Amanda’s Phoenix Songs. Working with Amanda was so positive and formative an experience that composers and new music have been central to my life ever since.
Monty takes gorgeous photos, even sometimes ones of me that I like – miraculous!
Lawrence was a central character in the musical creation of en masse. He generously welcomed me into new musical worlds, sharing colleagues, skills, ideas.
Peter wrote A Song for Neilma for the 2010 Four Winds Festival, for me and Flinders Quartet. He was a defining voice in Australian music, and having a recorder added to one of his scores was a privilege.
Moritz created an extraordinary piece called alien for weaver of fictions. His recorder works are legendary, and as a player, take you to places you had thought shouldn’t exist.
An invaluable organisation, I’m very proud to have been the Chair of the board of the Australian Music Centre from 2016-2021, and a board member for many years prior.
Martel’s my collaborator in thinking, dreaming and scheming. She and I ran the Autumn Music Festival together at the turn of the century, and out of that was born a friendship I couldn’t do without. Nowadays, she’s my international producer, taking my work far and wide through her company Arts & Parts. She’s an exceptional creative thinker.
Perth Festival 2019, Ruth was Writer in Residence, and I had the privilege of being interviewed by her. She’s intellectually brilliant. deeply sensitive, principled, and the best of company. She's quickly become central to any new idea and work: Breathing Space, Bower, Consort of the Moon, Solveig all have been shaped in her care and company.
Amos makes gripping, deeply thought and felt work. It's radical and beautiful, uncompromising on many fronts. We’re creating Solveig together, and I can’t wait to see what emerges.
I’ve been in the thrall of Alexis’ books for years. I had the privilege of meeting her through my work with Black Arm Band, and since, she’s generously agreed to lend her words to a couple of projects. Her wisdom is central to Breathing Space: her texts inspired and gave shape to the entire work.
Lou has a huge heart, and a voice that takes you straight to Country. We had some amazing adventures together through Black Arm Band and Four Winds, and more recently, she lent us her stunning Baiyan Woka for Bower. Lou's also central to Breathing Space, and the project is deeper, more resonant and wiser thanks to her presence and contribution.
Erkki’s brilliance and kindness were central to A Brief History of Time. He’s a remarkable thinker and musician, whose compositions I’ve had the pleasure of commissioning, playing, recording, and performing. I’m very excited to be working with him on Consort of the Moon, our first major work created as a collaborative duo.
Creating UKARIA 24 together with Alison in 2016 was the beginnings of a significant collaborative relationship. She’s passionate, strategically brilliant, and has an unshakable commitment to music. I love working with Alison, and what’s possible between us keeps expanding.
Kath’s an astonishing shape shifter, with a heart and mind of beautiful integrity. We worked first on Heard this and thought of you, then devised and perform All the Hemispheres. Kath's also been an invaluable collaborator and advisor on Breathing Space and Finding Our Voice, and we intend a long creative partnership ahead.
I treasure the ease I have with Marshall, and our joy in sharing many different musical conversations. He’s a remarkable friend and musician and our duo keeps deepening. Bower is a portrait of our more than 20-year collaboration.
Jim and I have worked closely together for more than twenty years, on projects as diverse as recording classic repertoire, experimenting with new ways to amplify and manipulate sound, and creating a raft of large-scale, multi-artform works. Jim is an essential collaborator and friend.
Way back in 2010, Paul stepped late into en masse and made an invaluable contribution. More than a decade later, he joined our team for Breathing Space, and his calm, kindness and skills have only increased in the intervening years.
A gifted designer, and a delightful person, Ashley has worked her magic with many of my projects, turning vague notions into striking and persuasive design. She designed this website, our Finding Our Voice one too, and created the identity for Breathing Space.
A brilliant communicator, Rosie's passion for stories, people and music makes her a delight, and a huge asset on any project. She's central to our Finding Our Voice team.
