To mark the 50th anniversary of the moon landing in July 1969, we explore the many different Sounds of Space – what music and noise we send out, and the sounds from the universe we have collected and their impact on the creation of music.

Join Associate Professor Kenny McAlpine from The University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Fine Arts & Music, and Laby Teaching & Outreach Fellow Clare Kenyon from the School of Physics, for a cosmic Musical Explorations talk.

Welcome to episode two of The Tune Up: Mama Alto on the Radical Potential of Storytelling and Strength in Softness - brought to you by Melbourne Recital Centre.

Hosts Maxim Boon and Megan Steller speak with gender-transcendent diva and cabaret artiste Mama Alto about the power and potential of storytelling through song, how vulnerability builds strength in humankind and the inclusivity of contemporary cabaret.

About Mama Alto:

Mama Alto is a jazz singer, cabaret artiste & gender transcendent diva. Fierce, femme and fabulous, she has performed at beloved venues including The Butterfly Club, Brisbane Powerhouse, Chapel off Chapel, The Famous Spiegeltent, Gluttony, Hares & Hyenas, The Melba Spiegeltent, Melbourne Recital Centre, the National Gallery of Victoria, Porcelain Tea Parlour & more, and festivals such as Adelaide Cabaret Fringe, Adelaide Fringe, Feast (Adelaide), Emerging Writers Festival, Festival of Voices (Hobart), Marysville Jazz & Blues, Melbourne Cabaret Festival, Melbourne Fringe, Midsumma (Melbourne), Stonnington Jazz, Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras, Wonderland (Brisbane) & more. In 2018, she released four studio albums on vinyl, CD and digital release, all recorded with original analogue 1950s recording equipment. Vinyls & CDs are available here, and you can find Mama on Spotify, Apple Music, and many other popular streaming platforms.

About your hosts Maxim Boon and Megan Steller:

Maxim Boon is a British composer, writer and critic who has been based in Australia since 2014. When he's not ensconced in a concert hall or writing about Melbourne's music scene, he can mostly be found taking selfies with his dog.

Megan Steller is an artist manager, writer and producer, who spends most of her time talking about classical music. She occasionally gets really enthusiastic at the symphony and claps in the wrong spot, but she's working on it.

Find more stories about the music, musicians and people that make Melbourne Recital Centre the best place to hear at soundescapes.melbournerecital.com.au

Welcome to episode one of The Tune Up podcast with hosts Maxim Boon and Megan Steller!

In this episode, Maxim and Megan chat with oboist, collaborator, artistic director and one half of Inventi Ensemble, Ben Opie. Plus, an audio experiment that explores the art and etiquette of opening a cough lolly wrapper in Elisabeth Murdoch Hall featuring usher and percussionist of Ossicle Duo, Hamish Upton.

About Ben Opie:

Two types of people walk the alleys of Melbourne’s wildly eclectic arts scene: those who argue classical music is a static art form, and those who know the work of Ben Opie.

Tackling mind-blowing innovation with the class and sensitivity of a veteran, Ben is a young oboist of matchless capacity performing at the cutting edge of classical music’s fresh-faced evolution. With a big emphasis on innovation and meaningful collaborations, Ben’s approach has the power to keep classical music connected and relevant to its audience. He does this not only in his performing career but also in his new role as Artistic Director of the Peninsula Summer Music Festival.

About your hosts Maxim Boon and Megan Steller:

Maxim Boon is a British composer, writer and critic who has been based in Australia since 2014. When he's not ensconced in a concert hall or writing about Melbourne's music scene, he can mostly be found taking selfies with his dog.

Megan Steller is an artist manager, writer and producer, who spends most of her time talking about classical music. She occasionally gets really enthusiastic at the symphony and claps in the wrong spot, but she's working on it.

Find more stories about the music, musicians and people that make Melbourne Recital Centre the best place to hear at soundescapes.melbournerecital.com.au

Whether we're listening through our headphones or in the local coffee shop, music is an irrepressible part of our daily lives – and it is so much more than just the sounds that enter our ears.

In the latest Music on the Mind talk, recorded live from Melbourne Recital Centre, esteemed speakers share their fascinating perspectives:

Dr Amanda Krause explores how music cannot be isolated from our everyday experiences.

Solange Glasser explains how synaesthesia can lead people to see or taste music.

