Acceptance Does Not Mean Surrender

Under the artistic direction of Paul Grabowsky AO, the Monash Art Ensemble returns to the Melbourne International Jazz Festival for an evening of compelling new music, featuring the world premiere of Acceptance Does Not Mean Surrender. Composed by ARIA-nominated artist Nat Bartsch, this powerful work draws on interviews with climate scientists to create a meditative sound world of composition, improvisation, ambient textures and field recordings. Inspired by the concept of ‘Radical Joy’, it offers a poignant invitation to reflect, find resilience, and embrace hope in the face of climate collapse.

The program also features I, Said the Sparrow, a lyrical work by composer and vocalist Greta Williams. As a creative response to Who Killed Cock Robin?, it offers its own contemplation on survival, recasting the sparrow as a symbol of quiet, female resilience.

Enjoy an evocative evening of original Australian music through stories of perseverance and strength, presented by Monash University's School of Music and Performance.

THE COMPOSERS

Nat Bartsch is a double ARIA-nominated pianist, composer, producer, mentor and neurodiversity advocate. She deftly traverses the space between classical, jazz, ambient, and post-rock, with a focus on kindness, wellbeing and community.

Her ethereal, meditative music is uniquely intergenerational, and chosen by many Australians to accompany deeply personal moments, from childbirth to the hours before death.

Nat has performed and toured her original music in jazz and classical scenes for more than 17 years: from the Australian bush, to jazz clubs in Japan, to Royal Albert Hall. She has released nine albums, including several for ABC Classic & Jazz, and founded her own record label for ‘kind music’, Amica Records, in 2023, where she mentors many emerging artists.

Nat has created commissions for many leading ensembles including Grigoryan Brothers, Plexus Collective, Alicia Crossley and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra; and collaborated with Luke Howard, Inventi Ensemble and Hush Foundation.

She holds a degree in jazz improvisation from VCA, a Masters in classical composition from Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, and Graduate Diploma of Public Policy from RMIT. She lives in Eltham on Wurundjeri land.

A graduate of the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music and Performance at Monash University and Winner of the Geoffrey Whitelaw Emerging Composition Scholarship (2024) and the Bornstein Vocal Scholarship (2024), Greta Williams is an emerging vocalist, and composer whose work pairs intimate, collage-like lyrics with subtle musical prosody. With a unique background in both classical and contemporary voice, Greta has performed with a range of acclaimed Australian ensembles, including Invenio Singers and the Choir of Trinity College. During her studies she shared the stage with Australian luminaries, Paul Grabowsky, Jamie Oehlers, Nat Bartsch and others, and featured on the recording, Paul Grabowsky: Monash Sessions (2024).

THE WORKS

Opening tonight's performance, and loosely inspired by the confessional nursery rhyme,  Who Killed Cock Robbin?, Greta Williams I, said the Sparrow explores themes of grief, loss and resilience through a chorus of female voices grieving for an unnamed protagonist. Drawing on the traditions of both improvised music and western art-song, the work explores pitch set composition, combining notated and improvisational sections in an unfolding conversation between instruments and vocal narrators. Conceived shortly after the death of my grandmother last year,  the work ultimately  serves as a meditation on my grandmother's quietly resilient spirit and the many small and unnamed battles she faced. Greta was the recipient of the 2024 Geoffrey Whitelaw Emerging Composer Grant, which was the impetus for this work.

Tonight's second commission, Acceptance Does Not Mean Surrender, is an epic new work by ARIA nominated pianist/composer Nat Bartsch, who is well known for creating meditative, hopeful music that provides solace in difficult times. But in 2025, it has never been harder to find hope in the face of our growing climate catastrophe. In this landmark new work composed for Monash Art Ensemble, Nat draws upon interviews with climate scientists and analysts, to propose a pathway to climate resilience.

Acceptance Does Not Mean Surrender blends composition, improvisation and ambient music production with immersive cinematography and field recordings of the natural environments the scientists hold dear. You’ll hear the voices of these scientists embedded through the work, as well as the sounds and film of some of the natural environments they hold dear. Each movement of the piece is based around a theme that emerged from our conversations: emotions, tools and personal perspectives that I have learned from enormously. I hope this piece will also inspire you to find ways to do what you can for climate action; to listen to the science; process some challenging emotions, and find beauty in broken places.

She asks the audience not to turn away from the confronting realities of climate inaction: instead, to be present; honour the work of experts tasked with our care; and learn from their coping strategies and mantras (including Trebbe Johnson’s Radical Joy concept).

This piece was created on the unceded lands of Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and Boonwurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation.

Read more of Nat's reflections and acknowledgments.

“I’d like to show how it is possible to quietly persist, and cope, with a growing knowledge of the catastrophe. If people working in climate are able to get up every morning and face the crisis… what can we learn from them, as regular folks?”

‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎-  Nat Bartsch

MUSICIANS & CONTRIBUTORS

I, Said the Sparrow (Greta Williams)

Paul Grabowsky - conductor
Paula Rae - flute
Nicole Canham - clarinet
Robert Burke - alto saxophone
Josh Bennier - trombone
Meg Pearson - soprano voice
Celine Robinson - mezz-soprano voice
Rhea John -  alto voice
Atharv Joshi - piano
Kai Arai - drum kit
Natasha Conrau - violin
Aaron Wyatt - viola
Charlotte Jacke - cello
Benjamin Hanlon -  double bass

Acceptance Does Not Mean Surrender (Nat Bartsch)

Paul Grabowsky -  conductor
Robert Burke - alto saxophone
Paul Williamson - trumpet
Zela Papageorgiou - percussion
Su Min Lee - harp
Nat Bartsch - piano, composer, and electronics
Eugene Stone-Marques - guitar
Kai Arai - drum kit
Lani Zimora - synths & samples
Daniel Bickham-Cullis - synths & samples
Sofia Jorgovic - video,  FX, & nature samples
Natasha Conrau - violin I
Meg Cohen - violin II
Aaron Wyatt - viola
Charlotte Jacke - cello
Benjamin Hanlon - double bass

Thank you to the people working in climate, who generously contributed their personal perspectives and knowledge to this work: Dr. Andrew Watkins, A.Prof Roger Dargaville, Dr. Joëlle Gergis, Dr. Ben Hague, Lacey Elsum, Kate Bongiovanni, Francine Machin, and Hannah Bourbon.

Thank you to Wurundjeri Elder Aunty Julieanne Axford, and Charley Woolmore for their consultation and contributions to this work.

This piece incorporates the sounds and video of many First Nations lands. First Nations communities in remote and regional Australia will be one of the most severely impacted groups by climate change. We must do everything we can to help our First Peoples' stay connected to Country.

Pre-Production Team

Acceptance Does Not Mean Surrender is the result of significant pre-production, conceived as an immersive audiovisual experience that fuses bespoke cinematography and field recordings drawn from the landscapes most cherished by the climate scientists represented in this ambitious new work. Developed through close collaboration between Nat, cinematographer Stefan Raabe, recording engineer Hadyn Buxton, and sound artist Michael J. Kellett, the work invites audiences into a space where ecological sound, image, and music converge. The result is an emotional and deeply responsive journey through the fragile beauty of our natural world.

See more details about Nat’s collaborators below...

Stefan Raabe is a multidisciplinary filmmaker specialising in documentaries that focus on community, social impact, arts, and the climate crisis. His films have been recognised in local and international festivals including a nomination for Best Achievement in Screenplay at the St Kilda Film Festival 2025 for his narrative short 'Dear Friend', and Best Documentary at the Peninsula Film Festival 2025 as editor of 'The Ranch', along with official selections in the Darwin IFF, Perth IFF, Melbourne Documentary Film Festival, and the Human Rights and Arts Film Festival. Originally from Naarm, he now lives and works on Bunurong Country, on the Mornington Peninsula.

Hadyn Buxton is one of Australia’s leading recording and mix engineers, with over 25 years’ experience and more than 100 albums to his name. Renowned across classical, jazz and alternative genres, he has worked with artists including Archie Roach, Luke Howard, the Grigoryan Brothers, Ecca Vandal and Nat Bartsch, with several projects winning ARIA and APRA awards. Beginning at Melbourne’s iconic Metropolis Studio, Hadyn now produces world-class recordings from loungerooms to major studios, in stereo, surround and immersive formats. Also active in live sound and education, he teaches at Monash University and mentors emerging artists through Amica Familia.

Michael J. Kellett is a sound artist, improviser, commissioned composer, and arts-based researcher whose work blurs the boundaries between experimental music, ecology, and technology. Working through field recording, improvisation, and composition, he explores post-humanist and decolonial ideas in his listening and music-making practices. His notable and recent projects include collaborations with Linda May Han Oh, Terri Lyne Carrington, and projects [ Pronoia ] (2020), Argo (2023) and through-field (2024). Moving fluidly between studio, field, and screen, Michael also works as a film composer and leads the interdisciplinary collective Ac-ross Land, Bet-ween Water, connecting artists with sound, place, and environment.

Monash Art Ensemble Committee

Prof. Paul Grabowsky - Artistic Director
Assoc. Prof. Robert Burke - Chair & Producer
Dr. Michael J. Kellett - Ensemble Manager & Producer
Dr. Paul Williamson
Dr. Aura Go
Dr. Anna McMichael
Chelsea Wilson

Event Production Team

Michael J. Kellett - Production Lead
Chris Cody - Lighting Engineer
Finan McLaren - Sound Engineer
Daniel Parr - Stage Management and Front of House
John Lloyd Fillingham - Event Photographer

Special Thanks to...

Melbourne International Jazz Festival
The Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music and Performance
Monash University Performing Arts Centres 
Vice-Chancellor and President of Monash University
Salzer Foundation 
Minsmere Foundation 
Geoffrey Whitelaw 
Karl Willebrant

CONTACT

For all media enquires, please contact mae@monash.edu