What's on

Support Us

Learning & Engagement

Learning & Engagement

ACO Pier 2/3

ACO Pier 2/3

The orchestra

Discover More

One of Bill Henson's portraits, depicting a girl who appears to be floating above a field of lights

Luminous

Luminous
10 - 23 August 2019
A multi-sensory concert experience
Our 2005 collaboration with artist Bill Henson, Luminous, was a ground-breaking, cross-genre musical and visual feast. Celebrating 10 years since our last performance of Luminous, we’re bringing it back, revived and refreshed, with brand new imagery, updated repertoire and guest vocals from indie Israeli-Australian singer-songwriter Lior.

Henson’s haunting, dramatic photography remains the visual focus. His night-time urban landscapes and moody explorations of sensuality – twilight zones between day and night, male and female, youth and adulthood, urban and rural settings – form the background to a meditative soundscape.

This revival features new imagery and music spanning Britten and Janáček to R.E.M., and the centrepiece is Pēteris Vasks’ pensive violin concerto, Distant Light. Nostalgic, melancholic, at times manic and beautifully evocative, Luminous is an arresting, multi-sensory journey.

Concert Trailer

Music in the Program

The music in Luminous includes Britten’s Corpus Christi Carol, R.E.M.’s I’ve Been High, Pēteris Vasks' sublime violin concerto Distant Light, featuring Richard Tognetti as soloist, and music by Purcell and Janáček.

Download Concert Program

CONCERT duration
110 min (incl interval)
Playlist by the ACO
Luminous
Join us 45 minutes before the performance to learn about the concert from a music expert.

Guest Speaker:  Kim Cunio

Sat 10 Aug, 7:15pm


Guest Speaker:  Lucy Rash

Sun 11 Aug, 1:45pm


Guest Speaker:  Lucy Rash

Mon 12 Aug, 6:45pm


Guest Speaker:  Kane Moroney

Tue 13 Aug, 6:45pm


Guest Speaker:  Rosalind Appleby

Wed 14 Aug, 6:45pm


Guest Speaker:  Anna Melville

Sat 17 Aug, 6:15pm


Guest Speaker:  Anna Melville

Tue 20 Aug, 7:15pm


Guest Speaker:  Anna Melville

Wed 21 Aug, 6:15pm


Guest Speaker:  Anna Melville

Fri 23 Aug, 12:45pm


Guest Speaker:  Anna Melville

Sun 18 Aug, 1:15pm


Guest Speaker:  Gillian Wills

Mon 19 Aug, 6:15pm


Related News

A portrait of Richard Tognetti and Bill Henson

Spectrum Feature

Bill Henson and Richard Tognetti discuss Luminous with The Age's Spectrum magazine.
Singer-songwriter Lior. Photo credit: Alice Healy

A Beautiful Cohesion

Singer-songwriter Lior speaks to writer Kate Holden about his wide-ranging career as a musician, including the national success of his debut album Autumn Flow and his upcoming ACO debut in Luminous.