COLLECTIVE CALM
If you’re craving some calm, renewal, and joy, Arafura Music Collective has a remedy with its first concert of the year.
WORDS TIERNEY WHITE
IMAGES PAZ TASSONE
With performances in Darwin and Palmerston, Simple Gifts – Music for Renewal and Joy celebrates the Larrakia season of Mayilema – aka knock ‘em down season – where the final days of the Wet season in April and March see the last rains flatten the speargrass as the Dry season lingers around the corner.
Each performance is co-curated, shaped by the passions and artistic instincts of the musicians in cahoots with Creative Director Claire Kilgariff, who says featuring the Larrakia seasons is important.
“Including the Larrakia seasons matters because Appalachian Spring is built around the idea of Northern Hemisphere spring and joyful renewal. For Arafura Music Collective, honouring the Country we live and work on means recognising how renewal unfolds here in the Top End,” she says.
“By placing the concert in Mayilema, the speargrass season, we invite audiences to notice the gifts of our own environment – the shift towards the Dry, the changing light, the feel of Country coming into a new phase.
“It’s a way of rooting this beloved work in our place and inviting everyone to experience renewal through the lens of the NT.”
Spring’s promise unfolds in this sweet program, with Copland’s Appalachian Spring alongside luminous works by Ólafur Arnalds, Ross Edwards, and Kate Chernin, plus poetry from Australian Italian poet, Karyn Sassella.
This uplifting performance invites audiences to reconnect with the present moment in a heartening, communal afternoon of music that renews the spirit and celebrates the splendour of the earth.
Kilgariff says it offers audiences hope, optimism, and reflection.
“It’s easy to feel swept up in the constant flow of global crises, and while our compassion for those larger events must never fade, we can also nurture the small, sustaining worlds we build close to home. Simple Gifts leans into that idea of finding steadiness, gratitude, and connection in the things we can shape together.”
Chamber music thrives on being in the moment, where musicians and listeners shape the atmosphere together, each person contributing simply by being present.
“We hope audiences feel a sense of connection – to the music, to each other, and to the simple gifts in the world around us – with a chance to relax, breathe, and to enjoy the warmth and artistry of local musicians creating something beautiful together,” Kilgariff says.
Whether you’re a classical music lover or simply someone seeking a moment of calm, this gentle afternoon offers all the above. Come as you are, settle in, and let the music wash over you.
Simple Gifts – Music for Renewal and Joy
WHEN SAT 7 MAR | 3.30PM, 4PM CONCERT
AT GRAY COMMUNITY HALL
COST FREE-$25
WHEN SUN 8 MAR | 4.15PM, 5PM CONCERT
AT NT SUPREME COURT
COST FREE-$40 BAR AVAILABLE
