The programme for the 2008 Aurora Festival has been launched, and can be viewed at:

http://www.aurorafestival.com.au

We have assembled a most diverse collection of concerts, forums and workshops for this festival, the majority of which will take place in venues across Western Sydney (with an ‘outreach’ concert in the centre of Sydney itself). The performers and music are absolutely top-notch. There are 19 world premieres and 5 Australian premieres, including the Steve Reich’s Daniel Variations (see an excerpt and interview on Youtube) and Chinary Ung’s Aura.

Our two featured composers are Chinary Ung, who is coming from the US and will be residence at the University of Western Sydney, and Michael Atherton, who is such a multi-talented musician and whose compositions span an enormous range of genres and styles.

If you are not living or will be around in Sydney, you can listen to most of the concerts on ABC Classic FM, who are co-presenting the 2008 Aurora Festival.