Jess was the associate producer for one infinity. She’s an exceptional woman, the embodiment of grace and intelligence in her ability to move seamlessly between cultures and languages. She’s also part of our team for Breathing Space.
A beautiful designer, Paula brought to en masse not just her exquisite eye, but an acute perception of the spirit and essence of the work and its preoccupations. More recently, she joined us for Bower, which reminded me how much I love being in her company, so she’s part of our Finding Our Voice team too.
Our duo goes back further than any other, and our friendship is central to me. My apprenticeship in baroque music began in Linda’s living room as a teenager, but she has taught me much more than that. Recently, we've had the joy of working closely again, on Breathing Space, where Linda's art, sounds, and remarkable mind all have been central to the project.
Austin has a stunning voice, a glorious intellect and imagination. He’s central to Consort of the Moon, and it’s a joy to be in his presence.
As a reader, I’m humbled by Chloe. Hers is a fierce intelligence, an extraordinary imagination, and exceptional heart. As a collaborator, I can’t believe my luck.
Deb and I have worked together from Moscow to Brisbane, conspiring on music from the 17th-21st centuries. She is a woman and musician of uncommon grace and gravitas, and is central to Consort of the Moon.
Sophie is a free spirit, able to turn her many creative gifts to pretty much anything. She imagined and brought the nutty Recorder Queen character into being, and together, we made her (my) story into a short film. It was beautiful to see this released in 2020, and now to watch her travelling far and wide.
Musician, composer, producer, Jared’s passion for sharing music and his love for it is contagious. He did a brilliant job on Breathing Space, and I look forward to whatever's ahead.
Eugene and I have been contemporaries for decades, and he's someone I admire as a leader, creator and person. We work together all too rarely, but Eugene and Speak Percussion have made brilliant contributions to Breathing Space. He has a stunning imagination, and an ability to conjure exquisite sounds from the most unexpected sources.
Alex and I have known one another since he was a child, when I would appear at his family home for recorder lessons with my beloved teacher, Alex's mother, Ruth Wilkinson. It's a joy now to be working with him as a sound engineer, where he brings to every listening experience the musicianship, intelligence and sensitivity that run deep in his DNA.
Working alongside Aura as part of FutureMakers was a rare privilege. Beautiful pianist, deep and radical thinker, gifted creator and collaborator, she’s an inspiring colleague.
I’d admired Matthias’ work for years before a joyful chapter working together as part of FutureMakers. His is such a distinct, refined voice, and it’s brilliant seeing his work flourish. We’ve commissioned him for Finding Our Voice.
I’ll never forget the first time I heard Graham sing, the intense, uncompromising beauty and strength of his performance. Now as director of Arts Management, he plays another role in my life, as a constant source of advice, help and humour, for which I’m so grateful.
Pia is a beautiful artist and thinker, who takes remarkable portraits. It's a pleasure being in her company. Her photos somehow catch the feel and flow of the conversation, which gives them such life and integrity.
Maddie, Tim and I first worked together on The Seagull, for Four Winds. Since, we've each inhabited a shed for Acoustic Life of Sheds, they composed a piece for our Bower, and then created their gently transformative DarkQuiet for Finding Our Voice. They’re people of deep heart, intelligence, and integrity.
Writer, artist and photographer, Sarah brings her acute sensibilities and intelligence to anything she does. Her performance and rehearsal photos take you straight to the essence and experience of the work.
Photographer, dancer, gardener, Gregory’s a beautiful person. When he walks into a room, you feel better, and when you’re in his care as photographer of a work you’ve poured your heart into, you know he’ll meet that passion with his own.
Ulrike’s a visionary. She’s a fearless risk taker, who has wrapped her life around a profound love for music. Her generosity in sharing that knows no bounds.
one infinity was Ziyin’s beautiful brainchild. Ziyin’s spent the best part of a lifetime creating connections between Australia and China, and we are so much the richer for her generosity and cultural leadership.
