Ngapa William Cooper — Chamber & Orchestral Song Cycle

‘The world premiere of Ngapa William Cooper…can best be described as momentous.’ (Limelight Magazine)

Ngapa William Cooper was born out of a rich collaboration between stage and screen composer Nigel Westlake (film credits include Miss Potter, Babe, Babe: Pig in the City, et al), singer-songwriter Lior, and singer-songwriter and Indigenous language warrior Lou Bennett, and explores the strength and compassion of Yorta Yorta activist Uncle William Cooper.

In 1938, Cooper led the Australian Aborigines’ League through the streets of Melbourne in the only non-Jewish protest worldwide against the events of Kristallnacht in Nazi Germany. Using English, Hebrew and Yorta Yorta language, Ngapa William Cooper is a celebration of a man who left behind a ‘legacy of resistance, solidarity and empathy’.

Commissioned by UKARIA and Adelaide Festival for Finding Our Voice, Ngapa William Cooper premiered to rave reviews at both UKARIA and the Adelaide Town Hall in March 2023.  It was subsequently presented in orchestral form by the Australian Youth Orchestra at the Sydney Opera House.   

Read about this work in the Guardian.

Watch a trailer here.