Tickets: available here

ACCEPTANCE DOES NOT MEAN SURRENDER: music for climate action and resilience
guided by voices from the climate science community, composed and performed by Nat Bartsch.

Celebrate the release of Melbourne pianist/composer Nat Bartsch’s 10th album "Acceptance Does Not Mean Surrender", guided by voices from the climate science community.

Originally commissioned and recorded with Monash Art Ensemble, this special Brisbane performance sees Nat and her jazz quartet join forces with leading chamber ensemble Topology. Connections to memory, emotion, nostalgia and the natural world have long existed in Nat’s work. In "Acceptance Does Not Mean Surrender", Nat collaborates with climate scientists to use her music as a tool for action.

This 50 minute, through-composed work is inspired by conversations with eight climate scientists, most of whom contributed in some way to Australia’s National Climate Risk Assessment. Just by chance, this assessment was released to the public the day this piece was completed. You’ll hear the voices of these scientists embedded through the work, as well as the sounds of nature, and cinematography by Stefan Raabe, of natural environments they hold dear. Each movement of the piece is based around a theme that emerged from her conversations: helping the audience process climate grief and cultivate resilience. Nat speaks about the work by saying: “I hope this piece will also inspire you to find ways to do what you can for climate action; to connect with nature, listen to the science, process some challenging emotions, and find beauty in broken places”.

Performers

Nat Bartsch - piano, synths, electronics
Robbie Melville - guitar
Tamara Murphy - double bass
Maddison Carter - drums
Christa Powell - violin
Michael Patterson - viola
Robert Davidson - clarinet, double bass
John Babbage - saxophone 

Content Warning: This work refers to past and projected future natural disasters, and irreversible impacts of unmitigated climate change on vulnerable environments and communities. Please take care as you listen.

NAT BARTSCH is a twice ARIA-nominated pianist, composer, producer and advocate from Melbourne, Australia. She is known for creating soothing, beautiful music that blends neoclassical composition with jazz harmony, improvisation and ethereal ambient effects. Her sound at the piano is distinctively gentle and warm, enriched by lyrical, ethereal melodies. Her music is played across the world by people from all walks of life, often in deeply personal moments: literally from the birthing suite, to the final hours before death. 

 “Her beautiful piano playing shimmers with a joyfulness that she also conveys in person.” — Limelight

“You feel as if she’s opening her heart and speaking via the keyboard to you personally. Not a single note is false, and you come away from the experience replenished and grateful that music of such beauty is still being created in this world.” — Textura

“Every note is chosen and played with the utmost love and care.” — Benjamin Northey

“Listening to Bartsch’s music is akin to feeling a reassuring hand resting on one’s shoulder. It’s music that invites contemplation, and that radiates tenderness, empathy – and yes, hope.” — The Age

Nat has released nine albums, toured domestically and internationally, and collaborated with many leading Australian artists including Luke Howard, Grigoryan Brothers, Back to Back Theatre, Inventi Ensemble, Teeny Tiny Stevies, Playschool and Plexus Collective. She recently established her own record label, Amica Records, which includes Amica Familia, a home for mentoring and industry skills development for emerging artists. She is proudly neurodivergent.

Nat has become most well known for her lullabies, which, during early motherhood, saw her translate her gentle aesthetic into music with purpose. Nat created a suite of pieces designed to soothe babies to sleep, but also be meaningfully enjoyable for adults. After interviewing music therapists, she composed a series of pieces incorporating as many of their recommended parameters as possible (tempos similar to a mother’s heartbeat, gentle sounds, simple melodies and harmonies, ostinatos and repetition). Each piece is named after her newborn son’s stage of development at the time. The resulting album, Forever, and No Time At All was released in 2018 on ABC Classic. It is played regularly by many families, but also by people from all walks of life, including women in labour, autistic people, and people experiencing mental illness and grief. 

Nat is also a chamber music composer, and has composed commissions for Grigoryan Brothers, Inventi Ensemble, Plexus Collective, Solstice Trio, Muses Trio, Stonnington Symphony Orchestra and Matt Withers & Sally Whitwell. She holds a Masters degree in classical composition from Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, and  an Honours degree in jazz improvisation from the Victorian College of the Arts. She was also bandleader of her own jazz piano trio for many years. 

This breadth of experience enables Nat to sit comfortably between genres, challenging assumptions of what a ‘classical’ or ‘jazz’ artist should be. Nat is one of a small handful of artists to be ARIA nominated in both jazz and classical categories in their career, and the first female instrumentalist. After several years releasing music for both ABC Jazz and ABC Classic, she has now established her own record label., Amica Records, for genre bending, kind music. Amica is created in collaboration with Canadian neoclassical label Moderna Records.

Discover more of Nat Bartsch's music at natbartsch.com.

Cost

Tickets for this performance are $40–50. Doors open at 2:30pm. A cash bar will be available for socialising amongst the plants. Free parking.

Tickets

You'll receive confirmation of your ticket order by email or sms (whichever one you used with your order). We'll have a ticket list at the door when you arrive to help you save the trees and the hassle of printing your ticket.

Location

Plant Empire has moved! This concert will be held at our new premises in Tennyson, Brisbane: 15/55 Lofter St, Tennyson Q 4105. The site has easy access to free on-street parking and is an easy 10-minute walk from Yeerongpilly train station and restaurants at Yeerongpilly Green.

Accessibility

Concerts in our new premises have unallocated ground floor seating that are all level without any steps, while mezzanine seating with obstructed views is accessible via a staircase with 22 steps and 1–2 landings. The site has one wheelchair parking spot, and visitors are encouraged to use on-street parking to leave other on-site parking available for people with mobility issues.

Reminders

You have full control over how (and how often) you receive reminders for our events. You will receive one email confirmation from us when you purchase your ticket; but we won't send any further email reminders, so please ensure that you have the concert details in your diary. You can also use the "add to calendar" function in our events calendar to add the concert to your digital calendar and customise your reminder preferences.

Cancellation Policy

Please choose carefully before purchasing your tickets for this concert as we do not offer refunds on event bookings. 

Program Changes

*Please note that the program for this concert is subject to change.

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