Flare With The Metropolitan Orchestra at Verbrugghen Hall Sydney will bring Stravinsky, Ravel, Rimsky-Korsakov and a world premiere on June 6.
The evening will begin not with sound, but with anticipation. Inside Sydney’s Conservatorium of Music, Verbrugghen Hall will welcome audiences into a space designed for listening with exceptional clarity. As people arrive along Macquarie Street and step through the glass doors, the transition from city movement into concert stillness will mark the beginning of the experience.
There is a particular clarity to concerts held in rooms built for acoustic precision. Every small sound, every movement, every breath will become part of the shared environment. On this night, that sensitivity will shape the atmosphere of Flare With The Metropolitan Orchestra, a program designed around contrast, colour, and orchestral energy.
Verbrugghen Hall And The Evening Ahead
Verbrugghen Hall will once again serve as a focal point for Sydney’s orchestral life, where sound is revealed with precision and intimacy. Its acoustic design ensures that every section of the orchestra can be heard with clarity, from the softest string detail to full orchestral force.
As musicians of The Metropolitan Orchestra take their places under the direction of Chief Conductor Sarah-Grace Williams, the audience will witness the familiar ritual of tuning, settling, and focus. In this setting, Flare With The Metropolitan Orchestra will unfold as a shared act of attention between stage and audience.
The program will open with Graeme Brown’s Endangered Species, a world premiere that will introduce a newly commissioned Australian work to the stage for the first time. The performance will mark its debut in front of a live audience, offering an opportunity for discovery in real time.
Flare With The Metropolitan Orchestra: Firebird And First Sparks
A defining moment of Flare With The Metropolitan Orchestra will arrive with Stravinsky’s The Firebird Suite. Known for its vivid orchestration and dramatic contrasts, the work will bring intensity and colour to the concert’s second half.
Within Verbrugghen Hall’s acoustic environment, the piece will be experienced with close detail. String textures will shimmer with clarity, brass will resonate with controlled power, and dynamic shifts will feel immediate and present. The hall will allow the full expressive range of the orchestra to be heard without distortion.
Silences between musical passages will also play a significant role, shaping the pacing of the work and heightening anticipation. In this way, Flare With The Metropolitan Orchestra will be defined not only by sound, but by the space between sounds.
Between Spain And Nostalgia: Ravel And Rimsky-Korsakov
The program will also feature Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol, a work rich in orchestral colour and rhythmic vitality. Its shifting motifs and layered textures will showcase the orchestra’s agility and ensemble precision.
Following this, Ravel’s Pavane pour une infante défunte will introduce a contrasting atmosphere of stillness and reflection. The piece will offer a quieter, more introspective moment, emphasising melodic restraint and tonal beauty.
Through these contrasting works, Flare With The Metropolitan Orchestra will explore the breadth of orchestral expression, moving between brightness and intimacy within a single program.
Flare With The Metropolitan Orchestra: A World Premiere
At the centre of the evening, Graeme Brown’s Endangered Species will receive its world premiere. As a newly commissioned work, it will be performed for the first time before a live audience, with no prior interpretation or recording to reference.
Under Sarah-Grace Williams’ direction, the orchestra will bring the piece to life in real time, shaping its textures, balance, and pacing as it unfolds. This moment will define part of the identity of Flare With The Metropolitan Orchestra, highlighting the role of contemporary Australian composition within the orchestral tradition.
Sydney Conservatorium As A Living Acoustic Space
Verbrugghen Hall will function not only as a venue, but as an active part of the performance. Its acoustic properties will shape how sound is experienced, revealing detail while maintaining clarity even in full orchestral passages.
The audience will share in this experience collectively, contributing to the atmosphere through attentive listening. In this environment, Flare With The Metropolitan Orchestra will become a shared moment of focus, shaped as much by presence as by performance.
Looking Ahead To The Final Note
As the program concludes with Stravinsky’s final passages, the hall will settle into silence before applause begins. That moment of stillness will mark the transition from performance back into reflection.
Outside, Sydney will continue its evening rhythm, but the experience of the concert will remain with audiences as a sequence of musical impressions—energy, contrast, and stillness.
Flare With The Metropolitan Orchestra will offer more than a program of works. It will present a curated journey through orchestral colour and contemporary creation, designed to be experienced in real time on June 6.
Event Details
Event: Flare With The Metropolitan Orchestra
Date: Saturday 6 June 2026
Time: 7:00pm
Venue: Verbrugghen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Sydney NSW
Program: Brown (Endangered Species – World Premiere), Rimsky-Korsakov (Capriccio Espagnol), Ravel (Pavane pour une infante défunte), Stravinsky (The Firebird Suite)
Conductor: Sarah-Grace Williams
Tickets & Info: metorchestra.com.au/event/met-concert-flare