3MBS Interviews

Sue Kaufmann speaks with Katie Noonan, who will be performing in Alone but all one on Saturday the 1st of August at the Melbourne Recital Centre. For more information and tickets go to the Recital Centre’s website at https://www.melbournerecital.com.au/ Image Copyright: Blue Murder Studios

Julie Houghton speaks with Robert Dora, Artistic Director and conductor of the Australasian Orchestra and composer, Hugh Crosthwaite about their 2026 Winter Concert, Prelude & Tragedy featuring the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Prélude l’Après-midi d’un fauna (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun) by Claude Debussy and a brand new orchestral suite written for the orchestra by Hugh Crosthwaite, entitled The Island of Dr Moreau. 2pm SUNDAY 26th July 2026, at James Tatoulis Auditorium, Methodist ladies’ College, 207 Barkers Road, Kew, Vic. For tickets or more infomation, go to Trybooking.com

Sue Kaufmann speaks with cellist, Trish Dean, about Ensemble Q's performance, featuring ABC Classic presenter and writer Ed le Brocq, and a newly commissioned work by Anne Cawrse, inspired by le Brocq's deeply moving story Sonam & the Silence, a meditation on the transformative power of music. The concert is on Friday, July 24 at 7pm, at Melbourne Recital Centre. For more information and tickets go to the Melbourne Recital Centre website.

Susie May speaks with Grayson Rotumah, co-director, University of Adelaide Centre for Aboriginal Studies in Music, about The Health Songbook. This exciting new resource includes 20 original songs from 14 Indigenous language groups and artists, to be used with music therapists and healthcare practitioners working with Aboriginal patients. The Health Song Book Project can be accessed via the website at healthsongbook.com.

Susie May speaks with Daniel Sinfield about the Lyster Opera’s upcoming performance of Otto Nicolai’s: The Merry Wives of Windsor, the resonance of the story line with today’s audiences and what he has learnt from his role as both performer and director. The performance will take place at Irene Mitchell Studio, St Martins Lane, South Yarra – 18 July at 2pm. Tickets and program details are available through: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1495373  

Sue Kaufmann speaks with Yasmin Rowe, who will be giving a solo recital, Quite the Liszt, on the 10th of July and collaborating with Horn player, Roman Ponomariov, for Duo in Dialogue on the 24th at the Lauriston Chapel in Bendigo. For more information and tickets, google Keys of Gold Festival and click on the Humanitix website.

Sue Kaufmann speaks with Yasmin Rowe, who will be giving a solo recital, Quite the Liszt, on the 10th of July and collaborating with Roman  Duo in Dialogue on the 24th at the Lauriston Chapel in Bendigo. For more information and tickets go to: https://events.humanitix.com/keys-of-gold-festival Image credit: Agatha Yim

Susie May speaks with Andrea James, artistic director and co-CEO of Ilbijerri Theatre Company about the inspiration behind Gunawarra Re-Creation and what she hopes audiences of the performance will enjoy, feel and reflect on. The production will take place at The Lawler, South Bank Theatre, Melbourne, 8-11 July and Geelong Arts Centre - 17-18 July Tickets  and program details are available through: https://www.ilbijerri.com.au/event/gunawarra-re-creation/

Sue Kaufmann speaks with Gerald Keuneman OAM, who will be conducting the Whitehorse Orchestra’s children’s concert, The Sign of the Seahorse, on Saturday the 11th of July at Kingswood College. For more information and tickets go to: https://www.trybooking.com/eventlist/whitehorseorchestra Image credit: Lawrence Pinder

Sue Kaufmann speaks with soul singer Emma Donovan about her collaboration with the MSO under the baton of Aaron Wyatt to present Take me to the River at Hamer Hall on Friday the 10th of July and at the  GARMA Festival on the 1st of August. For more information and tickets go to: https://www.mso.com.au/media-centre/press-releases/2026-emma-donovan-take-me-to-the-river  

Sarah Cabrol-Douat is an Australian-born pianist, now based in Paris. She speaks with Sue Kaufmann about her early training, which took her from Launceston to Moscow, and her upcoming solo recital on Friday the 3rd of July at Tempo Rubato. For more information and tickets go to: temporubato.com.au

Michael Napthali A.M., CEO of Omega Ensemble speaks with Annie Martin.  Omega Ensemble's next Melbourne concert, "Inner Landscapes" will be held at the Melbourne Recital Centre on Monday the13th of July at 7pm.  Tickets are available from Melbourne Recital Centre Web page or the Omega Ensemble Webpage.  Tickets are from $64 with a significant price reduction for those under 30 years of age.

