Friday evening was the opening ceremony. I was offered a chance to contribute (musically) to the ceremony. After speaking a few words, I played a short piece by Australian composer Angus Davison. My offering took place just before the smoking ceremony, several beautiful aboriginal ceremonies and creative offerings from Drill and Second Echo. It was a moving experience.

On Saturday morning, I collaborated in an improvised ‘sound bath’ with three trombonists. In the afternoon, Martin Penicka, Dinah Woods, Jules Evans and I played in an improvisation session in the Story Dome with artists we would perform with that evening. The session involved discussion of themes and creation of musical characteristics to complement their poems. It was well attended, and the audience were fascinated to watch and listen to us collaborating.

When our performance time ‘arrived’ (and that is what all of the performance times did… arrive cheerily, independent of the schedule, as per the spirit of this festival) we hopped onto the main stage – inside an open-air tent in 4 degrees. We improvised with three spoken word artists, and, in the final poem, local Aboriginal musician Warren Mason joined us on guitar. The audience was clearly excited having orchestral musicians contribute to the festival. Martin and I discovered that the speed with which you can play pizzicatos decreases dramatically in 4 degrees, and Jules was quick enough to observe that Warren had warmed up in E minor just before we played with him! The final poem, written and delivered by poet Young Dawkins, aimed to conclude by music swelling to a climax. The first part went well, but then we were all too polite to indicate an end, so we enjoyed several minutes on the stage before finding a natural conclusion.

TSO is committed to a process of reconciliation with First Nations peoples. To learn more about why we value and prioritise reconciliation visit Reconciliation Australia.