Music collective Spinifex Gum will perform with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) and other musicians as part of a NAIDOC week special.
Performing will be the Marliya Choir, plus Aboriginal-Australian singer songwriter Emma Donovan, Felix Riebl and Ollie McGill of The Cat Empire, and the 60-strong Gondwana Voices, accompanied by the MSO and members of Melbourne Youth Orchestras.
Featuring new songs by Riebl, this part protest, part celebration choral-orchestral re-imagining of the collective's work will bring new sonic depth and dimension to a Spinifex Gum show.
Melbourne's Hamer Hall will be filled with young voices of the Marliya of Gondwana choirs, singing in both English and Yindjibarndi.
Riebl said Spinifex Gum, fronted by all-female, all-Indigenous voices of Marliya Choir, is the most moving musical project he'd ever been involved in.
"That it's now performing with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, supported by Gondwana Voices, featuring Emma Donovan, visually accompanied by the cinematic backdrop of the Pilbara, and showcasing some incredible new material, makes this show an absolute must-see. I can't wait to share this with new audiences and fans alike," he said.
Spinifex Gum's work addresses pervasive issues including social disparity in the Pilbara, deaths in custody, disproportionate incarceration, and land rights.
MSO + Spinifex Gum will be conducted by Benjamin Northey and composed by Felix Riebl. Orchestration will be by Ross Irwin and Ollie McGill, choreography by Deborah Brown, and choir direction by Lyn Williams AM.
Two shows will be presented on Saturday, July 9 - one at at 2pm and another at 7.30pm - at the Arts Centre Melbourne, Hamer Hall. There is also a meet the team experience at Iwaki Auditorium, ABC Southbank Centre, on Thursday, July 7, at 6.30pm.
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