A work celebrating the love of two Melbourne Queer men who have travelled the world together 

Ensemble CANE and Violets with Solo performances by Adam McMillian & Melina van Leeuwen. Featuring two world premieres by Australian composer Christopher Healey.

A ‘Fanfare for Midsumma Pride’; especially commissioned for Midsumma, Melbourne’s Queer community and the VPC; and ‘A Star, A Journey, A Fire‘.

Ensemble CANE is a collaboration between Australian composer, Christopher Healey, and the extraordinary musicians, Niels Bijl (saxophone), Adam McMillan (piano) and Eliza Shephard (flute). CANE presents repertoire to delight and stir modern hearts and minds. They champion & foster contemporary works by Australian composers, present undiscovered gems and breathe fresh life into classic masterworks.

Violets is an Australian-based classical chamber music group, consisting of Molly Collier-O’Boyle (viola), Anna Rabinowicz (flute) and Melina van Leeuwen (harp). Rooted in the traditional canon for flute, viola and harp, Violets seek to present established repertoire in a new light through concert curation that champions cross-genre collaboration, the femme and the new. 

Soloists 

Adam McMillan is a Melbourne-based pianist, performing regularly as a recitalist, chamber musician, and concerto soloist. He has received awards including first prize in the MRC Great Romantics Competition, the Musica Viva Chamber Music Prize and first prize in the Queensland Piano Competition. Adam performs as one half of Duo Piaggio alongside award-winning violinist Kyla Matsuura-Miller, and as member of Ensemble CANE.

Harpist Melina van Leeuwen performs nationally as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral performer. She has appeared as principal harp with the Australian World Orchestra, Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Melbourne Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria/the Australian Ballet, Victorian Opera, and the Melbourne, West Australian and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras.