Phoenix Collective

 2026 dates, venues and times

The art music of joe hisaishi - sydney opera house

17 May 2026: 1pm & 4pm performances (90mins no interval)

The art music of Joe Hisaishi (composer of Studio Ghibli’s Totoro and Howl’s Moving Castle) is brought to life by Phoenix Collective in this magical concert.

For their 2026 Utzon Room concert Phoenix Collective Quartet open an enchanted gateway into the music of celebrated Studio Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi. The world’s best-known anime composer, Hisaishi is responsible for the scores to blockbuster films such as Totoro, Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle. This concert will feature Hisaishi’s String Quartet – each movement of this complex and beautiful piece is a response to an artwork by the legendary graphic artist, MC Escher. The mysterious veils of illusion and playful trickery of Escher’s work find their counterpart in the genius of Hisaishi’s musical architecture. Selections from some of Hisaishi’s most-loved anime scores will complete a program full of quirky fun and discovery.

ABOUT

“Exquisite translucence” - Limelight Magazine | “Dynamic… captivating” – City News | “Triumphant” – Canberra Times

Phoenix Collective is one of Australia’s most versatile and dynamic ensembles. Formed in 2018, Phoenix rapidly became a fixture of the musical landscape with their own series of concerts, touring Sydney, Canberra and the Central Coast. Their activities have continued to grow to include a Sydney Opera House debut at the Utzon Room this year and national touring for Musica Viva in Schools. 

Phoenix’s innovative approach has seen them collaborate with artists in a variety of genres, including the late opera superstar Jacqui Dark, Katie Noonan and Tibetan traditional musician Tenzin Choegyal, with whom they performed at the National Folk Festival, National Multicultural Festival and Melbourne Recital Centre. In 2023 they performed for the Australia Awards with legendary didjeridu player William Barton, First Nations opera singer Shauntai Sherree Abdul Rahman and gave a presentation for TedX at Canberra Theatre, "A Language Without Words - How Music Conveys Contrasting Emotions".

Phoenix Collective also champions new music, and have performed world premieres by Australian composers Sally Whitwell, Mace Francis, Ella Macens and rising star Emma Greenhill. They have broadcast through Australian Digital Concert Hall, and produced their own digital content with the help of grants provided by the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australian Culture Fund. Their sixth and seventh CDs will be released later this year.

With an ever-increasing recording and external workload, Phoenix Collective is one of Australia’s busiest string quartets. Their schedule includes Candlelight concerts for international company Fever, for whom they have performed many diverse programs from Beethoven and Mozart string quartets to Daft Punk, Taylor Swift and sold-out Studio Ghibli tributes. This year will see them debut at Melbourne’s Tempo Rubato and continue their series of concerts for the vulnerable at Wayside Chapel under the auspices of Judith Neilson.

Concerts that excite & inspire.

Artist endorsement with Remic Microphones

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Phoenix Collective recorded live 2019 - 2020 @ Phoenix Central Park.

PC | Digital Sessions recorded 2020.

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SYDNEY

central coast Newcastle

CANBERRA

wollongong

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Please note, we are a concert performance ensemble and do not play as background music for functions. We can be booked to perform at events, conferences, launches, festivals, music societies, etc. but only when it’s a performance situation/ listening audience/ seated concert. Thank you - PC