"Luka is masterful in his ability to weave words into heartbreaking, near cinematic life. The only sounds outside the music and the poetry were the gasps of the audience and a well-earned standing ovation."
- Kylie Thompson, Scenestr

Macquarie is a 20-minute concerto interrogating the life and flaws of a classic 'Australian Hero': Governor Lachlan Macquarie.

Macquarie expanded the British Colony and in doing so, also ordered the first government-sanctioned massacre of Aboriginal people: the Appin Massacre of 1816. A history that is all but hidden from view in modern times.

This concerto, written and performed by Luka Lesson and composed by Gordon Hamilton, draws a straight line between Macquarie's own desensitisation to violence through his service to the British Empire in North Africa and India, his ordering of the murder of Dharawal men, women and children in 1816, and the continuing effects of police brutality and deaths in custody in Australia today.

"...poetry and orchestra became vehicles for a powerful interrogation of Australian history and its habit of overlooking the horrible realities to focus on our nation’s advancement. The result is a harrowing piece exploring the realities and romanticisms of the biography of Major General Lachlan Macquarie."
- Kylie Thompson, Scenestr