Violist and Artistic Director of the Malvern East Chamber Music Festival, Lucas Levin, speaks with Annie Martin.  The Malvern East Chamber Music Festival will run from Thursday the 9th of July to Sunday the 12th of July at St John's Anglican Church in Malvern East.   Tickets can be purchased from Malvern East Chamber Music website, mecm.com.au, where you will also find further information about their 4-day festival.

Harpist Emily Granger speaks with Annie Martin about the upcoming launch of her album “A Thing of Beauty” which is to be held at the Primrose Potter Salon in the Melbourne Recital Centre on Tuesday the 7th of July.  Tickets are available from MelbourneRecital.com.au.

Jake Baxendale speaks with Annie Martin about the upcoming performance of his album, Waypeople.  Waypeople will be performed on Wednesday the 1st of July at the Primrose Potter Salon at the Melbourne Recital Centre.  Tickets are available from MelbourneRecital.com.au, and the album can be purchased at the show or through Bandcamp.

Sue Kaufmann speaks with pianist Sean Kim, who will be presenting a two-piano recital, Restless Forms, with Luke Zhang in on the 24th of June at St Johns, Malvern, and on the 27th of June at Tempo Rubato. For more information and tickets go to Trybooking.com and search for “Restless Forms”

Sue Kaufmann speaks with Victoria Purman, whose latest novel, The Marriage Trap, published by Harper Collins, was launched here recently. For more information and book sales go to: https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9781867290636/the-marriage-trap-the-new-2026-story-of-rebellion-and-freedom-from-the-bestselling-author-of-the-radio-hour-for-readers-of-lessons-in-chemistry/ 

Sue Kaufmann speaks with Warwick Stengaards, one of the judges  for the Hopkins Bradford Youth Concerto Competition. The six finalists are performing on Saturday the 20th of June at the Peninsula Community Theatre in Mornington. For more information and tickets go to: https://www.fso.org.au/event-details/concert-3-the-wand-of-youth

Sue Kaufmann speaks with Bangarra Dance Theatre choreographer Glory Tuohy-Daniell about her first choreographic work, Keeping Grounded. Keeping Grounded is one of three works featured in Sheltering, showing at Melbourne’s Arts Centre from the 18th to the 27th of June.   For more information and tickets go to: https://my.bangarra.com.au/events?k=mel; and https://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au/whats-on/2026/dance/sheltering

Nick Tolhurst speaks with Lawrence Power, Director, Violin & Viola with the Australian Chamber Orchestra about their forthcoming concert Isles of Light at Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne. Two performances, Sunday the 14th of June at 2:30 pm and Monday the 15th of June at 7:30 pm. For more information and to book, go to aco.com.au

Susie May speaks with renowned Australian clarinet player, Lloyd Vant' Hoff, about his upcoming concert with the London based Doric String Quartet and the story behind the new basset clarinet he'll be playing. The concert will take place at: Melbourne Recital Centre on Tuesday 16 June at 7pm. Program details and tickets are available through the link: https://www.melbournerecital.com.au/whats-on/current-productions/mva-doric-string-quartet-lloyd-van-t-hoff

Susie May speaks with Willem van der Vis, main Music Director of the Maroondah Symphony Orchestra for 30 years, about the musical highlights of the upcoming concert, The Virtuoso and the Storm which will feature Raistlin Chan, an acclaimed Australian violin soloist. The concert will take place at : The Knox School Auditorium, 220 Burwood Highway, Wantirna South 3152 on Sun, 14 Jun, 2:30pm - 5pm. Tickets are available through: events.humanitix.com/maso-2026-06-14

Bellringer Sarah Stancombe speaks with Susie May about the communal benefits of bellringing, its links to mathematics, and the upcoming Australian and New Zealand Association of Bellringers’ Annual Bellringing Festival. For details of the festival and where to hear bellringing in Melbourne and Victoria visit: Anzab.org.au/anzab2026/public

Tenor, Mark Vincent, speaks with Susie May about his passion for singing and the rich mix of classic songs including Bésame Mucho and My Way that he will be performing in the upcoming concert Amoré accompanied by the Australian Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Shannon Brown,   The concert takes place at Frankston Arts Centre on Sunday July 5 at 2pm Tickets are available through the Frankston Art Centre website: artscentre.frankston.vic.gov.au/Home  

Chris Howlett, Director Classical Music Australia speaks with Susie May about Daniel Hope, the renowned British violinist mentored by Yehudi Menuhin, and who performs on a remarkable 1742 “ex-Lipínski” Guarneri del Gesù violin. The Melbourne concert features music by Enescu, Fauré and Dvořák, alongside Mendelssohn and Elgar’s Violin Sonata. The concert will take place at the Melbourne Recital Centre, Tuesday 9 June at 7.30pm Program details and tickets are available through https://classicalmusicaustralia.com/danielhope/

