This is Us: A Musical Reflection of Australia

Posted on 30 May, 2023

18 objects, two brothers, one concert.

This is Us: A Musical Reflection of Australia will be an extraordinary evening of song, memory and history at the National Museum of Australia when classical guitarists, brothers Slava and Leonard Grigoryan, perform a suite of music inspired by the museum’s object collection.

Although it might sound like an obscure repertoire, the brothers have chosen 18 diverse objects that speak to the heart of Australia’s history, promising a reflective and deeply moving evening of classical guitar during the evening of Saturday 10 June.

The Grigoryan Brothers first performed the show in 2021 to mark the National Museum of Australia’s 20th anniversary and have toured it extensively since—including internationally—and they are delighted to bring the show “home” to Canberra.

“Since we launched ‘This is Us: A Musical Reflection of Australia’ we’ve toured this show all over regional Australia, from big theatres to really small country halls,” say the brothers.

“Last year we were invited to perform ‘This is Us’ at the Edinburgh Festival as part of the ‘House of Oz’ program, and we also performed in London at the iconic Royal Albert Hall. We love how audiences from all over have been connecting with the music and the stories behind each piece.”

“It’s a privilege to be able to share our history and we look forward to returning to the National Museum of Australia, where it all began.”

A visual piece in video format will accompany the performances on the night, and the brothers will also share insights into the development process and their journey with the objects.

You can learn about the 18 objects that inspired the piece through immersive audio-visual journeys on the National Museum of Australia’s website.

One of the objects is a Ðàn Tre, a classical Vietnamese musical instrument crafted by Vietnamese migrant Minh Tam Nguyen which inspired a song of the same name, another being a 1973 painting ‘Story of the Women’s Camp and the Origin of Damper’ by Anatjari Tjakamarra, which inspired the musical piece Journey Women while another of the pieces, titled Love and Forgiveness, was inspired by a small gold locket that featured a portrait of boxer Les Darcy.

Australian history is steeped deeply in these objects. A prized spearhead called the Kimberley Point inspired the work Hunter’s Edge while the Museum’s collection of more than 300 convict love tokens—and the atmosphere of separation that existed during 2020 and 2021—gave the brothers the basis for their piece Love Token.

More modern objects served as inspiration too, such as a lifebuoy from the MV Tampa, which produced the moving piece titled Desperation, and a case of trial lenses and frames from the national trachoma program served as a basis for Fred’s Vision, a piece dedicated to medical pioneer Fred Hollows.

Together, these items paint a picture of Australia’s past, present and future, one that we can’t wait to hear told through the guitar strings of these talented brothers.