Monthly Sonic Explorations in Castlemaine VIC

Monthly Sonic Explorations in Castlemaine VIC

Monash Art Ensemble perform To Kill A Magic We Got Used To with AAO’s Aaron Choulai, Roman MC, Lizzy Welsh and Biddy Connor.

Japanese hip hop meets Australian Art Orchestra

Japanese hip hop in an intimate sideshow

Monthly Sonic Explorations in Castlemaine VIC

A daring new work from Aaron Choulai and Roman MC.

Three music events in one day across Melbourne CBD

3pm: Ask The Ages at Section 8 (free)

5pm: Four Plus One conducted improvisation at Block Arcade (free)

7.30pm: premiere of To Kill A Magic We Got Used To at Athenaeum Theatre II (ticketed)

Revisit standout festival moments, explore artists’ creative journeys, and celebrate fresh inspiration across the region. Featuring Aaron Choulai as a guest speaker.

A stunning performance bringing together musicians and singers from Australia and Papua New Guinea, in Tatana Village, PNG.

Adam Manning’s piece First Rhythms recontextualises clapsticks, First Nations rhythms, and visual art within a contemporary performance setting, guided by the Indigenous understanding that everything is alive and carries a pulse—such as the earth’s natural rhythm.

AAO performs an improvised set of music under Artistic Director Aaron Choulai’s Sono-Kinetic Conducting framework in response to artworks in the exhibition, Rose Nolan: Breathing Helps. TarraWarra’s unique architecture is activated by solo performances by AAO musicians creating live improvised responses to the TarraWarra Museum’s public spaces and sculptures.

Adam Manning’s piece First Rhythms recontextualises clapsticks, First Nations rhythms, and visual art within a contemporary performance setting, guided by the Indigenous understanding that everything is alive and carries a pulse—such as the earth’s natural rhythm.

Australian Art Orchestra returns to the National Gallery of Victoria for an intimate performance as a part of NGV's Friday Night series. Across three sets of music, audiences will experience AAO in a small ensemble setting, conducted through a series of improvised compositions by Aaron Choulai.

Australian Art Orchestra returns to the National Gallery of Victoria for an intimate performance as a part of NGV's Friday Night series. Across three sets of music, audiences will experience AAO in a small ensemble setting, conducted through a series of improvised compositions by Aaron Choulai.

Experience a stunning choral performance bringing together musicians and singers from Australia and Papua New Guinea.

Experience a stunning choral concert bringing together musicians and singers from Australia and Papua New Guinea.

The Australian Art Orchestra (AAO) is Australia's leading creative music ensemble. The AAO creates new works that reflect the diversity of jazz and improvised music artists and arts in the Asia-Pacific region. Pianist and composer Aaron Choulai, who has lived in Tokyo for 15 years, returns to Japan as AAO's Artistic Director to present three different original projects over 3 DAYS with special guests at Shinjuku Pit Inn.

The Australian Art Orchestra (AAO) is Australia's leading creative music ensemble. The AAO creates new works that reflect the diversity of jazz and improvised music artists and arts in the Asia-Pacific region. Pianist and composer Aaron Choulai, who has lived in Tokyo for 15 years, returns to Japan as AAO's Artistic Director to present three different original projects over 3 DAYS with special guests at Shinjuku Pit Inn.

The Australian Art Orchestra (AAO) is Australia's leading creative music ensemble. The AAO creates new works that reflect the diversity of jazz and improvised music artists and arts in the Asia-Pacific region. Pianist and composer Aaron Choulai, who has lived in Tokyo for 15 years, returns to Japan as AAO's Artistic Director to present three different original projects over 3 DAYS with special guests at Shinjuku Pit Inn.

In this unmissable birthday celebration, the Australian Art Orchestra commemorates both the legacy and future of the AAO with a special performance bringing together our community of wonderful artists from the past 30 years of activity.

This concert features a program of works, both new and reimagined, that have been built over three decades including: Ringing The Bell Backwards (AAO’s first performance and major work from 1994), and premieres from both Artistic Director Aaron Choulai and Associate Artist Sofia Carbonara, demonstrating new directions for the AAO in a new era.

The program will be performed by an ensemble that brings together musicians across the many iterations of the Australian Art Orchestra, including Scott Tinkler, Aviva Endean and Adrian Sherriff, as well as featured artists including past AAO Artistic Directors Paul Grabowsky AO and Peter Knight, alongside recent collaborators Kutcha Edwards and Hikaru Tanaka.

