When Elizabeth Jigalin heard that celebrated new music outfit yMusic were touring Australia in August with pop-piano innovator Ben Folds, she invited them to take part in a very different Sydney gig, not really expecting that they would have the time.

Jigalin is the Artistic Director of The Music Box Project, a collective of up-and-coming Sydney composers and performers who present experimental, collaborative music experiences. Would yMusic consider performing with them, she wondered? To her surprise and delight, yMusic were keen and managed to find a date in their tight touring schedule. Then Jigalin hit a wall; she couldn’t find a venue. Bumping into flautist Lamorna Nightingale at a classical music forum, she explained her problem.

Excited by the idea of two such innovative groups co-presenting the music of their peers, Nightingale (who is a core member of leading Australian new music group Ensemble Offspring) joined Jigalin as co-curator of the event. Together they found a space beneath a Darlinghurst art gallery called Creative Space 99 for the gig on August 19, which will mark the launch of a new concert series presented by BackStage. “It’s not perfect for music because it doesn’t have a piano and has some limitation on use...