ACO Up Close: Hand to Earth with the ACO Quartet

Hand to Earth (HtE) is an independent quintet in which Yolŋu song keepers Daniel and David Wilfred recontextualise their 40,000 year old song tradition in a resolutely contemporary setting with three of Australia’s most distinctive musicians, Sunny Kim (voice) Peter Knight (trumpet/electronics) and Aviva Endean (clarinets/electronics). HtE has released three albums, which have won international praise, and performed in some of the most prestigious venues in the world.

Richard Tognetti saw Hand to Earth play at the Barbican in 2025 and instantly knew he had to work with them. This intimate recital marks the start of a special relationship. The first half of the concert is a showcase of Hand to Earth’s hypnotic, elemental sound, as the musicians fuse Daniel and David’s ancient songs – sung in the Wägilak language – with influences from minimalism, jazz, and electronica. The second half premieres new settings of several pieces from Hand to Earth’s three albums, created for the group alongside a quartet of ACO musicians led by Richard Tognetti on violin.

This will be a musical evening of power and grace, which will draw you into a sound world that feels ancient and immediate all at once.