Sydney Philharmonia Will Perform LOST BIRDS in August

Join Sydney Philharmonia Choirs for an afternoon of powerfully moving music, in which themes of nature, renewal and recovery come to the fore. 

Set in Balmain's historic White Bay Power Station – a venue renewed, thanks to extraordinary conservation efforts, into a uniquely inspirational heritage-listed cultural space, this beautiful concert highlights humanity's complex relationship with the natural world, and our role in unwittingly destroying and letting slip the things we hold most dear.

At the heart of the afternoon program is two-time GRAMMY Award-winning American composer Christopher Tin's acclaimed 2022 composition The Lost Birds – a lyrical elegy to birds and other species that, due to the impact of human activity, are now extinct. 

Written in 12 movements, interwoven with poetry from Emily Dickinson, Christina Rossetti and more, this beautiful choral work celebrates birds as symbols of hope, peace and renewal with music that evokes the awe and wonderment of magnificent flocks soaring across blue skies; slowly transitioning to mark and mourn humanity's reshaping of the environment with phrases that echo the disappearance of birds and other species, until ultimately humans disappear.

In curating this tender concert program, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' Artistic & Music Director, Brett Weymark, has paired Tin's contemporary masterpiece with Queensland-based composer Joseph Twist's brilliant Australian song cycle, Timeless Land – a work which, like The Lost Birds, is inspired by concern and anger that we are not doing enough to protect our planet.

Weymark comments, “Artists have always responded to great crises in history by applying their skills to the pressing issues of the day. We have chosen these two works by Tin and Twist to highlight not only the fact that we are at a tipping point in our relationship with the planet but that we have been aware of it for such a long time with Tin's work looking at the disappearance of birds in the 19th century due to industrialisation and Twist responding to more recent events such as the 2019 Australian bushfires. Humans respond to stories not facts and nothing is ever achieved without emotions being stirred. This is where art comes in to connect the brain with the heart - only then is real action and change possible.”

Like Tin, Twist has mined the work of some of Australia's most celebrated poets for lyrics that capture our unique natural environment – moving from the beauty of Banjo Patterson's Sunrise on the Coast, through the playfulness of Les Murray's Jellyfish, to end on more a serious note with Ashes, a poem highlighting the devastating scale of wildlife lost to bushfires, and Oodgeroo Noonuccal's Time Is Running Out, protesting the destruction of sacred First Nations Australian stolen land. 

Two new compositions will also premiere as part of this event: a newly commissioned piece by Yuwaalaraay storyteller and composer Nardi Simpson, in which the themes explored by Tin and Twist will be amplified; and the final two instalments – Autumn and Winter – of British composer Joanna Forbes L'Estrange's A Season to Sing, a reimagining of Vivaldi's Four Seasons co-commissioned by Sydney Philharmonia Choirs in collaboration with 55 choirs worldwide.

Performed by Sydney Philharmonia Choirs virtuoso Chamber Singers and members of the Sydney Philharmonia Ensemble, conducted by Brett Weymark, this poignant concert is a musical acknowledgement of humanity's delicate existence on the planet and an expression of deep respect and gratitude; an afternoon not to be missed. 

Australia - Sydney Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. MJ THE MUSICAL (Sydney Lyric Theatre)

8.1% of votes

2. THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (Gosford Musical Society)

6.8% of votes

3. A CHORUS LINE (Curtain Bounce)

6.4% of votes

Vote Now!