Presented by Melbourne Recital Centre, engaged through The University of Melbourne-Melbourne Recital Centre Partnership.

More about the speakers:

Dr Amanda Krause is a post-doctoral research fellow at The University of Melbourne. She is interested in the social and applied psychology of music, and her research examines everyday music interactions, with an emphasis on considering listening technologies and the intersection of everyday music and well-being.

Solange Glasser is a faculty member of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, and is the convenor of a new online breadth subject entitled Creativity, Genius, Expertise and Talent. Her research interests include multisensory perception and exceptional abilities, with an emphasis on the impact of neurological conditions such as synaesthesia and absolute pitch on musical development.

Whether we're listening through our headphones or in the local coffee shop, music is an irrepressible part of our daily lives – and it is so much more than just the sounds that enter our ears.

In the latest Music on the Mind talk, recorded live from Melbourne Recital Centre, esteemed speakers share their fascinating perspectives:

Dr Amanda Krause explores how music cannot be isolated from our everyday experiences.

Solange Glasser explains how synaesthesia can lead people to see or taste music.

Presented by Melbourne Recital Centre, engaged through The University of Melbourne-Melbourne Recital Centre Partnership.

More about the speakers:

Dr Amanda Krause is a post-doctoral research fellow at The University of Melbourne. She is interested in the social and applied psychology of music, and her research examines everyday music interactions, with an emphasis on considering listening technologies and the intersection of everyday music and well-being.

Solange Glasser is a faculty member of the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, and is the convenor of a new online breadth subject entitled Creativity, Genius, Expertise and Talent. Her research interests include multisensory perception and exceptional abilities, with an emphasis on the impact of neurological conditions such as synaesthesia and absolute pitch on musical development.

In May 2018, Leith McPherson—acclaimed vocal coach to the cast of 'The Hobbit' trilogy and Senior Lecturer in Voice and Movement at the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music at The University of Melbourne—joined us in the Salon as part of our Musical Explorations series.

With great skill and wit, Leith offered an informed lecture/participatory workshop on how to enunciate and project to make the most of your vocal power in everyday life.

This talk was recorded live as part of Melbourne Recital Centre's Musical Explorations series.

In May 2018, Leith McPherson—acclaimed vocal coach to the cast of 'The Hobbit' trilogy and Senior Lecturer in Voice and Movement at the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music at The University of Melbourne—joined us in the Salon as part of our Musical Explorations series.

With great skill and wit, Leith offered an informed lecture/participatory workshop on how to enunciate and project to make the most of your vocal power in everyday life.

This talk was recorded live as part of Melbourne Recital Centre's Musical Explorations series.

Dr Samantha Dieckmann has been working with multicultural singing group Lullabies of Our Lives, bringing the diverse communities of Melbourne’s north together — one song at a time.

The Lullaby Choir, a joint initiative of The Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions, the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music at The University of Melbourne and Coburg’s Victorian Cooperative on Children’s Services for Ethnic Groups New Futures program, aims to promote cultural connection through the lullabies that soothe babes the world over.

This podcast was recorded live at Melbourne Recital Centre as part of its Music on the Mind talks series.

Dr Samantha Dieckmann has been working with multicultural singing group Lullabies of Our Lives, bringing the diverse communities of Melbourne’s north together — one song at a time.

The Lullaby Choir, a joint initiative of The Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions, the Faculty of Fine Arts and Music at The University of Melbourne and Coburg’s Victorian Cooperative on Children’s Services for Ethnic Groups New Futures program, aims to promote cultural connection through the lullabies that soothe babes the world over.

This podcast was recorded live at Melbourne Recital Centre as part of its Music on the Mind talks series.

In this edition of Melbourne Recital Centre's Soundescapes podcast:

How have the acoustics of buildings shaped the style of music that is composed and performed within them? In essence, how does space shape sound? Join acoustician Cameron Hough from ARUP and Ensemble Gombert in this special talks event live from Elisabeth Murdoch Hall.

Topics explored in this podcast include how church music changed from plainsong to polyphony in the reverberant acoustic of Renaissance Italian churches, to the contrapuntal cantatas by Bach in the drier acoustic of German churches. How the different acoustics of the Eisenstadt Palace and the Hanover Square Rooms influenced Haydn’s writing in his symphonies, and how Wagner created a completely new sound-world for opera in his new theatre at Bayreuth.