Opus Now Holiday Special on Saturday, December 13 at 1pm, held at Temple on the Park, where we come together in a spirit of thanks for your support of the series throughout 2025.

For this concert we present a split bill, featuring ‘Gong music hero Novak Manojlovic with his latest ensemble CEREMONY, alongside a very special performance of one of Beethoven’s undeniable late masterpieces, his String Quartet in A minor, Opus 132.

With its central movement, the “Heiliger Dankgesang” or Holy Song of Thanksgiving, Beethoven gives us one of his most profound creations: a meditation on illness, recovery, gratitude, fragility, and the resilience of the human spirit. Performing this fifty-minute feast at year’s end feels deeply right. It allows us to acknowledge the beauty we’ve shared, as well as the difficulties and wounds the year has brought. Music has always held that space, helping shape our understanding of the world and shining a light on the pressing challenges we face. Leading this special quartet is a sensational group of musicians featuring Kristian Winther, Hannah Kim, and Liz Woolnough.

CEREMONY is the most recent work of award-winning Sydney-based composer, pianist, and improviser Novak Manojlovic. Following his recent collaboration with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, CEREMONY sees Manojlovic return to the notions of community that have been the foundation of his artistic oeuvre. Originally commissioned as a wedding gift for a close friend, this new suite of music—performed by an ensemble of long-term friends and collaborators—interrogates the intrinsic folkloric nature of performance by exploring the profundity of the acoustic instrument, of sound, of ritual, of space, of hearth, of the symbiotic relationship between audience and performer, and of the abiding truism of music as gift.

“The musical highlight of the evening… ravishing…” — Limelight Magazine

CEREMONY Ensemble
Ken Allars, Alex Raupach — trumpets
David Reglar, Billy Ward — woodwinds
Yutaro Okuda — guitar
Max Alduca — double bass
Miles Thomas — drums

And finally, to round out this concert and its theme of renewal and community, local award-winning artist Ra Bull will hang several of her captivating sculptures from the ceiling of the Temple. Made entirely from recycled objects, these works were recently on display at the Repair | Replace exhibition on Kuringgai land.