Conservatorium of Music Library exhibitions for 2025
Each semester, the Library works in partnership with a Sydney Conservatorium of Music researcher to showcase their work in the Library exhibition space.
Semester 1: Influencers of Vienna – Reconstructing a bel canto scene
Is it possible to re-imagine how late 18th-century singers sounded?
Soprano, Doctor of Musical Arts candidate and research assistant Anna Fraser invites you to immerse yourself in bel canto era Vienna as you explore its central influencers, and how their centuries old creative practices have been brought to life by new research.
Currently, classical singing does not use the range of creative expressive effects that existed during the continuum of practice in the bel canto era (1700–1900). In response to this and inspired by evidence such as early sound recordings and historical annotated scores, researchers have employed practice-led methods of recording emulation (imitation), embodiment and extrapolation to ‘re-discover’ and perform this ‘beautiful singing’ for today’s audiences.
Anna’s exhibition uses objects associated with this research, including a phonograph, scores and images, as well as linked videos and recordings to guide you through the exhibit and bring bel canto to life.
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On Monday 7 April 2025, Anna and Neal Peres Da Costa publicly launched the exhibition with the reconstruction of a live musical scene in a cleverly curated ‘bel canto time capsule’ guided listening experience.
See this exhibition outside the Conservatorium of Music library
from Monday 17 March until Saturday 24 May 2025.
Semester 2: PARADISEC – Opening the Archive for access, engagement
and innovation
This exhibition was proposed by Jodie Kell, an audio engineer who manages PARADISEC’s Sydney Digitisation Laboratory, and Steven Gagau, a Melanesian community leader who provides cultural advice and metadata enrichment at PARADISEC.
Music and language are central to identity in Indigenous communities. The return of legacy recordings – historical audio made by researchers – can be a profound and emotional rediscovery of the past, contributing to the continuation of cultural practices.
Jodie and Steven will showcase some of ways PARADISEC safeguards valuable recordings for the future and makes them accessible for Indigenous communities.
PARADISEC (Pacific and Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Cultures) is a digital archive of records of some of the many small cultures and languages of the world, with a digitisation laboratory at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
Influencers of Vienna:
Reconstructing a bel canto scene
Monday, 7 April 2025 | 6 – 7 pm
FREE In-person event
Travel back 250 years in time, and find yourself in a Viennese salon scene from the late 18th century. Using novel practice-led interpretations, this cleverly curated listening experience will guide you through and demonstrate how ongoing music research is 'rediscovering' bel canto.
Join us to witness forgotten expressive vocal techniques in play, or to sink into your seat and be swept away by this historically 'beautiful singing'.
Date: Monday, 7 April 2025
Time: 6 – 7 pm
Location: Music Cafe at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
This event is free and open to everyone! Please feel welcome to bring along your friends, family and peers. Registration is required for catering purposes.
