THIS year’s winter solstice is officially tomorrow, Saturday, June 21, wthe time that the sun is furthest north.

From Sunday the days start becoming longer and as the poet Keats wrote, “If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?”

With all this is mind, the National Library of Australia is throwing a cultural party tonight called “Winter Solstice: New Lights and Dark Clouds.”

It won’t be quite the Roman Saturnalia or the Zoroastrian feast of Yalda, but it will feature Canberra’s very own Griffyn Ensemble, actor Rhys Muldoon reading the poetry of John Kinsella, astronomer David Malin, and Helen Carroll, the curator of the ‘Luminous World – Contemporary art from the Wesfarmers Collection’ currently at the National Library.

The Griffyns tell us they’ll be performing Polish composer Henryk Górecki’s “Good Night,” a prelude to more Polish works in the future – Griffyn director Michael Sollis has just returned from a trip to Warsaw with a swag of exciting artistic collaborations in the pipeline over the next two years.

The National Library is offering Griffyn supporters last-minute 2 for 1 tickets: visit https://register.eventarc.com/23321/exhibition-event-the-winter-solstice-new-lights-and-dark-chords and use the discount code ‘COMPMUSICA’ when purchasing 2 full priced tickets to receive 2 for 1, or call their booking line on 6262 1271. You can find more information about the event online.

National Library of Australia’s “Winter Solstice: New Lights and Dark Clouds”, tonight (Friday 20 June 20) night at 6pm.