Celebrated Musicians Will Perform Live Every Friday in Heritage Sydney Locations

Every Friday in July celebrated Australian musicians will perform contemporary inspired takes on the acoustic piano - Jim Moginie (Midnight Oil), Sophie Hutchings (popular pianist and composer), David Bridie (Not Drowning, Waving) and Chris Abrahams (The Necks).

The innovative series of bespoke piano performances in historic Sydney locations, impromptu compositions, and improvisations by celebrated Australian artists, is the brainchild of Jim Moginie co-founder, song writer, guitarist and keyboardist for Midnight Oil and art and heritage curator Ross Heathcote, in partnership with Piano+. 

Each performance has been designed as a unique exploration of space and sound, and the venues chosen for their strong and singular spirit of place, including the Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park, Elizabeth Bay House, Paddington Town Hall and the State Library of NSW.

Tickets are priced from $25 - $85, with a package available to buy all four performances in the series that includes a complimentary invitation to the opening night post-show celebration with Jim Moginie at the Anzac Memorial on Friday 5 July. To book visit pianoplus.com.au

An Australian music legend, Jim Moginie said of the new launch “Ross and I developed the concept with the aim of revealing a secret side of Sydney that takes celebrated artists out of their usual surrounds to historic Sydney spaces that aren’t usually accessed for music and that offer incredible musical inspiration through their spectacular acoustics. With Australian musicians playing in these famed Sydney spaces we share through the series both our fascination with this city while creating something magical for the artist and audiences.” 

Ross Heathcote works primarily as a curator with galleries, museums and heritage Sydney sites and has developed and delivered many exhibitions and public programming projects around the subjects of history, popular culture, music and visual arts. No stranger to working closely with Moginie, in the recent past he was a curator of the large-scale touring exhibition ‘The Making of Midnight Oil” and collaborated with Moginie on other music performance programs. After each Piano+ Place performance look forward to Heathcote’s personal interview with each artist to discover the inspiration behind their program.

Jim Moginie - Friday 5 July, 7pm The Auditorium, Anzac Memorial, Hyde Park Sydney

The Piano+Place series kicks off with Australian music legend Moginie, discovering the sacred space of the Anzac Memorial revealing the secrets that live behind the walls, expressed through the sounds of the piano.

Be spellbound as Moginie draws on the Memorial’s architecture and the history and struggles of returned soldiers who fought bravely for our country and who are honoured at the Anzac Memorial. This haunting performance will include some much-loved Midnight Oil music, improvisation, and storytelling inspired by his own family’s experiences of war.

Chris Abrahams Friday 12 July, 6pm & 8pm Elizabeth Bay House

ARIA-Award winning jazz musician and member of The Necks, Chris Abrahams, tunes into the richly sonic resonance of historic Elizabeth Bay House. The grand architecture, magnificent domed saloon, and sweeping staircase of this space offer a tantalisingly close and intimate musical experience. 

“A large part of my music is about playing my way into the sonic resonances of the space I’m in” says Abrahams.

“Elizabeth Bay House would have had music played at it so I feel like I’m possibly adding to the history of the place. …Architecturally with that dome above it, I think it’s going to be sonically an exciting space to play in and very reverberant” he said.

Sophie Hutchings Friday 19 July, 7pm Stapleton Room, Paddington Town Hall 

Lose yourself in the music as internationally-renowned composer and Australian pianist, Sophie Hutchings, a staple of the Australian music scene, immerses you in an ethereal world of tranquillity through the beauty of the piano at Paddington Town Hall.

“We live in an over-stimulated environment” says Hutchings. “This performance is about stripping back the layers, to let go and immerse oneself into a world of space and tranquillity through the layers of natural sound that come from the piano. It’s a beautiful instrument” she said.

David Bridie Friday 26 July, 7pm Paintings Galleries, State Library of New South Wales

Renowned for his atmospheric piano work, don't miss David Bridie’s gritty and poetic final performance of the Piano+Place series in the idyllic surrounds of the Paintings Galleries, the State Library of New South Wales,Level 1 of the Mitchell building. A true innovator of the Australian music scene, David Bridie brings three decades as a solo artist and soundtrack composer, carving a unique path through a shifting cultural landscape.

Hear the early sounds of his seminal 80’s and 90’s alt-pop group Not Drowning, Waving and some tracks off The Wisdom Line Album. 

Tickets to these once off events are limited and will be on sale Wednesday 1 May. To book visit pianoplus.com.au

To post a comment, you must register and login.