Dan Russell tried 120 violins before settling on a new one, from c1730, reports HELEN MUSA in her latest Arts in the City column. 

Dan Russell, the artistic director of Canberra’s Phoenix Collective, is back from his London quest to find a violin after his previous instrument was irreparably damaged in an accident. After playing 120 violins, he settled on a c1730 CA Testore from Milan. In news almost as good, it’s been announced that Phoenix will make its Sydney Opera House debut in March. 

Inspired by Lidia Thorpe’s mix-up over “heirs” and “hairs”, Shortis & Simpson will present an evening of political satire, The Hair and the Shortis, looking over the highs and lows of 2024. Smith’s Alternative, December 7.

The National Gallery of Australia will turn the spotlight on two artists, Ethel Carrick and Anne Dangar in a summer double bill of retrospectives celebrating the work of women artists to enhance understanding of their contribution to Australia’s cultural life. NGA, December 7-April 27.

Canberra writer Marilyn Chalkley has won the SD Harvey award for a crime fiction story set on the far south coast of NSW. The story, After Hobbema, features census-taker Lotte, who gets more than she bargains for when tracking people. Chalkley is a former ABC and print journalist and pastry chef who now works for the Canberra International Music Festival.

Music abounds in the pre-Christmas season, including:

• Magnify, Canberra Community Chorale under the direction of Olivia Swift, Wesley Uniting Church, Forrest, December 1.
• The National Capital Orchestra’s Symphonie Fantastique with Canberra violist Alina Zamfir, Snow Concert Hall, December 1. 
• Australian Haydn Ensemble’s Haydn’s Passion, music by Mozart and Haydn, Gandel Hall, National Gallery of Australia, December 2. 
• Llewellyn Choir’s Krismas! Peace to the World!, Holy Cross Anglican Church in Hackett, December 7.
• Smith’s@Belco features Glorious! A Handel Celebration, where countertenor and host Tobias Cole, along with his Salon players and pantomimist Marcel Cole, perform. Belconnen Arts Centre, December 7.