Event and Ticketing Details
Dates & Times
Thursday 14 April
6:15 PM - 7:15 PM
Did you know that the MCG has the highest lighting fixtures of a sporting venue on earth, Melbourne’s Symphony Orchestra is widely recognised as one of the best in the Southern Hemisphere, and many of Australia’s finest artists and thinkers are respected on the world stage? Even Oprah says we’re great. Who’s cringing now?
Featuring
Don Watson
Don Watson is the author of many books, including Recollections of a Bleeding Heart, Death Sentence, American Journeys, The Bush and The Passion of Private White. He contributes regular pieces to the Monthly. High Noon is his third Quarterly Essay.
Mary Vallentine
Mary Vallentine is the Chief Executive Officer of the Melbourne Recital Centre.
Mary brings to the role three decades of experience in theatre, festival and music management, including 17 years as Managing Director of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
Previous to her appointment, Mary was the Director of Business Development, Concerts at Musica Viva, the national chamber music and music education organisation. In Melbourne, she was Acting Managing Director of Victorian Opera for six months in 2008/9 and has also worked with the Music Board of the Australia Council for the Arts, Adelaide Festival and the State Theatre Company of South Australia.
Mary is Chairman of the Australian Youth Orchestra, the pre-eminent national organisation for orchestral training.
Natasha Mitchell
Natasha Mitchell is a multi-award-winning journalist, radio presenter, podcaster, and audio storyteller. She is host of the ABC Radio National's flagship Big Ideas program and podcast, was founding host and producer of the ...
Jim Davidson
Jim Davidson is an historian and biographer.
His best-known books are Lyrebird Rising and the recently-published A Three-Cornered Life: The Historian WK Hancock. Together they have won half a dozen prizes, including the Prime Minister’s History Prize, the Victorian premier’s non-fiction prize and The Age Non-fiction Book of the Year (twice ).