A Noongar Day from sunrise to moonrise, at a special place on forested, well watered Noongar river Country in the South West of Western Australia. Writing Country-based themes into string orchestration for a small group requires close attention to polyphony and the conversational interplay between the Violins, Viola and Cello. Each instrument has its own pitch register, but strings integrate well together, timbrally. A string quartet has a wide dynamic range, a wide pitch range, and a diverse articulation range, so it offers almost unlimited potential for cultural and emotional expression.

1 Bina Dawnlight – this movement develops the themes of my earlier piece Ngangk Yira Sunrise Carol, for strings, with expanded dramatic cadences and interludes that depict the emerging procession of the rising sun in the morning sky, the Worl of Noongar Boodjar.

2 Walken Creation – a string quartet development of my ensemble piece Walken Rainbow, this movement adds depth, energy and drama to the creative force expressed in the parallel, coordinated Creation themes of the Noongar Prayer and the Our Father prayer. As the second movement of the Noongar Day progression, the music describes the daily activities of Noongar moort (families) as they work together with Country to revive language and culture.

3 Karla Home – this movement is centred on the ancient ancestral karla (campfire) home place of Minninup Pool, where families have gathered for generations to rest, feast and renew culture and language. It has playful sections that describe birds and koorlangka (children) playing,, and solemn, dramatic sections that refer to colonial conflicts that have been endured and overcome.

4 Miyak Moon – the final movement is a meditation on moonrise at Minninup Pool, when the light of the rising gibbous moon, the Ancestor of Noongar Country, creates a shining pathway on the still river water.