Guardian angel of artists and the arts, Carrillo is an inspiring and tireless advocate for culture. Be it deft moves behind the scenes, or public campaigns, he does whatever it takes to create opportunities, audiences, and income for artists.
Paul wrote me into Shirley Avenue, with Scott Tinkler and Niko Schauble, way back when I felt a complete imposter in the company of improvisers. He was also generous enough to commission en masse for his first Adelaide Festival, something for which I will always be thankful. Nowadays, we’re working together on Solveig.
A gracious, generous man, Steven’s become an essential part of Solveig. Always poetic in his response to the natural world, he’s passionate about his work as an Antarctic scientist, and brings great depth and knowledge to our collaboration.
Jane’s playing insists that you rethink what is possible on a bassoon. She pours formidable intelligence and passion into it, with the result that music speaks, rather than the instrument. I have infinite respect for her uncompromising way of living and her magnificently quirky sense of humour.
My duo with Poul is a touchstone. It helps me define what is important, not just in music. He’s a kindred spirit, and our first twenty years of playing together are simply a prelude for the next twenty!
Kirsty’s a musician with highly attuned sensibilities and an ability to play exactly as she is – with warmth, intelligence, and whole-hearted commitment. She’s also a person of acute intellect, and a passion for the big picture, who has made many contributions to our community's cultural life.
Stev and I have worked together in many contexts, most formatively as co-conspirators for A Brief History of Time. He has a rare gift with people, and takes remarkable care of anyone in his orbit. This, alongside many other attributes, makes him an irreplaceable colleague.
Man with a beautiful mind, a passion for music, and ears and heart wide open, Paul’s someone whose judgement I often call upon, and whose books are a source of wonder. He’s also a fabulous cook and host, and many glorious evenings have been spent around his table.
Louise volunteered to be a participant in Soliloquy, and we had a beautiful time sharing a stage. I clicked on her email footer afterwards to discover her gorgeous art-making life. She and Gracia created sumptuous artwork and design for Bower, and I loved every minute working with them. They even lent me some for this website — thank you!
Gus makes exquisite films, with an ability to capture the essence of whatever subject he’s contemplating. He’s also endlessly kind and generous with his skill and time.
Clare produced Recorder Queen. She’s a woman of integrity, generosity and passion, and she’s a dear, invaluable part of Recorder Queen. She was extraordinarily tenacious and faithful, bringing the film to life over its seven years of making.
James is a musician with whom I feel anything is possible. Our album Heard this and thought of you, was released in 2015, and went on to become a radio serial.
Andrea dreamt up our Three Lanes trio and has written a series of beautifully expressive works for me over the last years. She’s brave, incredibly talented, and constantly searching. I’m so grateful to have been invited into her world.
Working with Jo is a privilege. She makes exquisite recorders, and many of the beautiful instruments I play are her creations. We share an obsessively attentive love for the sound of the recorder. She’s uncompromising, in the best way, which I find very inspiring.
Gideon and I created one infinity together, and the experience was so inspiring, we created Soliloquy soon after. He’s brave and singular, and his work is achingly beautiful.
Collaborator over many years, through Surman’s Three Landscapes to Black Arm Band and much more, Jude’s a producer with a beautifully considered way of seeing the world, who gives genuinely wise counsel.
Scott invited me into his Big hART world for Namatjira. Working together demanded of me things I had not thought possible. Scott's a visionary, and the way he sees the world is a call to action of the most beautiful kind.
Toby has a beautiful intelligence and a marvellous willingness to embrace impractical ideas. He brings great integrity and passion to whatever he does, and collaborating with him is entirely joyous.
Steven created the space in which en masse could be made. He's a central person in my transformation from player to creator, and I’ll always be grateful to him for his leap of faith, and his generosity in creating opportunities for me to risk and flourish.
Being on a board that Rupert chairs is a masterclass in grace and vision in action. All delivered with the lightest of touches, his is a remarkable mind, and ability to bring people together for the greater good.