Anthony Albrecht, Co-founder of The Bowerbird Collective, speaks with Susie May. They speak about the role of music in highlighting the beauty of the natural environment and the upcoming concert ’Where Song Began’, a celebration of songbirds, which features Anthony on cello and his partner Simone Slattery on violin, together with an evocative multimedia component. The concert will take place at the Melbourne Recital Centre on Saturday, June 6, 7:30pm Tickets and program details are available through the following link: https://www.melbournerecital.com.au/whats-on/current-productions/where-song-began

Susie May speaks with Vladimir Fanshil, Founder, Live at Yours about the unconventional, young French pianist Lucas Debargue who has been described as an “Ambassador for less fearful musical culture”. His upcoming  Melbourne concert, ‘L’Enigme Française’ will include Ravel’s,  ‘Gaspard de la nuit’ and the artist’s own rendition of Gershwin’s  ‘Summertime Variations.’ The concert will take place at the Toorak Synagogue, 8/379 Toorak Road, Toorak Tickets are available through: liveatyours.com.au/lucas

Sue Kaufmann speaks with pianist Cameron Roberts, who will be performing in 'Bach - A Diary of Life and Love' on the 30th of May 2026 at the Church of All Nations in Carlton. For more information and tickets go to: https://www.cameronroberts.com.au

Nick Tolhurst speaks with pianist Georgina Lewis about her special recital for 3MBS subscribers on the 4th of June at The University of Melbourne's Graduate House, 220 Leicester Street, Carlton. Tickets are $20 for the Recital at 1pm, or why not enjoy a delicious three-course lunch before settling into a wonderful afternoon recital. Lunch is only $20. To book, go to https://www.3mbs.org.au/3mbs-events/2026/georgina-lewis Image credits: Brent Lukey

Sue Kaufmann speaks with Leah Justin from the Justin Art House Museum, about Shaping Soundscapes: a multisensory experience of photography and music on Saturday the 23rd of May at the Justin Art House Museum in Prahran, and part of the 2026 3MBS Made in Melbourne series. For more information and tickets go to: https://www.3mbs.org.au/3mbs-events/2026/shaping-soundscapes-20 Image credits: Leah and Charles Justin 

Sue Kaufmann speaks with Melbourne-based composer and harpist Katia Mestrovic about her upcoming concert with harpists Paul Nicolaou and Natalia Mann, of harp solo and trio music, Australian harp fest: solo and trio at Tempo Rubato on Friday, the 29th of May.  For more information and bookings go to trybooking.com 

Sue Kaufmann speaks with pianist Kristian Chong who will be performing in an all-Schubert recital, Fantasies and Mystical Schubert on Thursday the 28th of May at the Nightingale Gallery in Armadale. For more information and tickets go to: https://nightingale-gallery.myshopify.com/products/fantasies-and-mystical-schubert-nightingale-performing-arts-australia-piano-series Image credit to John Tsiavis

Nick Tolhurst speaks with Affinity Quartet cellist Mee Na Lojewski about their forthcoming performance Shaping Soundscapes 2.0 —Seeing is Believing: Points of Affinity at the Justin Art House Museum, 1pm & 5pm Saturday the 23rd of May, as part of 3MBS Melbourne’s Made in Melbourne series. Justin Art House Museum is at 3 Lumley Court Prahran. For tickets go to 3mbs.org.au.  Ticket prices include refreshments in the Justin Art House Museum apartment after the performance.

Sue Kaufmann speaks with Australian String Quartet violinist, Francesca Hiew about the Quartet’s upcoming concert, ‘Interwoven’ on Thursday the 21st of May at the Melbourne Recital Centre. For more information and tickets go to: https://asq.com.au/liveconcerts/interwoven/ Image credit to Jacqui Way

Sue Kaufmann speaks with the Zoe Knighton from Flinders Quartet.  Flinders Quartet present three performances of their new program, Voices between Worlds, this week, with the first on Thursday, the 14th of May at St Johns Southgate.   For more information and tickets go to: flindersquartet.com.au

Sue Kaufmann speaks with radio presenter, writer and tour leader Phillip Sametz, who will be leading an eleven-day music tour, ‘The Ring Cycle in Vienna’ from the 5th to the 15th of June this year.  For more information go to https://renaissancetours.com.au/tours/opera/the-ring-cycle-in-vienna-2026-jun/

Sue Kaufmann speaks with Laurence Matheson, who will be directing and performing in Orchestra 21’s concert, The Art of Farewell, on Saturday the 9th of May at St Stephens Anglican Church, Richmond. For more information and tickets go to: www.trybooking.com/DLERC Laurence Matheson headshot by Pia Johnson

