Patron
Professor Anona Armstrong AM
Anona Armstrong AM is the Professor of Governance and the Director of Research and Research Training in the College of Law and Justice at Victoria University. She was awarded a PhD by the University of Melbourne for her original research on health policy, community well-being and their measurement. This led to her work with communities and the promotion of community participation in various government projects. After completing her study, she established the consulting firm Evaluation Training and Services Pty Ltd, as well as the Australasian Evaluation Society, which is still a vibrant society today. On joining Victoria University in 2004, she lectured in policy, management, leadership and governance, before specialising in post-graduate supervision. She has taught now over 70 successful PhD students. She was awarded the Order of Australia (AM) in 2008.
Upcoming Events
Rigg Bequest Classic Music 2026 - in Special and Sacred Spaces
Through Forest and Flame: Lieder and Love
Experience a nineteenth-century world of musical fantasy in the bluestone grandeur of Melbourne's 1874 German Lutheran Church, East Melbourne, with tenor Michael Petruccelli, mezzo-soprano Sally-Anne Russell and Team partner Darryl Coote at the piano.
The program includes Schumann’s song cycle Liederkreis Op 24, Wagner’s iconic Wesendonck Lieder, the world premiere of New Zealand composer Andrew Perkins’ Pax Vobiscum, a duet for mezzo-soprano and tenor composed specially for Sally-Anne Russell, as well as by Darryl Coote’s performance of Schumann’s Arabesque for piano Op 18.
Join other audience members and the artists for interval refreshments hosted by the Friends of the Team of Pianists.
Download the flyer here.
Don't miss this evening of vocal excellence from three of Australia's most experienced Lieder interpreters.
Date and Time
Sunday May 3, 2026 at 6.30pm
German Lutheran Church
(Deutsche Evangelische Dreifaltigkeitskirche)
22 Parliament Place, East Melbourne, VIC, 3002
Major sponsor: Colin & Cicely Rigg Bequest, as managed by Equity Trustees.
Rigg Bequest Classic Music 2026 - in Special and Sacred Spaces
Across Time and Tradition: Music for Clarinet, Bassoon and Piano
Robert Schubert - clarinet, Matthew Angus - bassoon, and Robert Chamberlain - piano, trace a musical journey that spans centuries, styles and cultures, in the warm acoustics of St John's Anglican Church, Camberwell.
Uniting Classical clarity, Romantic lyricism and contemporary re‑imagining, this program ranges from the intimate poetry of Schumann’s Abegg Variations and Glinka’s enthralling Trio Pathétique, to the elegant conversational forms of Lefèvre and Kreutzer, where clarinet and bassoon speak with wit, balance and grace. These European traditions are refracted through the voice of Australian‑Chinese composer Julian Yu, whose reworking of Glinka’s Romance and vivid Uygur Dance bring folk melody and cross‑cultural perspective into the present.
Join other audience members and the artists for interval refreshments hosted by the Friends of the Team of Pianists.
This program celebrates the enduring power of wind instruments to sing, converse and dance across time, tradition and place.
Date and Time
Thursday May 21, 2026 at 7.00pm
St John's Anglican Church
552 Burke Road
Camberwell, VIC, 3124
Major sponsor: Colin & Cicely Rigg Bequest, as managed by Equity Trustees.
Rigg Bequest Classic Music 2026 - in Special and Sacred Spaces
Carnival of Oboe and Piano
Anne Gilby - oboe, Darryl Coote - piano, present works ranging from the elegance of Mozart’s concert aria 'Ah se in ciel, benigne stelle' to the shimmering colours of Ravel’s Sonatine, arranged for these two instruments, plus the smoky intimacy of Piazzolla’s Oblivion and the wit of Malcolm Arnold’s Sonatina for oboe and piano.
After interval, brilliant solo pianist Kevin Suherman performs works by Schumann and Liszt: Liszt's rapturous arrangement of Schumann's 'Widmung' (Dedication) and the kaleidoscopic scenes of Schumann’s Carnaval Op. 9. Don't miss this evening of colour, lyricism, and theatrical flair in the warm acoustics of St John's Anglican Church, Camberwell.
Join other audience members and the artists for interval refreshments hosted by the Friends of the Team of Pianists.
Date and Time
Thursday June 25, 2026 at 7.00pm
St John's Anglican Church
552 Burke Road
Camberwell, VIC, 3124
Major sponsor: Colin & Cicely Rigg Bequest, as managed by Equity Trustees.