Kate leads A New Approach with incredible verve. She's acutely intelligent, fabulously persuasive, and a woman of great warmth and integrity. It's a privilege to be in her orbit.
Mat and I met on the advisory group for A New Approach. During the pandemic, he invited me to create a sound installation for the National Museum of Australia. Breathing Space has been an extraordinary opportunity for so many musicians, through very challenging times.
Paul was a fine leader in his role of Head of Music at Australia Council, generously and fearlessly advocating, advising, challenging, creating space for music and musicians. It's great that he’s now freelance, and that we’re working together on Finding Our Voice.
Bass voice and recorder are not an obvious pairing, but when you meet a musician and person with whom you have such empathy, you have to find ways to work together. So — we do.
Michaela produced Soliloquy and worked alongside me in Future Makers. She’s an amazing producer, and a woman of great integrity. Her commitment to art and artists is inspiring, and a force to be reckoned with, in the very best sense.
Margaret’s a woman of far-reaching intelligence, with a deep commitment to the common good. She’s central to Finding Our Voice, and was a core member of the leadership team for FutureMakers.
Recorder player, composer, creative instigator, Rhia’s an inspiring woman who leads and enables life-changing work in London. We met when she was 10, and I knew right away she was a keeper!
Beautiful curator and person, Jeff’s a deeply thoughtful man. We met on Rising’s Council of Good Ideas, and I’ve been honoured to work alongside Jeff since, sharing ideas for music for his annual festival of experimental art, Liveworks.
A beautiful musician with imagination to burn, Katie makes opportunities for others. She's a joy to play and spend time with, and watching her create her generous life in music is inspiring.
Amrita and I met on Rising's Council of Good Ideas, where her intelligence and creative acumen were strikingly impressive. Exciting to see her career go from strength to strength.
I wrote to Jennifer on spec, in the depths of Covid. I’d loved her books, and was working on a new album, inspired by bowerbirds. I wondered if she’d consider contributing with an essay. To my delight, she accepted, creating touching and erudite liner notes for Bower.
Brad’s someone with a formidable intellect and capacity. He’s deeply musical and passionate about music’s role in our society. As board colleague, conductor, collaborator, technological entrepreneur, friend, he’s an inspiring presence.
Jan and I created the music for Pleasure Garden together. He’s a true collaborator – generous, open-hearted and minded, uncompromising and brilliant.
Musicians I love dearly, and with whom I have a deep affinity. Neal and Danny are extraordinarily sensitive people, with an ability to bring warmth, laughter, generosity to any project, any situation.
Elizabeth’s sensibilities and mine are deeply linked. She takes stunning photos, and is a wonderful storyteller. Her photos are an integral part of upon a time.
John helps me to be brave. He’s a musician I love, with ears and mind that defy description. His brilliance is so gentle and kind that it’s easily possible to be vulnerable with him, and out of this, to learn so much.
Gentle and whimsical, just like Max, Minutia is the first piece of Max’s that I encountered, which I recorded for weaver of fictions. We created the music for one infinity with Jun Tian Fang, and we’re now embarking on Solveig.
Beautiful person and producer, Kara takes exceptional care with artists, ideas, and audiences, and has generously hosted multiple projects in the glorious Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne. She’s a dear and treasured colleague, gently brilliant at her job.
Playing with Karin is like playing with a sister – very little needs to be spoken. When you meet a musician like this, their brilliance insists that you become your best self. It’s a gift, as is Karin.
A pianist, musician, and woman I take to heart, Sonya is fierce in her passion for music and life. It’s been inspiring to see her transform her life in music over the last decade, and to inspire the many people around her: audiences, collaborators, and a new generation of artists.
Steph was central to the creation of Soliloquy. Mesmerising dancer, gifted choreographer, she’s also the loveliest of people. It was a rare pleasure, inhabiting Telemann’s fantasias with Steph, bringing them to life in a whole new way in her presence.
