ACO Up Close: Hand to Earth with the ACO Quartet

 

Hand to Earth is an astonishing ensemble that brings Yolŋu song cycles - a tradition kept by songmen Daniel Wilfred and David Wilfred - into conversation with bold contemporary approaches to music making. Unbound by genre, time, or tradition, Hand to Earth also features multi-instrumentalists Sunny Kim (voice and percussion), Peter Knight (trumpet, electronics, synthesiser) and Aviva Endean (clarinets, winds, electronics). This eclectic quintet has an extraordinary rapport.

Richard Tognetti saw Hand to Earth play at the Barbican in 2025 and instantly knew he had to work with them. This intimate recital marks the start of a special relationship. The first half of the concert is a showcase of Hand to Earth’s hypnotic, elemental sound, as the musicians fuse Daniel and David's ancient songs - sung in the Wägilak language - with influences from minimalism, jazz, and electronica. The second half premieres new settings of several pieces from Hand to Earth’s three albums, created for the group alongside a quartet of ACO musicians led by Richard Tognetti on violin.

This will be a musical evening of power and grace, which will draw you into a sound world that feels ancient and immediate all at once.