Move over Messiah, because Johann Sebastian Bach’s seasonal-music fest is coming to town this December. Four years after his acclaimed Evangelist with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, English tenor Nicholas Mulroy tells Limelight why he’s back for more of the Christmas Oratorio.

Eddie Ayres – former ABC Classic FM host Emma Ayres – found the strength to become the man who was always there inside, after teaching cello to orphans and street kids in Afghanistan. In an extract from his new book Danger Music, Eddie talks about the importance of Afghan music to the rest of the world.

One century ago this year, Finland at last gained independence from Russia after a political struggle fuelled by art and music. Does that lie behind the country’s musical pre-eminence today, and can Finland’s classical success story continue? We explain the country’s musical miracle.

And a recent musical discovery, plastered over for centuries, is making people rethink the idea that Henry VIII’s sixth wife was simply the comfy-cosy nursemaid who eased an ailing monarch’s declining years. Limelight investigates a warrior queen.

Finally, there are all our of our regular columns. Paul Stanhope makes a case for funding the human voice (Guest Column). Guy Noble questions whether a bunch of modern Aussie school kids can bring pop-concert energy to the Proms (Guy Noble’s Soapbox). We also discover a Rising Star in SSO Fellow violinist Bridget O’Donnell.

The December 2017 issue of Limelight Magazine is now available.