Saltwater, Sugar

An epic new work by Papuan-Australian composer and AAO Artistic Director Aaron Choulai, commissioned by Bunjil Place in partnership with the Melbourne International Jazz Festival.
World Premiere Wednesday 21 October 2026, 7.30pm
Bunjil Place, Narre Warren

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Australian Improvisation Practicum 2: Tools for Collective Expression

The **Australian Improvisation Practicum** is a three-day residency that delves into musical language unique to Australian improvised music, with a specific focus on exploring potential intersections with compositional frameworks.
Dates: Monday 28 - Wednesday 30 September 2026
Location: Brunswick, Victoria
Applications close: Tuesday 25 August, midnight

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Listening Room

AAO Listening Room Episode 1 is now live - follow the link to check out our new conversation series.

This edition features host Sose Fuamoli interviewing AAO Producer & Technical Director Jem Savage about the recent release Karappo Okesutura Vol. III by Australian Art Orchestra and Nicole Lizée.

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To Kill A Magic

We Got Used To -

Premiere

Full-length premiere video now on YouTube

To Kill A Magic We Got Used To, a daring and culturally-coded new work by Artistic Director Aaron Choulai and Roman MC, premiered on 28th November 2025 at Athaneum Theatre II, Melbourne.

The work across three movements is a reimagining of Stravinsky’s L'Histoire du soldat for a digital age, and follows a modern artist trading authenticity for social media fame. Multiple musical worlds and cultural references are kneaded into new shapes in a genre-defying work, building the story live through Choulai’s unique Sono-Kinetic Conducting system. Stravinsky’s music is abstracted into a blend of composition and improvisation around Roman MC’s narrative-led spoken word and freestyle, demonstrating new languages in jazz and hip-hop through the sonic world of a Spike Lee movie score. This gripping work confronts the cost of visibility and the fragile balance between creative ambition and artistic integrity.

Latest Projects

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Ane Ta Abia

Ane Ta Abia - Aaron Choulai, Australian Art Orchestra and the Tatana Village Choir. Experience a stunning choral concert bringing together musicians and singers from Australia and Papua New Guinea.

Kutcha Edwards and the Australian Art Orchestra

‘Wuigada – Gagada (To Sing – Loud)’ is a collaboration with iconic Australian and First Nations singer-songwriter, Kutcha Edwards. Reimagined for the AAO, this performance celebrates the songs of country, history, pain and joy expressed in Kutcha Edward’s repertoire, and creates space for experimentation by some of Australia’s most creative voices of jazz and improvisation.

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