Elena wrote Re-Inventions for me, and they’re infused with her vivacity and lyricism. I’ve travelled far and wide with Elena’s joyful music, and hope I always will.
Ruth taught me as an undergraduate, and I cannot imagine a more enabling teacher. I owe a great deal to her, and because of who she is, it never feels like a debt. I love that our relationship has transformed from my role as student to friend and colleague, which speaks of characteristic grace and generosity on her part.
Beautiful musician, deeply thoughtful man, Phil and I worked together first on a Hush album, then on Andy Ford’s Untuning the Sky, onto The Acoustic Life of Sheds and Ngeringa 24.
Em has a voice and a presence that hold your heart to account. She sings and lives with deep integrity. I feel honoured to have worked alongside her, and rapt to call her a friend.
Making en masse together with Marc was a turning point in my life. Marc's possessed by a need to uncover and tell stories. He’s brave, tireless, capable of great poetry, and I loved creating with him.
Gifted artist, generous man. Marshall McGuire and I played for one of Brook’s exhibitions some years back. Most recently, he gave me the gift of a series of artworks for my CD Line Drawings – they’re exquisite.
Generous, fearless, a brilliant leader and role model, Mary is an inspiring example of a life lived with integrity and intelligence. She also has a marvellous sense of humour and gives great advice on learning to say no!
Composer, curator, public intellectual and philanthropist, Kim’s a passionate champion of Australian culture. Without his support, we would not have been able to complete Recorder Queen, and we’re so grateful to him for bringing this labor of love to audiences around the globe.
Passionately devoted to classical music, Mary Jo has shaped her life around creating space for music to flourish. She's been incredibly generous and supportive of me, as I know she has been for many others.
Silja is a pianist and organist, with one of the most beautiful creative minds I know. She adopted me in Denmark, and that’s for life, as far as I’m concerned.
When I lived in Denmark, I met Laura and her beautiful work. She’s someone with whom I have endless affinity. Laura created the artwork for two.
I met this company in 2008, and began working with them in 2010, first on Namatjira, then Acoustic Life of Sheds. It is no exaggeration to say that they changed my life.
It was a privilege and joy to play with the Black Arm Band. From Thursday Island to Vancouver, and so many places in between, this experience shaped me deeply.
Being surrounded by the extraordinary musicians of the ACO is exhilarating. I’ve had the honour of playing multiple seasons as soloist with them: classic baroque concertos through to pieces written for us, including Erkki-Sven Tüür’s stunning Whistles and Whispers from Uluru.
I will forever be grateful to Paul, Bruce and the ABO for welcoming me home when I returned to Australia after my years in Europe. They created an opportunity that led to so many others, and to years of joyful music making.
Working with this community from 2008-2012 was an experience that was profoundly formative. My term as Artistic Director has finished now, but what I learnt during that time will be at the heart of my work for years to come.
My conversations with dear Flinders go back decades now. Elena Kats-Chernin’s gorgeous Re-Inventions was written for us, as well as Sculthorpe’s Song for Neilma, Paul Grabowsky’s, The Nightingale and the Rose and Stuart Greenbaum’s Translations.
Thanks to an introduction from the Gantners, Jun Tian Fang invited me into their richly beautiful world in 2015. I learnt so much from them about ancient, classical Chinese culture. They were the inspiration for, and heart of one infinity. Their musicianship, and particularly their relationship with silence, taught me so much.
Dynamic, passionate, unswervingly committed to creating and performing brilliant new work, Dance North are inspiring colleagues and collaborators, who were central to one infinity.
Harriet has a way of sizing up not just colours, shapes, textures that will suit you when she’s dreaming up costumes, but an uncanny way of divining something of your spirit. Central to both one infinity and Soliloquy, I really look forward to what’s ahead for our collaboration.
I first met Phoebe as a brilliant young violinist, and soon discovered she had a mind and heart to match. She's played an essential role in this website, and I hope there's more ahead for us.
Trevor and I worked together in Namatjira. Rarely have I shared a stage with someone with such presence, grace, and generosity.
