Andrew Ford OAM is a composer, writer, and presenter of The Music Show on ABC Radio National. Andrew has written eleven books and his most recent, The Shortest History of Music, is an authoritative tour through several thousand years of music that sets out to understand what exactly music is – and why humans are irresistibly drawn to making it.

Andrew’s music has been performed and recorded around the world, played by ensembles such as the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Brodsky Quartet and the New Juilliard Ensemble, and sung by the likes of Yvonne Kenny, Katie Noonan and Iva Bittová.

David Marr is a journalist, a political and social commentator and one of the country's most accomplished non-fiction writers. His latest book, Killing for Country: A Family Story, is a richly detailed saga of politics and power in the colonial world. David’s other books include Patrick White: A Life, The High Price of Heaven, Dark Victory (with Marian Wilkinson), Panic, My Country and six best-selling Quarterly Essays. He has written for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Saturday Paper, The Guardian and The Monthly. David served as editor of The National Times, a reporter for Four Corners and presenter of ABC TV’s Media Watch.

Join us for a discussion between authors Gari Tudor-Smith, Paul Williams, Felicity Meakins and moderator Daniel Browning for the book Bina.

ABOUT THE BOOK
Australia's language diversity is truly breathtaking. This continent lays claim to the world's longest continuous collection of cultures, including over 440 unique languages and many more dialects. Sadly, European invasion has had severe consequences for the vitality of these languages.

Amid devastating loss, there has also been the birth of new languages such as Kriol and Yumplatok, both English-based Creoles. Aboriginal English dialects are spoken widely, and recently there has been an inspiring renaissance of First Nations languages, as communities reclaim and renew them.

Bina: First Nations Languages, Old and New tells this story, from the earliest exchange of words between colonists and First Nations people to today's reclamations. It is a creative and exciting introduction to a vital and dynamic world of language.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Gari Tudor-Smith is a Barada, Yiman, Gangulu and Gureng Gureng linguist. Gari's focus is on language and cultural reclamation and empowering First Nations communities. They are currently working as a linguist at the University of Queensland, contributing to the development of a Graduate Certificate in Indigenous Language Revitalisation and working on legacy language collections.

Paul Williams is a Gamilaraay man from Tamworth, New South Wales. Since 2020, Paul has worked as a linguist at the University of Queensland, where he has contributed to a number of Indigenous language projects including dictionaries and grammars and working with archival materials.

Felicity Meakins is a professor of linguistics at the University of Queensland. She has worked for over two decades with Indigenous communities documenting their languages. This work extends beyond the traditional boundaries of linguistic research, such as dictionaries and grammars, to projects grounded in the artistic, cultural and land-based practices of these communities.

An entertaining and thought-provoking trip through the fascinating history of music. From award-winning broadcaster and composer Andrew Ford, The Shortest History of Music is a lively, authoritative tour through several thousand years of music.

Packed with colourful characters and surprising details, it sets out to understand what exactly music is – and why humans are irresistibly drawn to making it. This is not a traditional chronological account. Instead, Andrew Ford focuses on key themes in the history of music and considers how they have played out across the ages.

How has music interacted with other social forces, such as religion and the economy? How have technological changes shaped the kinds of music humans make? From lullabies to concert halls, songlines to streaming services, what has music meant to humans at different times and in different places?

Andrew Ford OAM is a composer, writer and broadcaster who has won awards in each of those capacities. He has been composer-in-residence for the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) and the Australian Festival of Chamber Music. In 2014 he was Poynter Fellow and visiting composer at Yale University, in 2015 visiting lecturer at the Shanghai Conservatory, and in 2018 HC Coombs Creative Arts Fellow at the Australian National University. Ford has written widely on all manner of music and published eleven books. He has written, presented and co-produced five radio series for the ABC and, since 1995, presented The Music Show each weekend on Radio National.

Former Principal Double Bass of the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra for 20 years, Kirsty McCahon is Australia’s leading practitioner of Historical Performance Practice on the double bass and violone. Awarded a Churchill Fellow in 2001, Kirsty has been recognized as an Honorary Fellow at the University of Melbourne for Services to Orchestral Music.

Discover the fascinating story of why music is vital to the human experience from prehistory to now with Andrew Ford.

