“Heroism comes in many forms.

Inspired by the many acts of heroism and sacrifice by those who fought in World War II, the concert, Greater Love, honoured those heroes through the power of music.

The concert was a massive undertaking. It featured an extraordinary line-up of performers including esteemed actor, John Bell (narrator), musicians Simon Tedeschi (piano), Edward Neeman (piano), Helen Ayres (violin), Alice Giles (harp), Dong Ma (erhu), Callum G’Froerer (trumpet) and William Barton (didgeridoo) as well as singers Andrew Goodwin (tenor) and Rachel Mink (soprano). The Canberra Symphony Orchestra, ADF musicians and guest musicians made up the huge orchestra.

As the concert progressed, a projected slideshow enhanced the narration and the music with photographs, art and statistics showing the appalling human cost of the war. These words, statistics and music produced an intense emotional impact as the concert progressed.

There were many musical highlights including Miriam Hyde’s Faith in Darkness, the first item of the concert, Isadore Goodman’s New Guinea Fantasy, Margaret Dryburgh’s arrangement of Dvořák’s Largo from his New World Symphony, Graeme Koehne’s Caring, William Barton’s Love of Country, Love of Land, Elena Kats-Chernan’s To Hold The World, Andrew Schultz’s De Profundis and Paul Carr’s The Arms of Love.”

[Len Power, “Greater Love concert’s massive salute for peace,” Canberra City News, 19 August 2025.]

“Arts editor HELEN MUSA says that “brilliant individual artistry” triumphed in her picks for the best five arts moments in 2025…..Greater Love, Second World War Memorial Concert, Llewellyn Hall, August 15: Conceived by Christopher Latham to honour the many acts of sacrifice by those who fought in World War II, this concert honoured heroism through the power of music.

Featuring nine newly commissioned works, the concert presented an extraordinary line-up of performers including actor John Bell as narrator, William Barton on didgeridoo, Dong Ma on erhu, the CSO and ADF musicians, the Flowers of Peace Chorus, Brisbane Chamber Choir and the Luminescence Children’s Choir. Surprisingly, this epic concert came to a quietly optimistic close.”

[Helen Musa, “Individual artistry’ triumphs in year’s top arts picks,” Canberra City News, 4 January 2026.]

Greater Love concert, August 2025 (Photo: Dalice Trost, Canberra City News)

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