Monash University Performing Arts Centres (MPAC) has unveiled its 2026 program delivering world-class performing arts experiences across music, dance, and cultural programming. The season features contemporary and classical performances, iconic tributes, immersive festivals, and community-focused events. Audiences can look forward to fresh versions of MPAC favourites including Family Fiesta, Big Jazz Day Out, and Live at the Counts, alongside an exciting slate of new works. The 2026 season continues MPAC’s role as a vibrant hub for creativity, connection and cultural celebration for all ages.
2026 program highlights include:
Awaken Murrup at Kindred People, a new Indigenous-led festival presented by Monash University. 1 – 5 September 2026
Where ancient wisdom meets future worlds, Kindred People is a powerful new Indigenous-led festival and kummargi yulendj gadhaba (knowledge sharing), weaving together global First Nations arts, culture, and wisdom. Curated by Gunditjmara man Tom Molyneux, the gathering invites artists, Elders, Knowledge Holders, and communities to share traditions, champion creative expression, and imagine new futures. Kindred People is more than a festival; it is a gathering of kin. It is where ancient knowledge meets contemporary ideas, where stories are shared and futures are imagined. More details to come in early 2026.
ig Jazz Day Out – 21 March
Big Jazz Day Out returns for another epic jazz party on March 21. Featuring live bands across five unique stages, and more than 100 incredible artists in one unforgettable day of music.There’s no other festival line-up quite like Big Jazz Day Out. Hear Vince Jones with the Monash String Sinfonia, ARIA-winning act Mildlife, Mindy Meng Wang & Paul Grabowsky’s award-winning collaboration, Mama Alto paying homage to Billie Holiday, The Shuffle Club with Rebecca Barnard, Aaron Choulai and MC Roman with the Monash Art Ensemble. The Cloud Maker, the Monash Brazilian Ensemble with Dany Maia and Yunior Terry and Vashti Sivel with the Monash Latin Ensemble. Plus, sing along with Mordialloc Jazz Orchestra’s Jazzeoke and groove to soul-jazz legends Cookin’ on 3 Burners
Lighting The Dark – 27 March
Lighting the Dark is a bold new work by Chris Dyke, a Kaurna (Adelaide) based dancer and choreographer living with Down syndrome. With the mesmerising Dancenorth ensemble by his side, Chris transforms the stage into a portal where love and light illuminate the darkness. A masterpiece of collaboration and community, Lighting the Dark reminds us of the complexity of life’s challenges and the beauty found in resilience.
Family Fiesta – 1 – 4 July
MPAC’s Family Fiesta heads into the forest over the July winter holidays in the next in its series of nature themed festivals. Step into a festival of ancient trees, fungi and the micro world of soil. Dozens of artists, theatre-makers, musicians and dancers collaborate with Monash University scientists to explore how everything interconnects to create wondrously beautiful and environmentally essential forests.
Dream Swamp takes centre stage with enchanting dance-theatre and puppetry by Melanie Lane; a special concert of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf; and the David Li Sound Gallery premieres the immersive play world, Beneath Our Feet, where artists and Monash soil scientists help children shrink into a microbial wonderland of soil.
Nacht II – 13 March
Nacht II is a musical project powered by the David Li Sound Gallery immersive audio technology, where multiple voices converse—from the lyrical to the guttural—layered with electronic music that is as abrasive as it is atmospheric. Minimal, monochromatic generative images are projected onto a large screen, completing this immersive audio-visual world.
Crumb’s Lyre – 30 April
In this critically acclaimed reimagining of George Crumb’s groundbreaking Makrokosmos, Book 1, piano maverick and virtuoso Sonya Lifschitz is joined by performance artist Christine Johnston (The Kransky Sisters) as Madame Lark to unleash their duelling scores. Part cabaret, part recital, this audacious reinterpretation places Crumb’s zodiac-inspired fantasy pieces amidst the sounds of the Antipodes. As Sonya conjures mythical, primordial sounds from inside the piano, Madame Lark performs with her musical saw and overhead projector. Together, they bring George Crumb’s masterwork to life in an intriguingly whimsical and altogether unexpected way.
Cave Song – 14 June
Cave Song compositions juxtapose live, recorded and manipulated voices, including interviews and original writing, with rarely heard instruments: the deep tones of the contraforte bassoon, the unique Buchla music easel synthesiser, and the extraordinary resonance of stalactites. Instrumental and recorded sounds are interwoven with live foley and live and recorded text in unusual ways, creating moments where it becomes unclear what is live and what is recorded—at times engendering a feeling that the earth herself is speaking.
Affinity Quartet in Concert – 7 August
Multi-award-winning Affinity Quartet have won praise all over the world for their potent and energised playing. MPAC are delighted to present their first appearance at the incomparable David Li Sound Gallery. Their artistry has drawn high praise from critics and peers alike: ‘captivating playing’ (Süddeutsche Zeitung), ‘flawless ensemble’ (Limelight Magazine), ‘highly committed’ (The Age) and ‘first-class string playing’ (Classic Melbourne). David Harrington, founder of the legendary Kronos Quartet (USA), recently remarked: ‘It’s time the world gets shaken awake, and Affinity can do it!’
Za Górami Live – 8 October
This award-winning trio blends Mediterranean folk, chamber music, improvisation and acoustic jazz, creating a sound that is delicate, expressive and deeply immersive. Guided by subtle interaction, space and finely tuned musicianship, Alice Zawadzki, Fred Thomas and Misha Mullov-Abbado craft performances that are richly textured, emotionally compelling and entirely their own.
Monash Academy Orchestra Concerts
The Monash Academy Orchestra (MAO) stands among Australia’s leading university-based ensembles, inviting musicians from the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music and Performance and the wider university community to partake in a shared pursuit of musical excellence. In 2026, the Monash Academy Orchestra will present three performances, each offering a rich and engaging program of orchestral music, featuring acclaimed guest artists and conductors.
Live at The Count’s
Curated by Chelsea Wilson, The Count’s is a sublime jazz club set delivering midweek jazz moments every Wednesday. The 2026 lineup kicks off with guitarist Doug de Vries & vocalist Diana Clark performing beautiful bossa nova tracks from their stunning Three Shadows of Blue album. The program goes from strength to strength as the season progresses, more will be announced in the new year.
Explore the full program at monash.edu/mpac
Image: Sung Hyun Sohn.