Davo created the remarkable Namatjira documentary. She’s a filmmaker whose poetic cinematography reveals layers most of us don't notice. And, she’s a brave, beautifully uncompromising woman, with a particularly subversive take on life.
Some of my favourite memories from touring Namatjira are of Derik, holding the room in thrall.
Sally and I worked together on the Australian Music Centre board. Her unfailingly clear head, warmth and humour, generosity and integrity make her an invaluable friend, colleague and role model.
David brings huge experience and intelligence to anything he does, a beautiful calm and a remarkably clear head.
Caroline has given me great counsel in many situations. She’s warm and compassionate, highly intelligent, unwaveringly ethical. I trust and admire her deeply.
Liza’s weaver-of-fictions is a composition of stunning eloquence. Playing this, the long forgetting, and The Navigator are musical experiences that define a chapter of my life.
Playing Erkki-Sven’s Whistles and Whispers from Uluru is like stepping into a world of pure sound and thought, minutely traced. I perform this piece with great pride – Erkki wrote it for me and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and I’ve since played it in many countries, as well as recording it with brilliant Olari Elts and Tapiola Sinfonietta for Ondine.
A pioneer in Australia, Ros is an inspiring role model for creating and walking your own path. She’s also extremely generous, and has shared scores, ideas and many a wonderful conversation over the years.
Virginia took me into her agency in the early days of my professional career as a musician. She was a guardian angel, full of wise counsel that still informs my decisions, years down the track.
Jane commissioned Pleasure Garden. Her generosity and trust allowed an idea that had been brewing for decades to come to life. For that huge gift, I’ll always be grateful.
A gentle, understated man, Andrew produced Acoustic Life of Sheds with a feather-light touch. Quietly making himself invisible, he created opportunities, conversations, relationships and artworks that wouldn’t exist without him.
I’ve admired Robin’s work for years. I was over the moon when he agreed to join the creative team for Pleasure Garden, where his warm, gentle presence and quiet brilliance were invaluable.
Dear and trusted colleague, Tim and I worked closely together designing and delivering FutureMakers. He’s an insightful and compassionate man, who takes beautiful care with people.
Wise and generous, a voracious reader and deep thinker, Chris embodies leadership. Hers is collaborative — it comes from listening, and it’s remarkably free of ego.
Katherine lends her considerable intelligence to a life of serving music, and enabling other musicians. Thanks to Katherine, Erkki Sven Tuur’s Whistles and Whispers concerto exists, and many other things beside.
Karlin’s skills, ideals, and life are all beautifully aligned. She worked closely with us on FutureMakers, and we learnt a great deal from her, as well as enjoying her company enormously.
Hollis and I have been working with her pied butcherbirds for some years now. They and she are miraculous musicians, and her compositions are a joy to play. She wrote the concerto Absolute Bird for me, which I’ve played in Adelaide, Melbourne, London.
Brett is a composer whose work I admire hugely. I had the privilege of working with him on Miss Genevieve’s Nocturne, and we’ve dreams of making another work one day, with Heather Betts.
Bob's recorded and produced sound in many contexts for me, as well as being the co-composer of the haunting Miss Genevieve's Nocturne, with Brett Dean. He has remarkable ears, and is always up for new adventures.
I had the great pleasure of premiering Iain’s opera The Riders in 2014. Iain’s music is a fine portrait of him – it’s warm, lyrical, intelligent, and fluent in multiple musical languages.
Deline is music embodied. She has a voice and way of singing that open your senses and soul, and go straight to what’s important.
Umberto accepted my invitation to join an unusual cast of characters for UKARIA 24 in 2016. He was relatively new to our Australian community, and his musicianship, openness and intelligence were a joy. We played again late in 2021, after the long Covid drought, and to be in the presence of his wit and deeply expressive musicianship was balm to the soul.
Damian and I first worked together in 2002, and he’s written a series of beautiful pieces for me that have travelled far and wide. He’s endlessly inventive, always alight with his next creative project.
