Past Projects

In 2018, to commemorate the centenary of the Armistice, Andrew Harrison, Timothy Phillips, and Justine Anderson collaborated on a landmark concert series in Melbourne and Bendigo. These concerts also featured tenor, Robert Latham. The centrepiece of this program was Andrew Harrison’s evocative new work, If Not In This World for soprano, tenor and chamber orchestra. The piece’s title was drawn from the heartbreaking final letter of Private Leslie Robins:

“Till we meet again, if not in this world, in the next.”

This initial project explored the intersection of personal grief and national history. While the music captured the terror and horror of the Western Front, embodied in Latham's dramatic performance, it also excavated a profound spirit in the letters of Leslie’s mother, Emma. Her desperate struggle to reclaim her son’s memory—exemplified by her fraught quest for a simple "Good Luck" ring—transformed the work into a profound study of the Australian 'everywoman' left behind by war.

The success of these performances, which featured Justine Anderson as soprano soloist and Timothy Phillips as conductor of the Arcko Symphonic Ensemble, revealed a powerful creative synergy between composer, soprano and conductor. So resonant was this first collaborative experience that the team adopted the title as their permanent name. Today, If Not In This World continues the mission begun in 2018: unearthing the human heart within history through musical innovation.