One of Australia’s finest musical duos graced the Macquarie Conservatorium stage with a unique concert last month.

Acclaimed guitarists and brothers, Slava and Leonard Grigoryan, performed "This is Us – A Musical Reflection of Australia" for local audiences on Friday, May 26.

The entire concert, featuring 18 original compositions, was inspired by objects from the National Museum of Australia. These included a 65,000-year-old ochre of the Madjebebe rock shelter, a convict love token relating the experience of transportation, the anchor from Matthew Flinders’ HMS Investigator, a spear point fashioned by Aboriginal people from glass, a preserved specimen of a whole skinned thylacine, Sir Donald Bradman’s cricket bat, and the prototype Holden motorcar that began the car manufacturing industry in Australia.

Produced as a nod to Australia’s diverse and complex past, the Grigoryan Brothers took audiences on a journey through the country’s history.

“We chose objects that represent some of our First Nations’ history, as well as colonisation, migration, innovation, and stories of love and loss. We were deeply moved by all of them,” they said.

“The objects and music take us from the deep past of early Indigenous Australians to the making of contemporary Australian society.”

Director of Macquarie Conservatorium, Vivienne Winther, was excited to have the Grigoryan Brothers perform live in Dubbo.

“They are so popular, and this concert is a very unique show that audiences love,” she said.

“It is a very personal and moving performance, giving people lots to think about.”

Composed during the COVID-19 lockdowns while living in different states, "This is Us" was the first time the four-time ARIA award-winning brothers performed an entire program of original works.

They delivered the concert on a variety of acoustic and electric guitars and several ukuleles, incorporating elements of classical, jazz, and contemporary music.

Local guitar students also had the opportunity to meet and learn from the musical masters at a masterclass hosted at the Macquarie Conservatorium.