Home / Magazine / Finding Beautiful Equations in music and maths
Equations are beautiful – works of art in their own right. That’s according to world‑leading mathematician Professor Yang‑Hui He, who says we should marvel at mathematical equations just as we do great music or paintings.
This March, Professor He is joining internationally acclaimed UK saxophonist Jonathan Radford and the talented musicians of the AYO Momentum Ensemble in Sydney and Brisbane for an immersive interdisciplinary performance as they guide audiences through a vibrant exploration of how mathematical ideas can inform musical creation.
The concerts – presented as part of the World Science Festival Brisbane – uncover the connections between equations, geometry, patterns and sound. At the centre of the program is the Australian premiere of British composer Cheryl Frances‑Hoad’s saxophone concerto Three Mathematical Diversions, first performed in London with Radford in 2025.
“My saxophone concerto is inspired by various cutting edge mathematical principals that my friend, Professor Yang-Hui He, told me about during my time as Visiting Fellow in the Creative Arts at Merton College, Oxford,” explains award-winning composer Frances-Hoad.
It was these conversations that sparked the creative partnership between herself, Professor He and Radford as the friends explored what mathematics and music really have in common.
” At first glance, one might seem theoretical and technical, the other emotional and expressive – yet both are shaped by the search for beautiful patterns,” explains Radford. “Beautiful Equations invites audiences to experience how these shared ideas come alive through sound, combining live performance with engaging insights into the mathematics that shapes the music.”
“Working alongside the Australian Youth Orchestra’s Momentum Ensemble, the program sets out to communicate big ideas – from symmetry and structure to time and infinity – in an engaging and accessible way for listeners of all ages.”
Jonathan Radford
As composer Igor Stravinsky once remarked, “the musician should find in mathematics a study as useful as the learning of another language is to a poet.” For him, mathematics flowed just beneath the surface of great music.
Drawing on Professor He’s popular Royal Institution lecture series The Search for the Theory of Everything – the event combines performance, storytelling, and visual explanation to illuminate the deep connections between geometry and sound.
The program
Alex Baranowski’s Musica Universalis opens the concert by drawing on ancient ideas attributed to Pythagoras, where musical harmony emerges from simple numerical ratios and sound reflects the order of the natural world.
Elena Kats-Chernin’s Re-Inventions after Bach shows how rich, energetic music can grow from the simplest materials. Taking Bach’s tightly organised ideas as a starting point, the music is reshaped through playful transformation, mirroring how mathematics builds complexity through approximation and elegant compromise.
Stravinsky’s Concerto in D shifts the focus to musical architecture, where clarity, balance, and patternmaking drive the music forward with precision and energy.
At the heart of the program is Frances-Hoad’s saxophone concerto Three Mathematical Diversions. Its three movements are inspired by cutting-edge mathematical ideas: a newly discovered shape that tiles endlessly without repeating; the mysterious behaviour of elliptic curves and prime numbers; and the search for a unifying theory that might explain the universe itself and its related unification of the mathematical universe.
The program concludes with Philip Glass’s A Brief History of Time, where repetition and gradual change transform our perception of time, echoing mathematical processes that build complexity from simplicity.
“Together, these works reveal mathematics not as something distant or difficult – but as something deeply human and musical – full of beauty, curiosity and wonder – and invite audiences to listen for the patterns that connect sound, number and the world around us.”
Recognised for his “virtuosity and engaging musicianship” (Gramophone Magazine), Jonathan Radford is regarded as one of the leading classical saxophonists of his generation. Passionate about showcasing the saxophone’s versatility across the classical and contemporary repertoire, Jonathan delights his audiences with characteristically energetic and expressive performances.
In demand internationally as a concerto soloist, recitalist and chamber musician, Jonathan has performed in prestigious concert halls and festivals across the world including the Grieg Hall (Bergen), Philharmonie de Paris, Seoul Arts Center (South Korea), Bridgewater Hall (Manchester), Southbank Centre – Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Wigmore Hall (London). Recent appearances include concertos with the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra and the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra.
Jonathan is an international prize-winner, including the award of Commonwealth Musician of the Year and Gold Medallist in the Royal Overseas League Music Competition (UK), Saxopen International Competition (France), and Concordo Internazionale de Musica Marco (Italy). He was a Young Concert Artist for the Countess of Munster Musical Trust, Hattori Foundation, Making Music Philip and Dorothy Green Award, Park Lane Group, Tunnell Trust and the Worshipful Company of Musicians.
