RESONATE Cultural Leadership

MEDIA RELEASE November 5, 2025 Melbourne Chamber Orchestra presents Nightingale – Baroque and modern treasures in an explosion of colour and energy Melbourne Chamber Orchestra (MCO) returns to the stage this November with Nightingale — a vibrant program where Baroque elegance meets modern brilliance. This kaleidoscopic concert celebrates the expressive power of MCO’s musicians and the diversity of instruments that bring their artistry to life. Harpsichordist Donald Nicolson brings his trademark energy and radiant musicality to centre stage, directing the ensemble from the keyboard and performing as soloist in Bach’s Concerto No. 1 in D minor for Harpsichord and Strings , a virtuosic cornerstone of the repertoire. “This is music that leaps off the page,” says Donald Nicolson . “From the precision and beauty of Bach to the exuberant colours of contemporary Melbourne composer Melody Eötvös, this program revels in connection — between musicians, centuries, and audiences. It’s joyful, bo...

MEDIA RELEASE October 20, 2025 Routledge releases Harmonising Cultural Leadership in Professional Orchestras A landmark new book from Samuel Cairnduff; reframing how cultural institutions define leadership, purpose and public value A new book from Routledge, Harmonising Cultural Leadership in Professional Orchestras , by cultural management scholar, broadcaster and consultant Dr Samuel Cairnduff , will be released on Monday 20 October 2025 . The book interrogates the widespread yet ill-defined use of “cultural leadership” in strategic plans, policies and industry discourse. Despite its ubiquity, the term has lacked clarity and cohesion in both theory and practice. Drawing on fieldwork with twenty artistic and executive leaders, Dr Cairnduff explores how orchestras grapple with the tension between artistic tradition and civic expectation, revealing a deeper uncertainty about their purpose and place in society. At the heart of Harmonising Cultural Leadership is a new conceptual and prac...

MEDIA RELEASE October 17, 2025 Jayson Gillham releases Chopin: Études   An illuminating new recording from one of Australia’s finest pianists Internationally acclaimed Australian-British pianist Jayson Gillham turns his artistry to the Etudes of Chopin: music written to take pianists to the extremes of virtuosity while enchanting listeners with their beauty, elegance and lyricism. On this landmark album, Gillham performs all 27 of these brilliant and captivating pieces, plus the stirring and passionate Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53 ‘Heroic’ . Chopin’s genius as both composer and pianist earned him the title poet of the piano : his touch brought the instrument to new dimensions of expressiveness. Before Chopin, etudes – the French term means study – were little more than exercises; in his hands, they took flight into new realms of creativity and delight. For Jayson Gillham, hailed by Gramophone as a “story-teller” and described by Limelight as “the ideal romantic”, Chopin’s ...