BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
One of the most talked-about problems in our classical music industry is the imbalance between old and new works. Concert programs will often prioritise the classics, and occasionally take a risk on a 21st-Century composition. Granted, it is indeed a type of risk to present an unfamiliar work: you don’t know how an audience will react to the music because it’s never been tested before. But if Forest Collective’s approach is anything to go by, it’s a risk worth taking.
Evan Lawson is the artistic director of Forest Collective, a Melbourne-based artist collective that presents a diverse range of projects across classical and new music, including dance and other collaborations. They’ve commissioned more than 100 projects, performed more than 100 world premieres — and 30 Australian premieres — and presented over 250 works from the 21st Century.
So when it comes to taking risks on new music, we reckon there are some industry-wide lessons to be learnt from that experience. And when we saw that Evan was named a finalist in the 2025 APRA AMCOS Art Music Awards (Work of the Year: Dramatic for Forest Collective’s Labyrinth), we thought it’d be a great time to ask about it.
Evan, we last caught up about your dance opera. Now you’re a finalist in the APRA AMCOS Art Music Awards! How are you feeling about being recognised?
I am elated. To receive recognition is always a lift to your spirits, especially when it comes for a show you poured your heart into. But the Art Music Awards are especially poignant as they come from my community, and it means the world to me and the Forest team.
We’re so excited to be recognised!
After your recent dance opera, you then went onto fundraising for Fat Pig, an Australian premiere. Why do you value taking risks on new Australian productions?
Taking on risky productions is Forest Collective’s modus operandi. Since forming in 2009, we have presented a lot of new music, dance, theatre, and collaborative work. We rarely present work from ‘the canon’. And when we do present canonical work, we try and put a twist on it — like our 2022 digital presentation of PIERROT, using movements from Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire, paired with filmmakers and dance.
My theory, as a maker and composer of new work, is if I don’t take on risky work, who else will? Big, daring, and risk-taking work is essential to the life of art, but especially art music. I think as artists, curators, and administrators, we have an obligation to present and champion new and daring work.
You’ve presented more than 250 works from the 21st Century. Is new music really a challenge for audiences to embrace?
In my experience, no. We have built Forest Collective with the idea that new work is at the core of what we do. Everyone — from the voluntary committee of administrators to the artists to our audience and donor base — supports and champions that philosophy.
Of course, there have been times people have complained, or work has been way too challenging. But somehow, we always pull it off, and with a culture — both for the performers, and the audience — that is warm, accessible, and inviting to all.
The greatest challenge for the sector to present new music is to simply present new music and accept the possible outcomes. You need to educate and inform the audience, the artists, and all other stakeholders. That takes time. I’m not saying it’s easy, but when you place the curiosity and mystery at the centre of the work, in my experience, people seem to want to come with you on the journey.
Also, program variety. We are lucky at Forest Collective where our audience regularly says, ‘we had no idea what we were to expect from a concert’, but they still come for more. That to me shows there are people willing to take those risks, and that we have trust in what we do.
What would have been some of the themes underpinning the most successful of your 250 works? What are some common elements that you’ve found audiences like to experience?
Our most successful productions, in terms of attendance, have been large-scale evening-length works that are often taking on queer themes. We’ve maintained a strong relationship with the unique and beautiful spaces of Abbotsford Convent and with the LGBTQIA+ Midsumma Festival, which have helped grow our audience. And we’re known maybe not as a queer organisation, but a supportive one that champions diverse voices and works.
The other side of this is putting on evening-length long-form works like Max Lawrence’s Fountain, my operas Labyrinth, The Sea and Orpheus, Kym Alexandra Dillon’s Diapsalmata, Kim Tan’s Folding, and so many more. These are longer works, big canvases, with big ideas, and I think our audience comes to expect curation and vision from us.
Were there any works you felt nervous about Forest Collective presenting, but the risk paid off?
Oh gosh, I could say all of them! I don’t have kids — I have shows!
Our 2023 performance of my opera The Sea was a real challenge as we had developed a work that explored manipulation and abuse in relationships. It had some very confronting scenes, and so we all worked really hard to clearly communicate our intentions and to provide warnings. And thankfully, after all that work, we only had one complaint from the sold-out season of attendance.
When it comes to your audience, how would you describe the types of concertgoers who are interested in challenging themselves to experience and explore these types of works? Do you like to focus on first-time attendees, or do you tend to nurture a loyal fanbase that engages with Forest Collective because of these new ideas?
I could wax lyrical about data and our audience! We have a loyal and dedicated audience base, some of whom have attended events for over 10 years! They would be our most adventurous audience members who seek to experience the new and unusual. It’s not unusual for them to say they’ve never been to art music before.
In terms of new people coming to Forest Collective, when we partner with other organisations — I mentioned Midsumma and the Convent, but also fortyfivedownstairs, BK Opera, Eleventh Hour Theatre — we notice an influx of new people to attend. We are thrilled to welcome new people, and we’re delighted that many return to our next project.
What are the biggest lessons you’ve learnt from performing 250 works from the 21st Century?
- Study your scores thoroughly!
- Foster an audience of risk-takers.
- Work with artists who are open to collaborating.
- Work with composers, and foster a space where they can workshop and take risks.
- Create an environment for your artists to also be risk takers.
- Work with a diversity of different artists from different disciplines, instrument practice, and performance practice.
Learn more about Forest Collective, and check out the full line-up of finalists in the 2025 Art Music Awards.
Images supplied. Featured images of Evan by Pia Johnson.
