Square Circles William Barton & Australian String Quartet
5 – 6 September 2025
Experiences
Square Circles uses emerging digital storytelling to create a visual landscape which draws from William Barton’s country, culture and dreaming through the music of William along with long-time friend and collaborator violist Stephen King and the Australian String Quartet.
This is a free event. No registration is required.
| Date | Time |
| Friday 5 September 2025 | 6.30pm |
| Saturday 6 September 2025 | 6.30pm |
This is a free event. No registration is required.
Wheelchair accessible:
There are a number of wheelchair and companion seating locations in our theatres. To book accessible seating contact Box Office:
Telephone
+61 2 9250 7777
(Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm AEST)
Email bookings@sydneyoperahouse.com
Find out more about accessibility at Sydney Opera House.
Run time
The duration of this event is approximately 3 hours. The film run time is 12 minutes, playing on a loop across three hours. You are welcome to come and go at any time.
Event duration is a guide only and may be subject to change.
Age
This event is suitable for all ages.
Children aged 15 years and under must be accompanied at all times.
The Opera House is committed to the safety and wellbeing of children that visit or engage with us. Read our Child Safety Policy.
Location
The installation will be in the Tours Digital Immersive Experience located in the Western Foyer. No registration is required.
William Barton & Stephen King
Directors
Mark Patterson & Anton Andreacchio
Producers
Carlo Andreacchio & Edward Watson
Lead Visual Artists
William Barton
Composer
William Barton and the Australian String Quartet
Music Performed by
Jumpgate VR
VR Production
Go Patterson Films
Production Company
Useful information:
Explore country, culture and dreaming through an immersive artwork
Set to a score performed and recorded by Barton and the Australian String Quartet on Peramangk Country at Ukaria Cultural Centre, this stunning blend of music and visual artistry from Go Patterson Films and Jumpgate offers a rare fusion of culture and technology.
The work, directed by Barton and the Australian String Quartet’s Stephen King, was premiered in a pop-up ‘dome’ inside the Queen’s Theatre in Playhouse Lane in the Adelaide CBD, as part of the Illuminate Adelaide Festival and has been re-imagined for this space at Sydney Opera House.
Presented by Sydney Opera House
William Barton
From the artist
“I went back to the land, to the inspiration where the music came from,” said Barton.
“I visualised myself within the spectrum of colours of the earth... at one with the sunset and sunrise (and) with nature, to feel the wind and hear the trees and their stories.”
Barton says virtual reality and visual effects help to tell his story in a different way.
“The VR world is an amazing bridge from the real world to the dreamlike state of mind you have when you are in a process of creation,” he said.
“To have the process and thoughts translated to the VR world so everyone can experience what you see in your work is amazing and helps to tell a story in a modern-day visual language.
I hope the audience will experience the same footsteps I walked in the music-making process.”
Experience Square Circles
of
3 – 6 September 2025
SongRites
SongRites is a new program showcasing First Nations voices through music, dance, film and conversation. Experience the living tradition of Songlines passed through generations, grounded in Country and culture.
Meet the team
William Barton is a composer, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and vocalist, renowned as one of Australia’s foremost didgeridoo players and composers. With over two decades of experience, he has built an exceptional reputation in the classical music world, performing with prestigious ensembles such as the London and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras. His career includes landmark events like Commonwealth Day 2019 at Westminster Abbey, performances at Anzac Cove, and the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. His accolades include winning Best Original Score at the 2018 Sydney Theatre Awards for a Mainstage Production, as well as Best Classical Album with ARIA for Birdsong at Dusk in 2012. Rooted in his Kalkadunga heritage, William's extraordinary musicianship and cultural insight have broadened the boundaries of the didgeridoo, elevating both its sound and the stories it carries.
Australian violist Stephen King is a chamber musician and creative who performed with the Australian String Quartet from 2012 to 2021. His career has taken him to renowned venues and festivals worldwide, and he has been instrumental in developing projects with First Nations artists, premiering new Australian works, and collaborating across art forms.
Prior to joining the ASQ, Stephen was a member of the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO) for nine years, where he played a key role in building the Orchestra’s education and emerging artist programs.
Originally from Canberra, Stephen switched from violin to viola after nearly completing an architecture degree in Brisbane. He studied in the USA with James Dunham (Cleveland Quartet), Kathy Murdock (Mendelssohn Quartet), and Michael Tree (Guarneri Quartet), and earned a Doctorate in Chamber Music from the University of Maryland. Stephen was also the violist of the Coolidge String Quartet and served as Associate Principal Viola of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra.
In Australia, he has guest-performed as principal violist with the Melbourne and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras. He currently teaches at the University of Adelaide’s Elder Conservatorium of Music and regularly tutors at National Music Camps for the Australian Youth Orchestra.
