On September 24 2021, the Queensland Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra collaborated with the Griffith Film School to present FilmHarmonic – curated and conducted by Associate Professor Peter Morris. This was a ground-breaking collaborative interdisciplinary live event, where live orchestral performance, film, animation and VR all got to ‘play’ together (as in experiment and have fun with) in front of a live audience. The project explored the challenges and opportunities that arose through a collaboration between two unique art world and celebrated the creative nexus between disciplines.

The research contribution of FilmHarmonic included original collaborations between artists at many stages of their career pathways from tertiary student composers and filmmakers, to alumni projects and new award-winning projects by Griffith academics. It looked to the future of our art form by including a performance of the winning film score of a competition for local secondary school composers. Iconic film score masterworks were also performed as a live soundtrack to the moving image with commissioned short film compilations by student film editors challenged to re-tell meaningful stories within the time constraints of the music.

As a performer, educator, researcher and collaborator the intent of this research was to collaborate with meaning, and to publicly showcase the potential of inter-disciplinary art forms. The performance outcomes were significant, with a sold-out capacity of over 600 audience members from the film and music industries, colleagues from Griffith and other tertiary institutions, university executive, media and our regular concert-going public. The performance was also co-presented by the Brisbane Festival, and significant peer review existed in the traditional media, as well as feedback via email, phone discussions and social media. International impact has followed as partner institutions in Europe and the US are interested in undertaking similar events.