From award-winning broadcaster and composer Andrew Ford, The Shortest History of Music is a lively, authoritative tour through several thousand years of music.

Packed with colourful characters and surprising details, it sets out to understand what exactly music is – and why humans are irresistibly drawn to making it.

This is not a traditional chronological account. Instead, Ford focuses on key themes in the history of music and considers how they have played out across the ages.

How has music interacted with other social forces, such as religion and the economy? How have technological changes shaped the kinds of music humans make? From lullabies to concert halls, songlines to streaming services, what has music meant to humans at different times and in different places?

About the author

Andrew Ford's music has been performed and recorded around the world, played by ensembles such as the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Brodsky Quartet and the New Juilliard Ensemble, and sung by the likes of Yvonne Kenny, Katie Noonan and Iva Bittová.

He presents The Music Show on ABC Radio National and has written ten books ranging from a study of sound in film to the songs of Van Morrison to the compulsion of composers to explore the primitive in their music.

Organised in partnership with Constant Reader Bookshop.

How much of what we think we know about history is incomplete, and what if the dominant story we’ve been told isn’t strictly the facts? Join writers and historians Sarah Percy, Kate Fullagar and David Marr to delve into the true stories that shape who we are and the way we understand our world. With Walter Marsh.

The ocean has shaped and sustained life on Earth from the beginning of time. Explore the deepest recesses of our natural world, and its role in humanity’s and our planet’s future, with author James Bradley, climate scientist Joëlle Gergis, and oceanographer Daniel Harrison. With Courtney Miller.
Supported by Southern Cross University.

Join Lech Blaine (Quarterly Essay: Bad Cop) and frequent QE contributor David Marr for an in-depth analysis of the Australian Liberal Party’s membership and leadership issues, its changing international influences, and where to next for the party.
Supported by Quarterly Essay.

David Marr was shocked to discover forebears who served with the brutal Native Police in the bloodiest years on the frontier. Killing for Country is the result – a soul-searching history of a war still unresolved in today’s Australia. With Rebecca Huntley.
Supported by Greenstone Partners.

A great wealth transfer is seeing the fortunes of Baby Boomers passed onto Gen X, Millenials and Gen Y – but not everyone will benefit. Join young writers Lech Blaine, Bri Lee and Steph Tisdell to discuss class inequality and the growing divide between those with or without family assets. With Isabelle Reinecke.
Supported by The Saturday Paper.

To curb the climate crisis, there can be no more oil, gas or coal. Yet governments around the world, including Australia, are approving new fossil fuel projects. Climate scientist Joëlle Gergis (Highway to Hell) and investigative journalist Royce Kurmelovs (Slick) analyse the government paralysis around ending fossil fuels and provide a roadmap for taking action. With Julianne Schultz.
Supported by The Saturday Paper.

Award-winning broadcaster and composer, Andrew Ford, will be in conversation with Malcolm Gillies on his new book The Shortest History of Music, an entertaining and thought-provoking trip through the fascinating history of music.

Packed with colourful characters and surprising details, it sets out to understand what exactly music is – and why humans are irresistibly drawn to making it. This is not a traditional chronological account. Instead, Andrew Ford focuses on key themes in the history of music and considers how they have played out across the ages.

How has music interacted with other social forces, such as religion and the economy? How have technological changes shaped the kinds of music humans make? From lullabies to concert halls, songlines to streaming services, what has music meant to humans at different times and in different places?

Andrew Ford OAM is a composer, writer and broadcaster who has won awards in each of those capacities. He has been composer-in-residence for the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) and the Australian Festival of Chamber Music. In 2014 he was Poynter Fellow and visiting composer at Yale University, in 2015 visiting lecturer at the Shanghai Conservatory, and in 2018 HC Coombs Creative Arts Fellow at the Australian National University. Ford has written widely on all manner of music and published eleven books. He has written, presented and co-produced five radio series for the ABC and, since 1995, presented The Music Show each weekend on Radio National.

