Austin Unconducted and Kate Murray Present: mother/land

About the concert:

Join Austin Unconducted and curator Kate Murray in asking the question: when we long for home, what are we truly yearning for?

mother/land will musically explore both the challenge and the power of collective care. As an orchestra and as people, we may be unafraid to take a stand or call for action. But how do we resolve the conflicts of differing views along the way to enact real change? What happens when our authority of choice is constrained, and we’re driven away from what we know? Where do we go when we don’t have a map for how to navigate upheaval, and are left only with our own voices? 

Whether a quartet written by a prisoner of war, a classic canon piece arranged as our own, or a song composed from the perspective of a young mother with no control over her future, the wide-ranging repertoire for this concert will invite us to reflect on the power of representing a place, a people, and a purpose through sound.

Join us not just to listen to music rich with resistance, but to make some noise of your own.


The Program:
Worker’s Union – Louis Andriessen
The Moldau – Bedrich Smetana

Small Group Performances of:
At the Purchaser’s Option – Rhiannon Giddens
Drink to Me Only With Thine Eyes – Florence Price
Louange à l’Éternité de Jésus (From “Quartet for the End of Time”) – Olivier Messiaen
Yumma Mweil il-Hawa, Traditional
Dạ Cổ Hoài Lang by Cao Văn Lầu
Who is Ireland’s Enemy?

About the Curator:
Joining forces with our cooperative 18-piece string orchestra, Kate Murray is the mind behind Unfine Arts. A social practitioner known for designing unique in-real-life experiences, this concert will connect the dots between her passion to position creativity as a driver for more just communities, and her own recent experiences passing through the portal into parenthood.

Additional Collaborators:
This concert will be elevated further through performances from Lebanese-American vocalist Julie Slim and local rising mezzo-soprano Veronica C. Williams, as well as program contributions from Vietnamese-American artist promqueen, and new arrangements by members of Austin Unconducted.  

As always, join us early for complimentary drinks and hang out afterwards to meet the musicians.
6:00pm – Complimentary Happy Hour
7:00pm – Concert
8:00pm – Reception and Musician Meet & Greet


This project has been financed in part by the City of Austin’s Elevate Grant.

About Austin Unconducted:

Austin Unconducted is a democratic orchestra formed in 2022 by a group of young professional musicians with a desire to present classical music in a way that is relatable, fresh, and fun. Rather than working with a conductor, our 18 string musicians collaborate and work with local artists to design and perform concerts that truly reflect the voice and energy of the city of Austin. 2023-2024 marks our second full season of concerts that double as social events, inviting Austinites to gather and immersing them in both old and new music in a way unlike they have experienced before. Unconfined by tradition, unafraid to feature unheard voices, & unapologetically Austin, we are keeping music current. 

Austin Unconducted is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that builds community by creating inclusive, immersive, and relevant concert experiences that engage diverse audiences. As a cooperative orchestra, we re-examine the long arc of musical tradition through a contemporary lens with performances that promote equity and generate new excitement for art music in our ever changing city.