A series of lunchtime concerts was launched in April 2013 to encourage city workers and others to come into and enjoy the beautiful surroundings of the Cathedral during the day.
These half hour recitals on Wednesdays at 1pm provide fine music and space for contemplation in the midst of a busy week. Admission is by donation.
Upcoming Lunchtime Concerts
Our lunchtime concert series takes place at 1pm Wednesdays (unless indicated otherwise).
1pm Wednesday 3 June: Beatrix Parton (violin) and Calvin Bowman (piano)
14-year-old Beatrix Parton began violin studies in Cambridge, UK. She achieved her AMusA in 2023 and holds a music scholarship at her Melbourne school. She currently studies with Sarah Curro. Beatrix plays on a Paul Ridden violin awarded to her as part of the Fine Master Violin Competition in 2024. This concert will feature Jenő Hubay’s Hejre Kati, Eugène Ysaÿe’s ‘Obsession’, the Australian premiere of L’étang by Katharine Parton, and The Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
1pm Thursday 4 June: Melbourne Conservatorium of Music Chamber Choir
This performance showcases 20th- and 21st-century repertoire for upper voices and piano. Leonie Holmes’ The Estuary (inspired by A.R.D. Fairburn) is an ode to nature, portraying a vast and timeless landscape. Local composer Meta Cohen’s The Sunless Sea, with text by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, follows as a continuing journey to places we can only imagine. The choral scena Peter Pan by Amy Beach takes us further into our journey of the mind, embracing all of the whimsy and mischievousness of the classic literary character.
1pm Wednesday 10 June: Callum Tolhurst-Close (organ)
Experience the colours of the Cathedral organ in music from France, America, and the UK. From the idyllic countryside of Wales to the nave of Notre-Dame and the streets of New England, this recital will transport you to worlds of colour and delight. Following music by Vaughan Williams, Vierne, and Price, the program closes with Franck’s monumental Chorale in A minor, which will showcase the instrument in all its majesty.
1pm Wednesday 17 June: Lachrimae: Music to help us navigate difficult times – Meredith Connie (classical guitar)
A performing artist who works with composition, performance, and multi-media, Meredith Connie has lived, worked, and concertized internationally. As a composer, her works navigate and interpret the natural world, often through site-specific works. This concert features music by John Dowland, Francisco Tárrega, and Meredith Connie, as well as traditional African American spirituals.
1pm Wednesday 24 June: Olivia Hou (piano)
Olivia Hou is a Year 7 student at Camberwell Girls Grammar School, where she studies piano with Dr David Soo. Her international prizes include second prize at the Singapore International Music Competition (2025) and third prize at the WPTA Australia International Piano Competition (2026). This performance marks Olivia’s recital debut and will feature Haydn’s Piano Sonata in C minor, de Falla’s Nocturno, a rarely heard work from John Carmichael’s suite Postcards, and Albeniz’s ‘El Puerto’.
The 2026 Lunchtime Concert Series is fully booked. The 2027 series will be organised in October 2026.
Previous ‘Virtual’ Lunchtime Concerts
During the COVID-19 Lockdown in 2020, the Cathedral broadcasted regular Virtual Lunchtime Concerts in support of local and international artists and musicians. You can watch a selection of the previous Virtual Lunchtime Concerts here on Youtube.