UNDER THE CANOPY to Open With Melbourne Chamber Orchestra and Accordionist James Crabb

From 9–12 July 2026, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra will present Under the Canopy, a striking orchestral program featuring internationally renowned classical accordionist James Crabb. Performed in Melbourne, Ballarat and Werribee, Under the Canopy showcases the expressive possibilities of the classical accordion in a program that moves across time, place and tradition.

Renowned for his electrifying Stage Presence and interpretive depth, Crabb brings his distinctive artistry to works by Jean-Philippe Rameau, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Tomás Gubitsch, Scottish traditional music, and Australian composer Aaron Wyatt. MCO Artistic Director Sophie Rowell said Crabb brings a rare combination of virtuosity, warmth and imagination to the stage. “Working with James Crabb is always a joy. He is one of those rare musicians who completely captivates an audience from the moment he walks onto the stage. His extraordinary command of the accordion allows him to reveal colours, textures and emotions that continually surprise and delight me, and he has a remarkable gift for helping us hear familiar music in entirely new ways,” Rowell said.

Crabb said he is looking forward to returning to MCO for a program of contrasts. “I'm really looking forward to collaborating with Sophie and MCO again with an exciting, energetic and beautifully diverse program. Buckle yourself in for an emotional rollercoaster ride!” he said.

The program opens with Rameau's Suite from Six concerts en sextuor, arranged for string orchestra by Stanisław Skrowaczewski. Crabb also performs his own arrangement of C.P.E. Bach's Harpsichord Concerto in A major Wq29 H437, alongside Gubitsch's In a tango state of mind, a restless and evocative work drawing on the spirit of tango while creating something entirely its own.

At the heart of the program is Aaron Wyatt's Under the Canopy, commissioned by MCO and heard here in a new arrangement for chamber strings. Wyatt is a violist, violinist, conductor, composer, programmer and academic, whose work spans traditional and electro-acoustic composition. In 2021, he became the first Indigenous Australian to conduct a state symphony orchestra in concert. Wyatt said the work offers a different perspective on the Australian landscape. “So often when people think of the Australian landscape, they think of a sparse and unforgiving terrain,” Wyatt said. “Under the Canopy instead reflects on the forests near where I have lived in the more southern reaches of the country: the temperate rainforests around Melbourne, and the mighty Jarrah and Karri forests of the southwest. The program also includes Scottish traditional selections arranged by Crabb, bringing warmth, nostalgia, rhythmic drive and joy to the concert.

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