Monash University Performing Arts Centres presents the world premiere of Dark Oceanography as part of the Sundays in the Sound Gallery series for 2025.

[Sound] is the geography of encounters, misses, happenstance, and events... Performing the impossible territories of a poet on the night-time sea—on the ocean in the dark. - Salomé Voegelin

Music has an important role to play in climate crisis discourse, offering a sonic pathway to bridge the gap between data, understanding, reflection, and action.

Dark Oceanography integrates climate science with experimental music, modelling generative oceanic systems in spatial audio and percussion. In this new work by Kate Milligan, Louise Devenish, and Aaron Wyatt, the live performances of three percussionists converge with the 63-channel Meyer Constellation in the David Li Sound Gallery, creating a dynamic spatial instrument that sonifies the future impact of global warming in the ocean.

Collaboratively developed by a team of artistic and scientific researchers, this piece is part of the Sonic Vocabularies: Climate Weather and Music project. Led by The Sound Collectors Lab in partnership with ARC Centre of Excellence for the Weather of the 21st Century, the development of this work has been supported by Monash University Performing Arts Centres.

The performance will be followed by a Q&A featuring Kate Milligan, Dr Louise Devenish, Aaron Wyatt and Dr Navid Constantinou, facilitated by Dr Aura Go.

Associated Event

Ahead of the premiere, a public salon event will be held at Monash University’s Clayton campus (The Monash Club) on Monday 21 July at 12.30pm. Featuring percussionist and project lead Dr Louise Devenish, composer Kate Milligan, music technologist Aaron Wyatt, and research consultant Dr Navid Constantinou, the discussion will explore how scientific and artistic processes intertwined to shape this creative work. This free, informal catered event is open to researchers, musicians, artists, students and anyone curious about climate, weather and the power of sound.

This performance is part of the 2025 Sundays in the Sound Gallery series, showcasing exceptional artists in the intimate and acoustically superb David Li Sound Gallery.

Photo: Darren Gill