Sue Kaufmann speaks with long-serving ANAM General Manager, Nick Bailey about ANAM’s 30-year anniversary. Nick’s story is one of the ‘30 stories for 30 years’ ANAM is releasing this year to celebrate this milestone. For more information go to: https://anam.com.au/anam-30/30-stories Nick Bailey headshot by Pia Johnson, ANAM

Julie Houghton chats with composer Melody Eötvös about her new work Regnare, which premieres as part of Musica Viva’s Beethoven’s Ghost concert, featuring the piano trio of Aura Go, Kristian Winther and Timo -Veiko Valve. It’s happening at Melbourne Recital Centre on Tuesday May 12th at 7.30 pm. You can book your tickets by visiting tickets.musicaviva.com.au

Peter Harper saxophonist from Black Jesus Experience speaks with Annie Martin.  They'll be performing on the evening of Wednesday the 13th of May at The Counts, Ian Potter Centre for Performing Arts at Monash University.  Tickets are available from Monash University Performing Arts Centre webpage.  The show gets underway at 7:30pm but if you arrive from 6:30pm you can make a meal of it at The Count’s Italian-style kitchen and bar. 

Marianne Rothchild from The Crossing Machine speaks with Annie Martin.  The Crossing Machine present a unique performance of Juliet Letters on Friday the 1st of May at Fortyfive Downstairs, in Flinders Lane.  More information can be found on their website and tickets are available from Fortyfivedownstairs.com.

Sue Kaufmann speaks with Rosemary Hodgson, who is presenting a recital called ‘Celebrating the Genius of John Dowland’ by the Swedish lutenist, Jakob Lindberg, on Saturday the 2nd of May in Daylesford, at Stanbridge Hall in Christ Church Anglican Church. For more information and tickets go to trybooking.com

Sue Kaufmann speaks with composer Gordon Kerry and librettist Margot Costanzo about the world premiere of their song cycle, ‘Dante and Beatrice’, which is the centrepiece of a ‘Dantean tableau’ called Dante’s Lovers and Visionaries. Dante’s Lovers and Visionaries is being performed on the 22nd of April at fortyfivedownstairs as part of its annual chamber music festival. For more information and tickets go to: https://fortyfivedownstairs.com/book-tickets/

Sue Kaufmann speaks with Doug Heywood, who will be conducting Camberwell Chorale for their upcoming concert, Mozart Requiem & Michael Easton’s Unsung Heroes on Sunday the 3rd of May at the Hawthorn Arts Centre.   For more information and tickets go to: hawthornartscentre.com.au/

Sue Kaufmann speaks with Mina Yu about the Mina Yu Ensemble which will be presenting a show called A Day and Life Sessions on Wednesday, April the 29th at The Count’s in the Monash Arts Centre. For more information and tickets go to: https://www.monash.edu/performing-arts-centres/event/mina-yu 

Susie May speaks with Josie Ryan, choir member of the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and Choir, about their upcoming Baroque concert program, Choral Splendour, featuring Bach, Telemann, and Handel. Choral Splendour will be performed at the Melbourne Recital Centre on Thursday 16/4 at 7pm, Saturday 18/4 at 5pm, Sunday 19/4 at 5pm. Tickets and program details are available through the ABO website, brandenburg.com.au

Chris Howlett from Classical Music Australia speaks with Susie May about one of the world’s most iconic musicians, violinist, Pinchas Zukerman, his upcoming concert at Hamer Hall, the long history of Zukerman’s instrument and “Pay What You Can”, the new ticketing model Chris has developed. The concert will take place at Hamer Hall – Arts Centre Melbourne on 20 April at 7.30pm For Program details and tickets, go to the Arts Centre Melbourne website

Susie May speaks with Victoria Lazaris, Secretary for Choralfest 2026. The biennial conference and concert series, shortly to be held in Geelong, is a celebration of choral singing and education with masterclasses, lectures, workshops, and concerts. which will feature outstanding choirs from around Australia and exceptional academics and workshop presenters. Choralfest will take place at various locations in Geelong from Thursday 9 April to Sunday 12 April. Program details and tickets are available online via the website : https://deakin.au/choralfest-concert-tickets

Australian cellist Clare Juan speaks with Susie May about the remarkable story behind her cello and the program she’s chosen to play with pianist, Nicholas Kennedy, at their forthcoming concert at Tempo Rubato on Thursday, April 2 @ 8.00pm. Program details and tickets are available online.  Go to Trybooking.com and search for The King’s Cello.

Sue Kaufmann speaks with pianist Yasmin Rowe about the Collide Ensemble’s upcoming performance in 3MBS’ Gala Concert: Music of the Seasons, on Saturday, the 28th of March at the Hawthorn Arts Centre. For more information and tickets go to:  https://tickets.boroondara.vic.gov.au/Events/3MBS-Gala-Concert-Music-of-the-Seasons Photo credit: Agatha Kim