Tonight (Friday 23 May) Monash University School of Music celebrates its 60th anniversary with a night of new compositions and performances.
One key aspect of the night will be the School's On Country Unit, where students undertake an intensive Music in Culture Study Tour focusing on First Nations knowledge and culture led by Lecturers Dr Nicole Canham and Mr Aaron Wyatt.
Students work directly with Indigenous composers, performers and knowledge holders to explore how they can engage with the music of First Nations people in culturally respectful ways. At the completion of the unit, the students, under the imprint of the Collective Footprints Ensemble, record an album of music by First Nations composers.
On May 29, to coincide with Reconciliation Week, the Collective Footprints Ensem, will release the album Side by Side, a video of which will be shown on Friday evening. Side by Side features music by eminent First Nations composers Aaron Wyatt, Brenda Gifford, Gina Williams and Guy Ghouse, Ruby Hunter and Nardi Simpson together with new compositions from students created in response to their learning.
Mr Wyatt says the unit helps the students "think outside the standard box regarding repertoire, and look at Indigenous composers across the genres, from jazz to classical".
Monash music student Owen Leigh-Lancaster said the unit had assisted him in musically, "learning more about the land we inhabit". Drumming student Alex Bicknell said the unit "has given me a lot of agency in the decisions I make about my music and recognising the impact it has on Indigenous and non-Indigenous people".
Side by Side will be available on all streaming platforms from 29 May 2025.
