Shinrin-yoku, also known as forest bathing, is the Japanese practice of spending time in nature for the mental and physical health benefits, for the renewal and for the reconnection that it provides. It’s this restorative healing power of nature that The Steel City Strings Chamber Orchestra are hoping to harness in their final offering for the year, Forest Bathing. 

With concerts on September 14, 20 and 21 in Bowral, Nowra and Wollongong, the orchestra promises that, “The repertoire in this concert reflects the beauty of the natural world, from the majestic stillness of a forest to the tumultuous roar of a coastal landscape.” 

The concert will feature two world premieres. Forest Bathing, by composer and saxophonist Katia Beaugeais, was inspired by the natural landscape of Paris and Sydney; Eastern Sketches, presented by Indigenous emerging composer and cellist Gabriel Fromyhr, draws on the landscape around Yass and Canberra. Katia will be attending the Wollongong concert and speaking about her work, Forest Bathing.

Artistic Director Adrian Davis reflects on the choices of music for the series, writing, “As I moved through bigger cities and busier lives, I found myself returning to those moments. Searching for quiet trails, spending time in gardens, or even just pausing to look at trees. I began to realise how deeply I needed those connections to keep balance in my life.

"This longing for peace, connection, and natural beauty is what inspired Forest Bathing. The concert draws its name from the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku, which means immersing oneself in the forest atmosphere for renewal and reflection. The music we’ve chosen captures the essence of nature. Not only its serenity, but also its wildness, mystery, and spiritual richness.”

Also featured will be Elena Kats-Chernin’s four-movement work, The Singing Trees. Written not about the forest itself but about the wooden instruments crafted from it, the piece is "a meditation on the living materials that give them voice".

"Each violin, viola, cello, or bass we hear in concert was once a tree, part of a forest, with roots in the earth and branches reaching skyward."

 Many readers will be able to relate to the work of local composer and bassist Adrian Whitehall’s The Space of Nature, inspired by the view from the train near Thirroul. Peter Sculthorpe’s Sonata for Strings No. 2 is a homage to the Australian landscape and rounding out the experience The Evergreen, by Pulitzer Prize winner Catherine Shaw, was inspired by a single tree on Galiano Island, off the west coast of Canada. 

For tickets and event information head here 

You can learn more about the Steel City Strings Chamber Orchestra here