One of the country’s most vibrant and captivating soul singers, award-winning composer, vocalist and Noongar woman Bumpy premieres her new work Tooni—a raw and deeply personal exploration of survival, revival, and the urgency of sharing knowledge—featuring members of the Australian Art Orchestra (AAO).

Straight Up and Down (SUAD) presents three new commissioned works, pushing the boundaries of musical innovation and celebrating the originality, creativity, and diversity of Australian improvisers. The featured composers for this iteration are Cheryl Durongpisitkul, Yusuke Akai, and Aaron Choulai.

In an innovative collaboration, each performance will unfold at Melbourne's iconic outdoor container bar, Section 8, situated in the vibrant CBD. Section 8, a cultural nexus known for its diversity in music and community, contributes a context that adds a depth of dimension to this series, creating a unique platform for the premiere of these boundary-pushing compositions.

The second of the premieres features a new commission from saxophonist and composer Yusuke Akai on June 28, featuring a large ensemble of AAO improvisers.

Now or Never 2024
Wuigada - Gagada (To Sing - Loud) | Kutcha Edwards + Australian Art Orchestra

Four ensembles across the month of July, showcasing the diversity and quality of artists and artistic practice in Australia’s contemporary musical landscape. The Australian Art Orchestra (AAO) joins NGV Friday nights to curate a visionary series of ensembles, assembled from a variety of its core members, collaborators, and artists from their broader community.

The AAO’s selections traverse new directions in jazz, innovative rap, folk music and far beyond, celebrating improvisation as a musical language that unites across borders and cultures. The AAO’s selections traverse new directions in jazz, innovative rap, folk music and far beyond, celebrating improvisation as a musical language that unites across borders and cultures.

Four ensembles across the month of July, showcasing the diversity and quality of artists and artistic practice in Australia’s contemporary musical landscape. The Australian Art Orchestra (AAO) joins NGV Friday nights to curate a visionary series of ensembles, assembled from a variety of its core members, collaborators, and artists from their broader community.

The AAO’s selections traverse new directions in jazz, innovative rap, folk music and far beyond, celebrating improvisation as a musical language that unites across borders and cultures. The AAO’s selections traverse new directions in jazz, innovative rap, folk music and far beyond, celebrating improvisation as a musical language that unites across borders and cultures.

Four ensembles across the month of July, showcasing the diversity and quality of artists and artistic practice in Australia’s contemporary musical landscape. The Australian Art Orchestra (AAO) joins NGV Friday nights to curate a visionary series of ensembles, assembled from a variety of its core members, collaborators, and artists from their broader community.

The AAO’s selections traverse new directions in jazz, innovative rap, folk music and far beyond, celebrating improvisation as a musical language that unites across borders and cultures. The AAO’s selections traverse new directions in jazz, innovative rap, folk music and far beyond, celebrating improvisation as a musical language that unites across borders and cultures.

Four ensembles across the month of July, showcasing the diversity and quality of artists and artistic practice in Australia’s contemporary musical landscape. The Australian Art Orchestra (AAO) joins NGV Friday nights to curate a visionary series of ensembles, assembled from a variety of its core members, collaborators, and artists from their broader community.

The AAO’s selections traverse new directions in jazz, innovative rap, folk music and far beyond, celebrating improvisation as a musical language that unites across borders and cultures. The AAO’s selections traverse new directions in jazz, innovative rap, folk music and far beyond, celebrating improvisation as a musical language that unites across borders and cultures.

Straight Up and Down (SUAD) presents three new commissioned works, pushing the boundaries of musical innovation and celebrating the originality, creativity, and diversity of Australian improvisers. The featured composers for this iteration are Cheryl Durongpisitkul, Yusuke Akai, and Aaron Choulai.

In an innovative collaboration, each performance will unfold at Melbourne's iconic outdoor container bar, Section 8, situated in the vibrant CBD. Section 8, a cultural nexus known for its diversity in music and community, contributes a context that adds a depth of dimension to this series, creating a unique platform for the premiere of these boundary-pushing compositions.

The second of the premieres features a new commission from saxophonist and composer Yusuke Akai on June 28, featuring a large ensemble of AAO improvisers.