Canberra International Music Festival | MOSSO: music in motion
2 May, 2026, National Film and Sound Archive, Canberra, ACT
An early and chilly start to Day 4 of the Canberra International Music Festival, with a festival within a festival at the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA). MOSSO: music in motion was a feast of great new music, moving image and spatial sound last year, so it was an easy addition to our weekend. A particular draw card was also seeing CIMF Composer in Residence, Fiona Hill, curate a program of exciting new music, and quite a few word premieres. The full day was a program of nine concerts across the full range of the NFSA’s spaces with musicians from Switzerland, around Australia and local to Canberra. Here are some highlights of the day.
The day began with a dedicated audience of early risers to hear composer and pianist Nat Bartsch perform music from her album Forever Changed in the ARC Cinema. We were prepared for a low sensory experience, thanks to the pre-concert information sent out for those in the audience who may need support to access the performance. We had low light, comfy seats and non-stressful visual elements on the cinema screen and it was a calming experience after a busy work week. Most of the audience experienced the concert with their eyes closed and smiling faces. It was a meditative experience. Nat performed solo piano with layered, electronic and ethereal sounds. It was a delight to be part of the early rising music community of Canberra and a gentle welcome to MOSSO.
An error and poor planning meant we chose coffee and breakfast over being on time for the next performance – Digital Echoes, performed by CIMF Artistic Director Eugene Ughetti, Aaron Wyatt and Rohan Goldsmith in the Gallery. Sadly, we were not able to be let in to the performance due to capacity issues but a friend said it was an amazing display of viola and percussion in the surround sound space. Luckily for me, and particularly my American husband, we got to spend the time having coffee and chatting to Nardi Simpson, who had several pieces on the agenda for MOSSO. Nardi spoke to us about connection to country, with genuine interest in my husband’s North American origin and his connection to North Dakota and the local bisons. Nardi’s music always connects her to her country and her family’s story and songlines, and it was a privilege to spend time chatting about her music and process.
By 11am, the Canberra sunshine came out and so did the audience for the first performance by Melbourne’s Lyrebird Brass in the NFSA courtyard, up in the balcony. The audience was very responsive to Cathy Likhuta’s Apex Predators – a murky, stalky, spiky and shadowy piece played effortlessly by the brass quintet. Next was the world premiere of Elliot Gyger’s In the Presence of So much Sky for brass trio of flugelhorn, French horn and alto trombone. This other-worldly, shimmering, microtonal work bounced off walls of the NFSA’s courtyard with a great audience response for the performance and composer in the audience. The highlight of this bracket was Nardi Simpson’s Yulanbiirr, adapted from the original vocal work for brass quintet. This piece conveyed memories of family and being on country and the ensemble performed with excellent dynamic range and vocalism.
We returned to the ARC Cinema for a concert of three works by our composer in residence, Fiona Hill. I have been watching Fiona’s rise as a film composer since her time at Sydney Conservatorium of Music in the Composing Women’s program. It was incredible to rewatch Fiona’s work Circumstance, with her music enhancing a film produced in partnership with Sue Healey and Sydney Dance Company PPY dancers as part of Fiona’s studies at the Conservatorium. I had watched the film in 2021 on a less-than-ideal sound stage, but to hear it performed with live string ensemble and piano, deftly conducted by Eugene Ughetti was wonderful. The string ensemble was CIMF artists Ensemble Contrechamps (Switzerland), the Australian String Quartet and local musicians Tim Wickham, Samuel Payne and Kyle Ramsay-Daniel. The ensemble played with passion and precision, and the sound system in the ARC Cinema made this performance world class. It was at times hard to watch the 27 dancers performing in some very precarious locations or focus on the musicians. A festival highlight.
Next, we watched Fiona’s video work Śūnyatā, with a recording by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and visuals by Sue Healey. A companion piece to Circumstance, it was another drone-filmed visual splendour with mostly meditative music. We would have preferred a live performance but it was a rest before the piece de la resistance – the world premiere of Fiona’s UnderOnBelow, expertly performed by saxophonist Josh Hyde. Josh performed this electroacoustic work on three saxophones with stunning responsive visuals and lighting by Fausto Brusamolino. What a treat to hear this in cinematic surround sound with visuals reflecting a connection to country: ants burrowing in the dirt, an underwater view of trees, stormy rainforest with a frenzy of insects, and post storm sunshine and birds awakening. Josh’s breathy playing, with tongue slaps and finger sounds on keys created drama for this virtuosic sound world, matching the distorted and dramatic lighting and visuals were outstanding.
