Bringing our history to life with music

Published on 17 January 2025

Acclaimed guitarists Slava and Leonard Grigoryan will perform their groundbreaking show This Is Us: A Musical Reflection of Australia at Frankston Arts Centre as part of the 2025 Season. This extraordinary performance weaves music and history into an evocative journey through Australia’s rich and complex heritage.

In This Is Us, the Grigoryan Brothers present a suite of 18 original compositions inspired by objects from the National Museum of Australia’s vast collection. Each piece responds to a specific artefact, ranging from a 65,000-year-old ochre from the Madjedbebe rock shelter to a cricket bat belonging to Sir Donald Bradman. These items trace Australia’s story from its Indigenous roots to contemporary society. Accompanying the music are high-definition 3D projections of the objects, creating a powerful and immersive experience for audiences.

This performance marks a new direction for the guitar masters, featuring an entire program of original compositions written during lockdown while they lived in separate states. “We chose objects that try to represent some of our First Nations history as well as colonisation, migration, innovation, and stories of love and loss,” they said. “We were deeply moved by all of them.”

Audiences can expect an emotional celebration of Australia’s history, where music and storytelling intertwine to offer a fresh perspective on the nation’s past and present.

This Is Us: A Musical Reflection of Australia comes to Frankston Arts Centre on Saturday, March 1. Tickets are available online or by phone on 9784 1060.