The Bowerbird Collective deliver a striking performance at Common Ground

A single violin rises from the gathering crowd in the reception space. It's the sound guests carry with them as they leave the foyer behind and move towards the main room, the note holding steady until a cello joins it somewhere along the way. By the time the doors open, the music has grown from one instrument to two, matching the space as it reveals itself.

It's a small piece of choreography, but it was solving a real problem. How do you pull an excitable crowd into a room? The evening needed something immersive and considered, complementing the experience rather than dominating it. The guests were mesmerised by the dulcet tones of Simone’s violin, leading the crowd through the entrance to the dining room, drawing them closer to the main event through a cloud of fog and shrubbery lining the walkway.

The Bowerbird Collective is Simone Slattery and Anthony Albrecht, a violin-and-cello duo who make conservation the subject of their work rather than the backdrop to it. Over 350 concerts across Australia, the UK and North America, and multiple ARIA chart-topping albums written for threatened species, including their Songs of Disappearance project. It's not a novelty. It's a genuine body of creative work built around an environmental purpose, which made them a natural fit for an evening celebrating a business built around one too.

The entrance was the signature piece, but it wasn't the whole night. Simone and Anthony played on through the evening, with nature soundscapes of threatened species calls (recorded by Andrew Skeoch, www.listeningearth.com) and 16:9 visual content from their signature multimedia productions. Before their final set, as dessert was served, Anthony spoke briefly about Bowerbird's work, giving guests the context behind the music they'd been hearing all evening. The Bowerbird Collective then left us with a beautiful 10 minute composition, immersing the audience in the sounds of threatened wildlife and classical string instruments, leaving a lasting impact on an already astonished audience.

About Bowerbird Collective

The Bowerbird Collective makes art for nature. Their award-winning productions have been performed throughout Australia and internationally, and they've raised more than $100,000 for their conservation partners through innovative creative collaborations, including their ARIA chart-topping album Songs of Disappearance. The Bowerbird Collective enhances events across Australia with their spectacular multimedia performances, and for Common Ground, they curated the soundscape throughout the evening.

Find out more about the Bowerbird Collective's work and contact them for collaborations at your events via bowerbirdcollective.org.