I've been listening to Lachlan for years, and I was excited when he decided to write a piece for bass recorder and string quartet in 2020. It’s eloquent, tender, and quietly expressive.
Publications editor at ABC, Natalie and I have worked closely for years now. She brings exquisite care to every CD booklet, making the most out of every detail with her passionate attentiveness.
I have such strong memories of recording A Midnight Dream of Summer, Jason coaxing unexpected sounds out of me as he urged me to experiment further and further. He's a remarkable musician.
A beacon of light and integrity, Bec brings brilliance and deep kindness to any project and person in her orbit. I'm rapt we're finally finding a way to work together, as I've been admiring Bec for such a long time.
Åsa’s a beautiful mezzo-soprano, a woman of intelligence, intensity and passion. We met when we were both studying in Switzerland, and she performed in my final exam in Denmark – formative times.
Jessica and I met in Basel, as students at the hallowed Schola Cantorum. Already formidably multi-skilled as a young woman, her capacity for learning is astonishing, and her courage in setting her own course, and then charting it, is inspiring.
Classmates from my Danish days, these women befriended me, and taught me so much. Hearing them play reminds me of everything I love about my instrument, and all that I have yet to learn.
Dan’s the teacher who insisted that I dare try to become a musician. Without him, I would not be a recorder player. His recordings still stop me in my tracks.
Sometimes, you're lucky enough to meet people who lead you to discover what might be possible in life. Helen was my recorder teacher through school. She opened a universe for me, which I’m still exploring.
Linda supervised my doctorate, wisely and inspiringly. Conversations with her formed a backbone of my thinking, and I’m very grateful to Linda for that chapter of my life, and her central role in it.
A musician and composer of deep sensitivity and insight, who has had profound influence on many. In 2019, I had the honour of commissioning Deirdre to write a piece for the celebration of the centenary of St Mary’s College, University of Melbourne.
Pete designed and solved scores of complex technical challenges for en masse, and brought to each of them a gentle, thoughtful artistry. He designed the Pleasure Garden website, and often gives great advice about art, tech and design solutions.
I live with one of Heather’s paintings. It brings me daily sustenance, and infuses the house with light. Heather was kind enough to gift Ophelia to the album cover of Soliloquy, and she and I have dreams of a project I hope we'll realise one day.
A woman of striking integrity, formidable intellect and musical acumen, Jessica is a conductor I admire. She brings quiet gravitas to a room and has a real gift for infusing music with clarity and life.
Jana juggles more than most of us can with grace, care and apparent ease. She’s a colleague I respect deeply.
Co-founder of my first ensemble, treasured friend and musician.
Paul’s musicianship is direct, starkly expressive. Working alongside him in Conversations with Ghosts made me try to find that same stripped back truthfulness in my own playing.
Lindy was endlessly supportive in my early days of learning how to work as an artistic director. She’s a great role model: an inspiring combination of generous, gifted, and principled. I’ll always be grateful for her counsel, and her kindness.
Andy was our director for heard this and thought of you. A born storyteller, an unashamed romantic, a deeply intuitive and good man, it’s a pleasure to know and work alongside him.
Dan and I created Nest together, as part of my year in residence at Melbourne Recital Centre in 2018. His is a singular imagination, and his musicality and intelligence made for fertile collaboration.
Steve wrote me a beautiful piece called et døgn, which I recorded for weaver of fictions, and have played across the world since. He was also central to the electroacoustic score for en masse.
Arcadia were our first FutureMakers artists. They are infectiously optimistic, passionate about Australian music and their role in shaping it. It’s exciting to see them commit to a life of chamber music.
Way back at the turn of the century, in my first job as Artistic Director, Peter was a wise and generous mentor. He’s gone on to play this role for multiple dear people in my life, always with intelligence, integrity and great kindness, and out of our conversations began a long friendship.
