Discover Fed Square

A celebration of place and culture, featuring Fed Live with Briggs, Josh Muir’s evocative final artwork series This Place and the never-before-seen powerful sculptural work Unvanished by Barkindji artist Kent Morris and Studio John Fish. This May and early June, we are proud to be able to share and celebrate the songs, stories and art of many talented First Nations musicians, performers and artists – as we invite you to participate in live music events and community festivals, art installations and exhibitions, indigenous dance and more at Fed Square. And you can enjoy live music and a journey through the cosmos at Fed Square after hours over two art-filled nights, as part of Art After Dark. Check out all the activity below.

The Choir of Trinity College, Melbourne are one of the gems of the city’s musical life. Directed by Christopher Watson, they’ve collaborated with some of the most acclaimed orchestras, ensembles, and conductors from around the world, including esteemed choral directors Jeremy Summerly and Stephen Layton as well as the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra led by Sir Andrew Davis. For Viva Edge, they’ll present a program that celebrates contemporary female composers, each work paired with a Tallis piece that deals with similar or complementary subject matter. Highlights include Cecilia McDowall’s 2012 work The Lord is Good, a setting of verses from the Book of Lamentations. Calling for two soprano soloists whose lines entwine against a textured choral backdrop, the work is imbued with a sense of yearning. It’s paired with Tallis’ own exquisite setting of the Lamentations, a more meditative work. Commissioned by the choir and first performed in 2021, the singers will also perform Australian composer Sarah Elise Thompson’s Sundance, a transporting piece of music paired with Tallis’ Te lucis ante terminum I, a valedictory work written to be sung at the last service of the day. Australian composer Brooke Shelley’s A New Commandment will meanwhile follow on from Tallis’ work by the same name to serve as the ideal finale to this special program. Follow Musica Viva on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/MusicaVivaAustralia Follow Musica Viva on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/musicavivaau Follow Musica Viva on Twitter – https://twitter.com/musicavivaau Follow Musica Viva on LinkedIn – https://au.linkedin.com/company/musicaviva

After six Melbourne lockdowns, this concert is a deep emotional exploration of our last two years, emerging from desolation to hope. Building from a solo for Double Bass through duets, quartets, quintets and works for larger ensembles, this program curated by MSO Violin Sarah Curro showcases the string musicians of the MSO and special guests. Featuring Musicians of the MSO Guest violinists from Scotch College Program Stephen Newton In Medias Res for solo Double Bass (World premiere) Ravel Sonata for Violin and Cello: 3rd movement Lent Adrian Hollay Farewell for String Quartet David Paterson (arr. Stephen Newton) Quartettsatz for String Quintet Anton Koch Trapped for String Quintet Edward Fairlie Under/Over for String Ensemble (World premiere) Debussy (arr. Anton Koch) Pour l’Egyptienne for Solo Violin and Strings Ravel (arr. Anton Koch) Sonata for Violin and Piano: 2nd movement Blues for Solo Violin and Strings Anton Koch The Court of Berevew for String Ensemble (World premiere)* Anton Koch Darkness to Light for Solo Violin, Cello and Strings* *Featuring guest violinists from Scotch College: Lachlan Chen, Leon Fei and Geoff Liu. Follow MSO on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/melbournesymphonyorchestra/ Follow MSO on Twitter – https://twitter.com/MelbSymphony Follow MSO on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/MelbourneSymphony/