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Music

The boys of St Mary's Cathedral Choir.

Sacred duty produces sublime music

St Mary's Cathedral is mostly deserted on this Thursday morning. But as the 22 boy choristers of the cathedral choir begin singing, the few tourists wandering around grabbing iPhone snaps are suddenly transfixed.

Calling the tune

Tash Sultana will release her debut album next year.

From teenaged busker to sell-out tours at 22, Tash Sultana has firmly remained the architect of her own design.

Why you need to see … Electric Lady

Left to right: Bec Sandridge, Alex Lahey, Jack River and Gretta Ray are playing Electric Lady.

It was only back in March when the Sydney electronic music festival Days Like This was slammed for its lack of female artists on the bill. A month later, Brisbane rockers Regurgitator dropped off an Australian National University line-up for its lack of women and non-binary talent alongside them. Coupled with the significant male bias in those who head labels, those earning the biggest chunk of APRA royalties, and end-of-year song and album lists, it's no surprise female and female-identifying artists feel it needs to be addressed straight up.

Music's perpetual students

Kronos Quartet – John Sherba, Sunny Yang, Hank Dutt and David Harrington –
 arehappy to explore any musical corner.

This "classical" group don't see divisions, they see only new lessons to learn and styles to absorb, from minimalism to tango to folk songs.