Mark Patterson is an experienced producer with a diverse portfolio spanning feature films, documentaries, and one-off programs across Australia, China, India, France, and Hawaii. He has had a long-standing collaboration with director Paul Cox, producing several of his films, including Force of Destiny (2015), Kalaupapa Heaven (2007), The Remarkable Mr. Kaye (2006), Human Touch (2004), and the box office and festival hit Innocence (2000).
Mark also produced Race to London (2012), a six-part documentary series for ABC1, and the first Australian/Chinese co-production, Dragon Pearl (2010). Recently, he served as a producer on Cargo (2017), starring Martin Freeman, and is the Executive Producer of Soundstream, a new music organization.
Previously, Mark was the Manager of Film Development at the South Australian Film Corporation and Film South (1990-1994), and Executive Producer of Government Documentaries (1995).
Anton Andreacchio is the founder of Jumpgate, a leader in immersive reality technology. Since its inception in 2014, Jumpgate has produced the first VR symphony orchestra concert in 2015 and collaborated with organizations like Closer Productions, Sydney Dance Company, and the Australian String Quartet. Notable projects include Summation of Force (2017), a VR adaptation featured at Sundance, and Living Rocks (2019) at the Venice Biennale.
Anton, with a background in mathematics, has also founded Convergen, Artisan Post Group, and Farsite. He chairs the Adelaide Film Festival and serves on the boards of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, ACE Open, and the Entrepreneurship Advisory Board.
Plan your visit
Venue information
Our foyers will be open 90 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and two hours pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Refreshments will be available for purchase from our theatre bars.
All Sydney Opera House foyers are pram accessible, with lifts to the main and western foyers. The public lift to all foyers is accessible from the corridor near the escalators on the Lower Concourse and also in the Western Foyer via the corridor on the Ground Level (at the top of the escalators). Pram parking will be available outside the theatres in the Western Foyer.
Getting here
The Sydney Opera House Car Park, operated by Wilson Parking, is open and available to use. Wilson Parking offer discounted parking if you book ahead. Please see the Wilson Parking website for details.
Please check the Transport NSW website for the latest advice and information on travel. You can catch public transport (bus, train, ferry) to Circular Quay and enjoy a six minute walk to the Opera House.
Frequently asked questions
Ticket purchases and collection at our Box Office is discouraged and eTicket or postal delivery methods should be used, wherever possible. However, if you are collecting your tickets from the Box Office, we recommend doing this at least 60 minutes before the event starts. If you have already received your tickets, the venue doors will be open 45 minutes pre-show for Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and 30 minutes pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Please take your seats as soon as you arrive.
If you are late, we will seat you as soon as we can and, where possible, in your allocated seat. However, to reduce movement in the venue as well as minimise disruption to the performance and other patrons, ticketholders may be seated in an allocated latecomer’s seat. Please be aware that some events have lock-out periods. In these cases, latecomers will be admitted at a suitable break in the performance. On occasions, this may not be until the interval, or at all where there is no interval.
Details of our right to refuse admission can be found in our General Terms and Conditions for Tickets and Events.
In accordance with our venue security procedures, Opera House security will be scanning and checking bags under the Monumental Stairs, prior to entering the building. Bags will be scanned by an x-ray machine, and staff will wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) when handling your belongings, such as gloves. Cloaking facilities will be open 60 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and 60 minutes pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. However it is strongly encouraged that you travel lightly to minimise contact and queuing. Any bags larger than an A4 piece of paper will need to be checked into the Cloak Room.
The authorised agency for this event is the Sydney Opera House.
Only tickets purchased by authorised agencies should be considered reliable. If you purchase tickets from a non-authorised agency such as Ticketmaster Resale, Viagogo, Ticketbis, eBay, Gumtree, Tickets Australia or any other unauthorised seller, you risk that these tickets are fake, void or have previously been cancelled. Resale restriction applies. For more details, please refer to our General Terms and Conditions for Tickets and Attendance at Events.
Please contact Box Office on +61 2 9250 7777 as soon as possible to advise if you can no longer attend.
Foyers will be open 90 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and two hours pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances. Refreshments will be available for purchase from our theatre bars.
The venue doors will be open 45 minutes pre-show for Concert Hall and Joan Sutherland Theatre performances, and 30 minutes pre-show for Western Foyer venue performances.
Please bring a credit or debit card for any on site purchases to enable contactless payment. You’re welcome to bring your own water bottle but no other food and drinks are permitted inside our venues.
The health, safety and wellbeing of everyone at the Sydney Opera House is our top priority. In line with this commitment, the Opera House became a smoke-free site in January 2022. Read our Smoke-free Environment Policy.
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