Upcoming Performances
June 2025
world premiere of Swift Fly the Wings for solo flute
commissioned by Eliza Shephard
venue/date TBC, Melbourne
2, 4 & 5 October 2025
US premiere and performances of Awaken for full orchestra
with the Seattle Symphony and conductor Xian Zhang
Benaroya Hall, Seattle, Washington
Highlights from the year as MSO Cybec Young
Composer in Residence, 2023:
7 September, 2023: Hamer Hall, Melbourne
world premiere of Awaken for full orchestra
Schumann and Mendelssohn: Abundant Spring Concert
Performed by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Principal Guest Conductor Xian Zhang
Commissioned by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and
Cybec Foundation
15 February: Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne
world premiere of Ascension for full orchestra
Mosaics: Contemporary Sounds of Melbourne Concert
Performed by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Benjamin Northey
Commissioned by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Cybec Foundation
24 August: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
world premiere of Theatre of the Everyday for mixed ensemble
MSO at NGV: Pierre Bonnard, Modernism & Music Concert
Performed by musicians from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and MSO Academy
Commissioned by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Cybec Foundation
29 January 2022, at Hamer Hall, Melbourne
world premiere of Wave Variations for chamber orchestra
MSO Cybec Showcase
Performed by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Richard Davis
Commissioned by the Cybec Foundation and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
More music
Shifting (2019), commissioned and performed by PLEXUS:
"Responding to the mobiles of American artist Alexander Calder, Shifting by Melissa Douglas created a disembodied, weightless sense of freedom through upward melodic spirals anchored by piano."
Tony Way, The Age
WOMEN IN MUSIC FESTIVAL – PLEXUS: PRISM ★★★★
"From the delicate beginnings of floating single notes, the music developed with a free rise and fall of sharply contoured patterns until an expressive chordal piano solo developed. We felt a virtual wind blow through the mobiles as the instruments took up wider tonal gyrations with more expansive colour and energy.”
Julie McErlain
Classic Melbourne Music News and Reviews 2020