Winter Voices

Footscray Community Arts presents the Indoor Music Series: Winter Voices, a celebration of local musical talent that promises to warm the soul and melt hearts this winter.

Both Kwai and Raman are loved local and active Footscray community members, each possessing a rich global sound. Their music is a reflection of their cultures, deeply rooted in their own unique personal history and made accessible by building community around music.

On Saturday 3rd June, audiences are invited to experience the beautiful voice and spirit of Ajak Kwai, a renowned South-Sudanese Australian songwoman who sings of hope, joy and resilience. Her music reflects her personal journey from war-torn Sudan to multicultural Australia.

Ajak Kwai is well known to the airwaves, stage and broader Australian music community for her powerful performances and strong messages that call for inclusion and celebration of the diversity. Originally hailing from a small town of Bor (pronounced ‘bohr’) on the Upper Nile in what is now South Sudan, music has always been a powerful component of her life.

On Saturday 17th June, Bhairavi Raman, an Indian-Australian violinist who blends Western Classical and South Indian Classical (Carnatic) forms fills the stage with her mesmerising musical expression of two cultures. A talented improviser, Raman’s music is a cultural celebration – a metaphor for her bicultural identity, wrapped up in a dynamic and engaging practice. Playing alongside Raman is percussionist Nanthesh Sivarajah, a multidisciplinary artist, trained in both South Indian Classical (Carnatic) and Western forms, and proficient in several instruments including the Mridangam, Kanjira, Ghatam, Morsing, and Drumkit. With over 400 performances to their name, they represent a formidable blend of traditional knowledge honed-in from India, technical mastery, musical boldness and an authentically Melburnian voice.

Winter Voices brings heartwarming music and thought-provoking art to brighten Melbourne winter nights.