The teaming up of pop icon Katie Noonan and the Australian String Quartet (ASQ) will see poetry in music come to Lismore City Hall this Friday, November 1.

Their performance is part of a new album project ‘The Glad Tomorrow’, which sees Katie set the Australian poetry of Queenslander and First Nations icon Oodgeroo Noonuccal to music - and take it on a national tour.

“My hope is that this project will help a new generation discover the powerful words and the extraordinary life of Oodgeroo Noonuccal,” Katie said.

The Glad Tomorrow album saw the commissioning of 10 Australian contemporary composers to create a song cycle based on Oodgeroo’s poetry.

Katie and the ASQ will perform pieces written for them by Carl Vine, Elena Kats Chernin, Richard Tognetti, Iain Grandage, David Hirschfelder, as well as Queensland composers Thomas Green, Robert Davidson, Connor D’Netto, William Barton and Katie herself. 

“Personally and professionally, I am committed to using music and community engagement to further the sentiments behind the Uluru Statement which seeks ‘a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations and truth-telling about our history’,” Katie said.

“Makarrata is a word from the language of the Yolngu people in Arnhem Land, and the concept of Makarrata captures the idea of two parties coming together after a struggle, healing the divisions of the past.

“It is about acknowledging that something has been done wrong, and it seeks to make things right. 

“My dream is that this song cycle is a small step towards this Makarratta aspiration."

Katie said she teamed up with ASG after admiring “their wonderful artistry for many years”.

“More recently when Dale and Francesca joined the band, I felt like the quartet were the perfect match for the Oodgeroo project,” she said.

“As a fiercely proud Queenslander and in a project that is celebrating an extraordinary Queensland woman, I am immensely proud to share in this world premiere with world class musicians. 

Katie Noonan with the Australian String Quartet will perform The Glad Tomorrow this Friday, November 1 at 7.30pm.

Tickets cost $30 - $70. To book, contact NORPA at Lismore City Hall on 1300 066 772 or visit www.norpa.org.au