Cheryl Durongpisitkul - I Still Miss You

A powerful album exploring grief, loss, and healing with fearless vulnerability.

Content note: The following event description contains references to suicide.

Acclaimed saxophonist and composer Cheryl Durongpisitkul is widely recognised as a force in Australia’s contemporary music scene. Awarded Music Victoria's Musician of the Year (2024) and the APRA AMCOS Art Music Award for Work of the Year (Jazz), she blends improvisation with intricate melodic material, blurring the boundaries between chamber jazz, new music, and experimental music.

Performing her latest album, I Still Miss You, Cheryl presents a deeply personal and cathartic examination of trauma, loss, and grief. Dedicated to her parents, Kit and Tina, and her siblings, Diane, David and Kathleen, the album draws on her lived experiences of a family shaken by her mother’s diagnosis of ovarian cancer and battle with bipolar disorder.

Exploring extremes of the human experience with ‘fearlessness and aching vulnerability’ (Sydney Morning Herald), her compositions employ rich and diverse instrumentation as she leads her stunning 12-piece ensemble through each intricate movement. I Still Miss You is a balm for our collective wounds.

‘We lost Tina to suicide when I was 18. Three years later and a week into my first big overseas trip, a one-line email from my father: “Yes, I have Bowel Cancer.” He died three years later.

Since then, I have been desperate to express these emotions and events through music.

The details of my story are unique, but these experiences are not. I hope this piece may be a source of healing for anyone grappling with their own encounters of illness, loss, or grief.’ – Cheryl Durongpisitkul

Praise for Cheryl Durongpisitkul

‘This deeply personal work explored trauma, loss, grief and healing with fearlessness and aching vulnerability. Durongpisitkul led a superb 12-piece ensemble through each intricate movement, variously conjuring moods of quiet unease, chaotic dissonance, tender melancholy and, finally, hope.’ – The Sydney Morning Herald

Tickets

Standard $45 ($40 Concession)

Please note, seating in the Primrose Potter Salon is General Admission.

A Transaction Fee between $4 and $8.50 applies to orders made online and by phone. Delivery Fees may also apply. A ticket limit of six is in place online to ensure fair ticket access for all. Want to bring a bigger party? Call our Box Office during business hours on (03) 9699 3333 to book.

Artist

Cheryl Durongpisitkul alto saxophone, flute
Stephen Hornby upright bass
Harriett Allcroft vocals
Emily Bennett vocals
Andrew Saragossi soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, clarinet
Reuben Lewis trumpet
Josh Bennier trombone
Marcos Villalta guitar
Nathan Liow piano
Naomi Tan drums
Xani Kolac violin
Anita Quayle cello
Pat Telfer sound design

Program

Cheryl Durongpisitkul
I Still Miss You
Sickness
Survival
Treatment
Grief
Depression
Time