Elder Conservatorium's Concert Series
Welcome to our 2026 concert series, Counterpoint. Any university is a polyphonic experience – a community of different voices, perspectives and agendas – but as we join forces to build the new Adelaide University, this notion of counterpoint feels particularly resonant.
The art of counterpoint – entwined, independent melodic lines – sits at the heart of much of the music we perform. Our newly expanded Elder Conservatorium of Music and School of Performing Arts offers a parallel version, weaving together the disciplines of classical performance, jazz performance, composition, popular music, Sonic arts, music education, music theatre, and performing arts studies.
This year’s concert calendar reflects the richness of this combination. It ranges from our much-loved Lunch Hour and After Hours series, to the creativity of Hal’s Hall – now an indispensable part of South Australia’s jazz scene – alongside our flagship Music Theatre productions. We celebrate the second year of Ensemble Lumen, expanding its reach to New Zealand and China, and introduce our newest series, MOD. x Elder Conservatorium: Sounding the Future, created in response to the university merger and developed in collaboration with the J.M. Coetzee Centre for Creative Practice.
We are delighted to be partnering again with the Harris International Piano Series, featuring artists such as Yeol Eum Son, Isata Kanneh-Mason, and Ingrid Fliter. I hope you will find something here that speaks to you, and look forward to welcoming you into the richly contrapuntal world of the Elder Conservatorium.
Professor Anna Goldsworthy
Dean, Elder Conservatorium of Music and School of Performing Arts
