This May classical performers, composers, producers, marketers, journalists and industry professionals from all around the world will descend on Rotterdam in the Netherlands for the 2019 Classical:NEXT conference, billed as a global meeting for all art music innovators. “Classical:NEXT is part-conference, part-market and part-showcase,” says cellist Hilary Kleinig, who will be performing in Rotterdam with the Zephyr Quartet, in collaboration with Hong Kong’s Gaybird Leung. “Artists, practitioners and industry from all over the world gather together for a few days to discuss current issues, showcase ideas and see a variety of performances.”

Zephyr Quartet, Gaybird Leung, Classical:NEXTGaybird Leung and Zephyr Quartet. Photo © Johanis Lyons-Reid

Kleinig is one of a bumper crop of Australian musicians showcasing their work at this year’s Classical:NEXT, including percussionist Claire Edwardes and Ensemble Offspring, and pianist Sonya Lifschitz (with composer Robert Davidson), who will perform in the Showcase Festival. “We are very much looking forward to sharing our work with audiences that we have not met before, discovering and meeting new artists, composers and musicians and gaining insight into the current state of play of art music from around the world,” says Kleinig.

The project – which is titled...