Hear Us Now

Commissioning three new pieces by Australian composers for solo violist, Hear Us Now is a project designed to give a groundbreaking musical voice to survivors of childhood sexual abuse. This project is proudly supported by Creative Australia and ACF Boost matched funding.

Working with three Australian composers, this project will see the creation and distribution of three new pieces written for solo violist. These pieces will be about the impacts of childhood sexual abuse, aiming to create work that validates, reflects, and amplifies the experiences of those who have been victimised and create an opportunity for the general public to safely, meaningfully, and empathetically engage with the realities of abuse. I myself am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, and using the Victim Impact Statement I presented to the courts as a starting point, each of the composers and I will discuss and explore the emergent themes and affects - perhaps including confusion, shame, fear, grief, strength, gratitude, hope. Their inquiries and life experiences will shape the conversation to result in three different understandings of impact, making each piece unique in its storytelling.

I first began searching for this music, to listen to or play, in 2021. To my surprise and disappointment, I couldn’t find any instrumental music, worldwide, that publicly engaged with topics of sexual abuse or gendered violence. Many other art forms openly engage with the topic, so why has classical music failed to keep up? Of course, many people find the topic of childhood sexual abuse difficult to engage with; it is painful and frightening. Many survivors experience intense shame about what happened to them, and few have the legal protection of a court finding their accounts to be provable beyond a reasonable doubt. It is also expensive and difficult to create this kind of music. However, this kind of violence effects 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men; these pieces are long overdue to be written, played, and heard. This music will be commissioned, recorded, distributed, and performed by mid-2025.

Understanding the necessity of these pieces, this project has been designed to be as widely resonant and accessible as possible.

Despite the challenging subject matter, I believe this project will create music that is nuanced, expressive, sincere, and beautiful.