Composed by Natalie Nicolas, Peaceful Moments was born from a visit to Westmead Children's Hospital—not to observe the children, but to understand the needs of the staff. What Natalie saw was healthcare workers stretched to their limits, their nervous systems in a constant state of fight or flight. The idea of adding music to their environment, even in break spaces, felt overwhelming to them—one more stimulus in an already overstimulated world. Since COVID, life for patients has largely returned to normal, but for healthcare workers, the pressures remain as intense as ever.

This album is for them. Drawing from Natalie’s PhD research on music for calm, emotional release, and wellness, Moments of Peace is a collection of musical reflections on small, quiet moments—"Afternoon Quiet," "Summertime," and others—that offer a sense of stillness. It’s designed as a guide for transition, a way for workers to step out of their high-pressure environments and use music to reclaim a sense of calm as they move from work to home. In these pieces, she hopes they can find a space to rest, reset, and reconnect with themselves. Peaceful Moments was commissioned by the Hush Foundation.

About Matt Withers

Matt Withers is an ambassador for Australian music, a well-established classical guitar pedagogue, performer and role model for musicians across the country.

His career to date has seen him perform with highly esteemed artists of the likes of William Barton, Sally Whitwell, Acacia Quartet, many national orchestras as well as maintaining strong commitments in the leading Australian chamber music group Guitar Trek alongside Timothy Kain.

Matt has a strong history of performing, recording and commissioning Australian works from distinguished composers as well as from generational peers. With solo and chamber studio albums released on ABC Classics (Australia), Naxos Records (International) and Soundset Recordings (USA), he thrives on taking this music to wider audiences, broadening and expanding their musical horizons.

His entrepreneurial activities include the creation and development of the Australian Music Composition Competition which gives an avenue of support for Australian composers to have their music reach the ears and hearts of their audience. Matt has presented lectures on his passion The Entrepreneurial Guitarist in Europe to blossoming artists, eager to also find their niche in the musical world.

About Alex Raineri

Hailed as a "born communicator" (The Australian), Alex Raineri lives on Jagera and Turrbal land in Magandjin (Brisbane, Queensland). He is active throughout Australia and Internationally as a piano recitalist, concerto soloist, chamber musician, harpsichordist, composer, writer, producer, and educator.

Alex is an artist ambassador for Kawai Australia and is the Artistic Director of Brisbane Music Festival and live-music venue FourthWall Arts. International tours include America, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Finland, Netherlands, Asia, and New Zealand. Within Australia, Alex has been a featured artist at many major festivals, series, and venues.

A passionate advocate for contemporary music, Alex has commissioned over 80 works and has given over 140 World Premieres and over 170 Australian Premieres to date. As a concerto soloist he has appeared with the Queensland, Tasmanian, Darwin, and West Australian Symphony Orchestras, Camerata, Orchestra Victoria, Ensemble Q, and others. Radio broadcasts include BBC Radio 3, Radio NZ, California Capital Public Radio, Chicago’s WFMT, ABC Classic FM, and all of the Australian MBS Networks. 

Collaborations with notable Australian and International artists include Andreas Ottensamer, Twoset Violin, eighth blackbird, ELISION, Asko|Schönberg, Lior, Sara Macliver, Mirusia, Natalie Clein, Natsuko Yoshimoto, Greta Bradman, Karin Schaupp, Lorina Gore, Amy Lehpamer, Claire Edwardes, Li Wei Qin, Teddy Tahu Rhodes, Warwick Fyfe, Jack Liebeck, Kathryn Stott, Slava Grigoryan, Brett Dean, William Barton, Sophie Rowell, Jane Sheldon, Lisa Moore, Ensemble Offspring, Orava Quartet, and many others.

Major awards include winning the Australian National Piano Award, ANAM Concerto Competition, and Kerikeri International Piano Competition (New Zealand). Alex was a recipient of the Queensland Luminary Award (2021) in the APRA/AMCOS Art Music Awards and also received a Kranichsteiner Musikpries (2014) at the Darmstadt Summer Courses for New Music (Germany). In 2023 he was awarded a prestigious Churchill Fellowship.