Many touring musicians would have found themselves casting about for something to do throughout 2020.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Not so the Grigoryan Brothers, the classical guitarist extraordinaires who have been touring internationally since 2003.
The brothers have spent the past year composing a suite of songs inspired by historical objects, to mark the 20th anniversary of the opening of the National Museum of Australia.
The museum raised $40,000 through philanthropist Ulrike Klein and a public appeal, to commission the works, which will premiere in a concert to mark the anniversary next month.
This Is Us has also been recorded as an ABC album, the brothers' first ever collection of original compositions.
The pair - Slava and Leonard - had the substantial project on their hands when lockdown hit, one they had been preparing to fit in around a rigorous touring schedule.
They had already visited Canberra and spent several days exploring the collection and were struck by its vastness.
"It was incredibly overwhelming," Slava said.
"We were inspired by the place but really inspired by the staff as well, and how passionate everyone was for this place and what it represents."
With the help of museum staff, they narrowed their focus down to 100 pieces, and eventually settled on 18 (17 of which come from the museum's collection) as a way of telling the story of Australia.
"We tried to be as wide-ranging as possible to cover as many different aspects of life here as possible," Slava said.
Included on the list was the preserved body of a thylacine, the anchor from the Investigator, the ship helmed by explorer Matthew Flinders in 1801, and a telescope bought by amateur astronomer William John Macdonnell in 1885.
They were also taken by the various love tokens made by convicts facing deportation to Australia.
"There was one particular token from one brother to another, which resonated and obviously, it made sense for us," Slava said.
Although the brothers toured together regularly, they had never composed music together, and lived in different cities.
"I'm in Adelaide, Lenny's in Sydney, so we did all of this last year remotely," Slava said. "It ended up coming together very differently to how we imagined because of COVID."
- The Grigoryan Brothers will perform This Is Us on March 11 at the National Museum of Australia, with an extra performance on March 12. Visit nma.gov.au for details.