Extending String Quartet: Quartet & Country

Join the Australian String Quartet as they explore the rich and diverse evolution of string quartet music in Australia. Guided in conversation and song with Yorta Yorta Dja Dja Wurrung, Dr Lou Bennett AM, this program celebrates the diverse composers of modern Australia alongside the European music that has influenced the Australian musical landscape. From First Nations Australian culture to the music of Sculthorpe, Symonds and Beethoven, this is the story of a quartet and country.

Dr Lou Bennett AM is a Performer, Songwriter, Artistic Director, Composer and Academic from the Yorta Yorta and Dja Dja Wurrung people in Echuca, Victoria. As a musician and researcher, Lou’s work is committed to leading social change in Australia through arts-based practice and community engagement.Completing her PhD at RMIT in 2015, Lou’s dissertation discusses the importance and relevance of Aboriginal language retrieval, reclamation and regeneration through the medium of art to community health and wellbeing. As the McKenzie Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne, Lou continues to research the obstacles and ethical issues related to retrieving and transmitting Aboriginal languages cross-culturally and across different generations.