With characteristic grace and generosity, John lent me his In the Distance for an early recording, and then, wrote me into the perfectly pastoral Three Landscapes. Playing Three Landscapes with him at the London Jazz Festival in 2014, to celebrate his 70th, was such an honour.
I worked for years with Elision: from Moscow to Paris, Berlin, London, Melbourne and Brisbane, and the almost yearly meeting at Huddersfield. The projects were extreme, and I learnt a huge amount in the company of these outstanding, hilarious colleagues. They shaped me in such important ways.
John and Astra have been inspiring me for years, and whenever I can, I sit in their audience. Sometimes, when I’m really lucky, I play with them.
Ben, Andy and I, together with Jim Atkins, created fade, having also collaborated on Conversations with Ghosts. I love their clean, pure aesthetic.
I was so thrilled when Nicola agreed to create the artwork for weaver of fictions. She and I both grew up in Ballarat, and our connection goes back a long way.
Dave designed my original website. More importantly, conversations with Dave over several decades have shaped who I am and how I see the world.
Stephen produced all of my early recordings. I trust and respect him so deeply as a result, not to mention his beautifully honed sensibilities and musicianship.
I love exchanging thoughts and books with John, talking of life and art. We created Arrivals together with Stephen Grant.
A man with a remarkable mind, generous with his formidable knowledge and creative ideas.
Keith has an extraordinary ability to make me relax and be myself when he’s taking photos. As a result, his portraits feel truthful and confident.
ANAM brims with talent, and being in the presence of such pure energy is inspiring. I’ve played with ANAM musicians in multiple projects, and from 2014-16 I was the professional mentor for ANAM’s Fellowship program. More recently, I've had the joy of working with the seventh semester students as they navigate Covid times.
Heide takes exceptional portraits. She has an ability to capture your essence, not just how you look.
Tim and Francesca took me into their lives during my Four Winds chapter. Conversations around their table and beyond fed and sustained me.
Stephen’s a designer with a truly conceptual mind, and a contemporary, poetic aesthetic. He worked on FutureMakers and Pleasure Garden, and I hope there’s more ahead for us.
Joe is a beautifully understated musician, a man of many skills. He moves across different musical worlds, and I’m so glad to have met him in one of them – he and I play together in Three Lanes, with Andrea Keller.
Oren and I played together in Ian Wilson’s 2011 Sligo Festival, which took us both into unchartered territory. I loved the gentle experience of us finding a common language.
Jim’s written me into many scores: Line Drawing, Folk Song, New Tricks for Old Dogs, Conversations with Ghosts, and Distraction. I feel very fortunate to play a part in his musical language.
Generations of musicians around the country have been inspired by Paul’s musicianship, leadership and warmth.
Andy wrote Bagpipe Music for Marshall McGuire and me. We’ve shared many conversations before and since, on and off The Music Show, most recently, working on his remarkable Untuning the Sky.
Peter and I worked together on my first festival, Four Winds, Ukaria 24, and most recently, on the design for Line Drawings. He’s a poetic designer, who creates deeply sensitive work.
Unsung hero of en masse and Four Winds 2012, Michael is a brilliant production manager.
The first piece of music that I premiered was Amanda’s Phoenix Songs. Working with Amanda was so positive and formative an experience that composers and new music have been central to my life ever since.
Monty takes gorgeous photos, even sometimes ones of me that I like – miraculous!
Lawrence was a central character in the musical creation of en masse. He generously welcomed me into new musical worlds, sharing colleagues, skills, ideas.
Peter wrote A Song for Neilma for the 2010 Four Winds Festival, for me and Flinders Quartet. He was a defining voice in Australian music, and having a recorder added to one of his scores was a privilege.
Moritz created an extraordinary piece called alien for weaver of fictions. His recorder works are legendary, and as a player, take you to places you had thought shouldn’t exist.
An invaluable organisation, I’m very proud to have been the Chair of the board of the Australian Music Centre from 2016-2021, and a board member for many years prior.