Hilary Kleinig and Emily Granger | Alone : Together

ALONE : TOGETHER is the debut solo album by award-winning cellist / composer, Hilary Kleinig.

Hilary Kleinig’s album explores the sonic possibilities of the cello – bowed, plucked, harmonic and percussive – played alone but together with looping layers and echoes of self. Fusing influences of folk, classical, EDM and pop, “Alone : Together” offers listeners music of sublime beauty, symphonic textures, ecstatic grooves and lush harmonies, all created by one multi-layered cello.

Joined by a very special local guest in each city for her national album launch tour, Hilary is thrilled to share the stage with sensational harpist Emily Granger in Brisbane. Don’t miss this special performance by these two extraordinary artists, performing alone and together.

HILARY KLEINIG is a multidisciplinary musician – cellist, composer, creative producer and educator – based in Tarntanya / Adelaide, Australia. Imbued with a sense of wonder and curiosity, her artistic practice centres on care, collaboration and connection, of and with people, place and planet. She is a strong believer in the transformative power of music, and is passionate about creating new work with artists and communities that tell vital, current and courageous stories.

Hilary has performed modern, baroque and amplified cello in notated and improvised live and recorded performances with a broad range of leading ensembles, orchestras and contemporary music & jazz artists including: Sia, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Jherek Bischoff, Stars of the Lid, Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Australian Art Orchestra and Kanye West.

Hilary was the cellist and Artistic Director for Zephyr Quartet for over two decades: an award-winning, bold and adventurous string quartet, delighting in the exploration of diverse music and forging dynamic collaborations “[arguably Australia’s most lateral thinking and inventive ensemble” (Music Australia).

Hilary’s compositions have been commissioned and performed by ensembles such as the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, Silk Strings Ensemble, Muses Trio, Clocked Out, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Adelaide Chamber Singers and the Adelaide Youth Orchestras and are often heard on ABC Classic. With a passion for collaborative composition, she is currently the Co-Director and a Teaching Artist for Connecting the Dots in Music, an innovative organisation which utilises the power of music to connect arts, health, government sectors in creating community-led projects for positive social impact including Lullaby Project Australia, where she creates new songs with parents and caregivers for their children. Hilary also often writes for theatre and dance productions collaborating with companies such as Restless Dance Theatre, State Theatre Company of South Australia and Brink Productions.

Her current research, development and composition project, “The Lost Art of Listening”, is an ambitious performance piece for prepared piano and audience-played smartphone choir which investigates how people listen to music, each other and the world in an age of 24-hour connectedness and distraction. This project brings people together to meditate communally on sound, music and listening and its place in human existence, framed by a stillness that is rare today and will premiere at Vitalstatistix in 2026.

Discover more of Hilary Kleinig’s music at hilarykleinig.com.

EMILY GRANGERis the Principal Harpist for the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and a core member of Ensemble Q. Born in America and now based in Australia, harpist Emily Granger has built a reputation as one of the most compelling harpists of her generation.

Emily has been praised for her “vibrant musical personality” by Harp Column Magazine and hailed as a “queen of contemporary classical performance in Australia” by ABC Classic.

A consummate soloist and refined chamber musician, Emily has given sold out recitals at Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, Sydney Opera House, Melbourne Recital Centre, to the UKARIA Cultural Centre.

Her music has captivated audiences worldwide in performances as Guest Principal Harpist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Canberra Symphony Orchestra, Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Orchestra Victoria, and Opera Australia Orchestra.

Deeply committed to the evolution of contemporary music, Emily has commissioned and premiered nearly 100 new works for harp by composers such as Ross Edwards, Elena Kats-Chernin, Holly Harrison, Alice Chance, Anne Boyd, Tristan Coelho, Alfredo Rolando Ortiz, and Bernard Andrés. Her championing of new music was recognised as a Finalist in the 2021 Art Music Awards for her performance of Ross Edwards’ “The Harp and The Moon” and as a Finalist in the 2022 Freedman Classical Fellowship Awards.

Emily’s recordings include her debut solo album, “In Transit” (AVIE Records), which was lauded by BBC Music Magazine as “beautiful” and by Limelight Magazine as “an impressive debut”. She followed this success with “Something Like This” (with flautist Sally Walker), “Magic Sky” (for the HUSH Foundation, with percussionist Claire Edwardes), and “Suite Mágica” (ABC Classic, with guitarist Andrew Blanch), with the latter debuting at the #1 spot on the ARIA Classical Chart. Every one of her albums has been honored as a Feature Album on ABC Classic FM and her recordings have amassed over 6.5 million streams globally.

Granger’s performance highlights include collaborations with Orava Quartet, Ensemble Offspring, Sydney Dance Company, Omega Ensemble, Flinders Quartet, Nexas Quartet, and Sydney Art Quartet, with engagements for the Melbourne Recital Centre, Musica Viva Australia, Sydney Festival, Canberra International Music Festival, Ravinia Festival, Orange Chamber Music Festival and more.

In addition to her performance career, Emily is dedicated to the next generation of harpists. She serves on the faculty of The University of Queensland and the Queensland Conservatorium of Music and is the recently elected President of the Harp Society of Queensland. She has delivered masterclasses at New York University, Indiana University, The University of Minnesota, University of Kansas, the Harp Society of Queensland, and FNQ Harp Connect, and has taught at the Australian Youth Orchestra National Music Camp and Interlochen Arts Center.

Explore more of Emily Granger’s work at emilygranger.com.

Cost

Tickets for this performance are $40–50 and include complimentary drinks on arrival. Doors open at 3pm, and the concert runs from 4–6pm with an interval. A cash bar will be available for socialising amongst the plants, and guests are also invited to visit the Plant Empire Small Wonders Exhibition which will be on display in the mezzanine gallery. Free parking.

Tickets

You’ll receive confirmation of your ticket order by email or sms (whichever one you used with your order). We’ll have a ticket list at the door when you arrive to help you save the trees and the hassle of printing your ticket.

Location

Plant Empire has moved! This concert will be held at our new premises in Tennyson, Brisbane: 15/55 Lofter St, Tennyson Q 4105. The site has easy access to free on-street parking and is an easy 10-minute walk from Yeerongpilly train station and restaurants at Yeerongpilly Green.

Accessibility

Concerts in our new premises have unallocated ground floor seating that are all level without any steps, while mezzanine seating with obstructed views is accessible via a staircase with 22 steps and 1–2 landings. The site has one wheelchair parking spot, and visitors are encouraged to use on-street parking to leave other on-site parking available for people with mobility issues.

Reminders

You have full control over how (and how often) you receive reminders for our events. You will receive one email confirmation from us when you purchase your ticket; but we won’t send any further email reminders, so please ensure that you have the concert details in your diary. You can also use the “add to calendar” function in our events calendar to add the concert to your digital calendar and customise your reminder preferences.

Cancellation Policy

Please choose carefully before purchasing your tickets for this concert as we do not offer refunds on event bookings.

Program Changes

*Please note that the program for this concert is subject to change.