Emeritus Professor Malcolm Gillies AM FAHA is an internationally recognised authority on the composers Percy Grainger and Bela Bartok and has written or edited more than a dozen books, including ‘Self-Portrait of Percy Grainger’, which gained an award of the American Society for Composers, Authors and Publishers in 2007, as well as over 100 articles. He is a former ANU  Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) and Vice-President (Development) and  former Vice-Chancellor of both City University, London and London Metropolitan University.

The vote of thanks will be given by Robyn Holmes FAHA, former Senior Curator of Music, National Library of Australia.

This event is in association with Harry Hartog Bookshop. Books will be available for purchase. Pre-event book signings will be available from 5.30pm and again after the event.

Just when DO neighbours become good friends – or enemies? Join three security analysts to discuss the finer points of diplomacy and the strategic challenges facing Australia today. With Professor Bec Strating (Girt By Sea), Allan Behm (The Odd Couple), Dr Kylie Moore-Gilbert (The Uncaged Sky) with Dr Sally Warhaft.

Best-selling author Dr Sarah Krasnostein explores writing and the ethical dimensions of factual storytelling. Known for The Trauma Cleaner, The Believer, On Peter Carey (for the Writers on Writers series) and the long-form essay 'Peace in the Home', Sarah explores the text of Genesis, origin stories and psychological foundations in her work. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear Sarah Krasnostein's insights on storytelling ethics, moderated by Michaela Kalowski. 

How do you transform your family's origin story into a compelling narrative? From historical fiction and young adult novels to cookbooks, our panelists explore sharing family stories while navigating the commercial pressures of the publishing world. How do you transform your family's origin story into a compelling narrative? Julia Levitina, Linda Margolin Royal and Elana Benjamin, authors of historical fiction, personal essays and even cookbooks, explore sharing family stories while navigating the commercial pressures of the publishing world. Moderated by Scott Whitmont.

From prehistory to now, this is the fascinating story of why music is vital to the human experience.

Award-winning broadcaster and composer Andrew Ford joins PFSMF co-artistic director Monica Curro to talk about Ford’s latest book, The Shortest History of Music – a lively, authoritative tour through several thousand years of music. Packed with colourful characters and surprising details, it sets out to understand what exactly music is, and why humans are irresistibly drawn to making it.

This is not a traditional chronological account. Instead, Andrew Ford focuses on key themes in the history of music and considers how they have played out across the ages. How has music interacted with other social forces, such as religion and the economy? How have technological changes shaped the kinds of music humans make? From lullabies to concert halls, songlines to streaming services, what has music meant to humans at different times and in different places?

In a meeting of two monumental hearts and minds, international singing sensation Josh Piterman reveals the secrets of his success to PFSMF’s very own Letterman – the composer, author and broadcaster Andrew Ford. This is a rare opportunity to gain insights into the dedication and desire required to forge an impactful path in the arts, and the versatility, resilience, and mindfulness needed to sustain a long and rewarding career.

Join us with Lech Blaine to celebrate the release of Australian Gospel! Lech will be joined by Benjamin Law.

From one of Australia's most brilliant writers, a gripping true story about the tangled fates of two couples and the foster children trapped between them.

Michael and Mary Shelley are Christian fanatics who loathe their fellow Australians – especially their 'reckless indulgence of alcohol and obsession with idiotic ball sports'. Lenore and Tom Blaine are working-class Queensland publicans raising a large family in a raucous, loving, sports-obsessed home. There's just one problem. The Blaines are foster parents to three of the Shelleys' children, who were removed from Michael and Mary as infants. And the Shelleys are prepared to do anything to get them back. Anything.

Australian Gospel is a family saga like no other – heartbreaking, hilarious and altogether astonishing.

'One of the best writers of his generation.' Benjamin Law

Lech Blaine is the author of the memoir Car Crash and the Quarterly Essay Top Blokes. His writing has appeared in The Monthly, Guardian Australia, The Best Australian Essays, Griffith Review, Kill Your Darlings and Meanjin. He was an inaugural recipient of a Griffith Review Queensland Writing Fellowship.

Benjamin Law is the author of the memoir The Family Law, which he adapted for SBS TV, Gaysia, and a Quarterly Essay: Moral Panic 101. A columnist for Fairfax’s Good Weekend magazine, Law has also written for over 50 publications internationally and is a co-host on ABC Radio National’s Stop Everything.