Music in our Houses

Over the last decade, MHNSW has been exploring the historical music soundscapes of its properties through its musical instruments and scores and sharing them with leading musicians, conservators and the general public.

Join Dr Matthew Stephens as he discusses how we can convert musical museum objects into musical sound.

Theo Small (flute), Associate Professor Neal Peres Da Costa, Esther Kim (piano) and Jemma Thrussell (cello) from the Historical Performance Unit, Sydney Conservatorium of Music, in the drawing room at Elizabeth Bay House
Songs of home

Playing our song

Music offers a unique window into our past, and the stories and collections of our properties contain compelling clues about the music played by earlier generations

Talks & webinars

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Vivienne Chaffer : Colour [interior design student workbook]

Phyllis Shillito and her colour curriculum 1945–1979

This event focused on the colour curriculum of pioneering Sydney-based colour designer and educator Phyllis Shillito (1895–1980) of the 1940s to the 1970s

Watercolour of a group of people landing ashore

The Extraordinary Story of Rose de Freycinet

Hear the story of Rose de Freycinet, the first woman to write an account of a global circumnavigation, with Suzanne Falkiner

A colour chart of ready-mixed paints

Historic colour in the home

The many sources in the Caroline Simpson Library that can bring colour to the homes of past, with Matthew Stephens

Children's nursery

Animals in our Houses

A Parade of Animals in Nurseries, with Michael Lech