Launching 2025’s Emerging Concert Artists series, mezzo-soprano Olive Cullen will be returning home to Wombarra to present works from Penelope, a song cycle by composer Sarah Kirkland Snider, with lyrics by playwright Ellen McLaughlin. It’s an apt choice. Inspired by Homer’s epic poem, the Odyssey, Penelope is a meditation on memory, identity and what it means to come home.
Olive will present her program, Ocean Whisperings: Penelope and Other Stories, at Music and Tea at Wollongong Art Gallery on Thursday, February 6, and at Concerts Across the Lawn, Wombarra on Saturday, February 8.
Now based in Melbourne, Olive is the daughter of Dr Rowena Ivers, a long-time Wombarra resident and a GP committed to justice and equity.
Olive grew up in the Illawarra, where she trained with Karen Cummings and completed short courses at NIDA and the NSW Arts Unit. She holds a Bachelor of Music Performance from Melbourne Conservatorium and has been a Scholar with Opera Scholars Australia since 2022.
Olive is passionate about promoting the value of singing and music in communities. For her work on the UMMTA Chorus, she won the Union House Theatre’s 2021 Community Engagement Award.
Joining Olive to present Ocean Whisperings will be Ronan Apcar, a Sydney pianist and composer renowned for versatility, edge and tenacity. Ronan has just completed studies at the National Academy of Music in Melbourne and has been appointed Ensemble Offspring’s 2025 Hatched Emerging Performer – a coveted position.
Olive and Ronan have woven other works inspired by the sea among their selected works from the song cycle. Their Ocean Whisperings program is rich with perspectives from different eras, genders and geographical spaces and includes works by Elgar, Piaf and Monte, Dolce Holland,
Cecilia Livingston, Rossini and Weill.
The Emerging Concert Artists series offers unique musical experiences curated and performed by exceptional young musicians. Venues include BlueScope Gallery at Wollongong Art Gallery, St Jude’s Church in Bowral and a Magical Garden in Wombarra.
Entry is free or by donation, depending on the location. Volunteers run the series but the artists are always paid. Donations are appreciated, as these contribute directly to their fees.