Jonathan’s debut album recorded with pianist Ashley Fripp, ‘The Saxophone Craze – Homage to Rudy Wiedoeft’ (2022) was released on Champs Hill Records to critical acclaim, receiving a 5* review from BBC Music Magazine, and featured as ‘One to Watch’ in Gramophone Magazine. As a guest on broadcasting networks, Jonathan has featured on BBC Radio 3, Fine Music Radio, France Musique and Scala Radio. Alongside championing existing repertoire for saxophone by composers such as Debussy, Glazunov, Milhaud, Caplet, Schulhoff and Villa-Lobos, Jonathan is devoted to the creation of new works for the saxophone. He has commissioned and premiered works by Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Dani Howard, Betsy Jolas, Christian Lauba, Luis Naón and Raymond Yiu.
Jonathan studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris (CNSMDP) with Claude Delangle, then in London at the Royal College of Music as the 2018 Mills Williams Junior Fellow, studying with Kyle Horch.
A dedicated pedagogue, Jonathan is regularly invited to give classes at the Royal College of Music and has given masterclasses at the Royal Academy of Music, Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Royal Welsh College of Music, Trinity Laban Conservatoire, Chetham’s School of Music and Melbourne Conservatorium. Jonathan is passionate about bringing music to a wider community, regularly collaborating with the Wigmore Hall’s learning programme.
Jonathan is a Vandoren Paris and Henri Selmer Paris saxophone artist.
Frances-Hoad drenched each phrase in dramatic expression of the most ravishing intensity. (Matthew Wright, The Arts Desk)
Admired for her originality, fluency and professionalism, Cheryl Frances-Hoad has been composing to commission since she was fifteen. Classical tradition (she trained as a cellist and pianist at the Menuhin School before going on to Cambridge and King’s College, London) along with diverse contemporary inspirations including literature, painting and dance, have contributed to a creative presence provocatively her own.
Intricate in argument, sometimes impassioned, sometimes mercurial, always compelling in its authority (Robin Holloway, The Spectator), her output – widely premiered, broadcast and commercially recorded, reaching audiences from the Proms to outreach workshops – addresses all genres from opera, ballet and concerto to song, chamber and solo music.
Professor Yang-Hui He is a mathematical physicist working on the interface between geometry, number theory and string theory. He has been among the first to explore applications of machine learning in pure mathematical and theoretical physics in 2017, developing algorithms to identify structures in Calabi–Yau manifolds and gauge theories. He is a pioneer of the emergent field of “AI mathematics” (interview by Science [Vol 365, July, 2019] and by New Scientist [Dec 9 Issue, 2019]).
Born in China (Anhui) and schooled in Australia (Melbourne and Sydney), Yang did his undergraduate at Princeton University (Highest Honours, Phi-Beta-Kappa, Shenstone Prize and Kusaka Prize) and then obtained a Masters in Mathematics (Tripos) at the University of Cambridge, with Distinction. He went on to receive his PhD in mathematical physics from MIT (MIT President’s award for outstanding thesis). Yang continued with postdoctoral work in the University of Pennsylvania before joining University of Oxford as the FitzJames Fellow in Mathematics and then the UK STFC Advanced Fellow in theoretical physics.
He is currently Fellow at the London Institute, Royal Institution. He concurrently holds a Professorship of Mathematics at City St George’s, University of London, the Chang-Jiang Chair Professorship at NanKai University, China and remains a Tutor and Lecturer at Merton College, Oxford. Authoring more than 200 journal papers and several books,
A keen science communicator, Yang’s public talks have included a Friday Evening Discourse at the Royal Institution (established by Michael Faraday in 1825) and the DIAS Statutory Public Lecture (established by Erwin Schroedinger and Eamon de Valera in 1940). He also gives regular podcasts and conducts frequent interviews, to share his passion for mathematics with a general audience. Outside mathematics, Yang is passionate amateur musician, having played for the Princeton University Orchestra and sung tenor for the choirs of St. Katherine’s College, Cambridge and Merton College, Oxford. He considers himself a groupie to friends who are professional musicians and composers.
Eliza Scott is an in demand Australian violinist, educator, and presenter, and serves as a first violinist with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra.
Raised in a musical family in Armidale, Eliza began her violin studies under the watchful eye of her Aunty at the age of three. Many hours of practice later, she pursued her undergraduate studies in Violin Performance with Michele Walsh at the Queensland Conservatorium, Griffith University, graduating with First Class Honours and the University Medal.
In 2020, Eliza was awarded a Masters of Performance from the Royal College of Music in London, supported by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts.
A passionate orchestral musician, Eliza has appeared with the Sydney, Melbourne, and Tasmanian Symphony Orchestras and was Principal Second Violin of the Australian Youth Orchestra in 2018 and 2019. Alongside her performance career, she is a dedicated educator, having taught at the New England Conservatorium of Music and for the Griffith University Young Conservatorium program.
Eliza’s long-standing relationship with the Australian Youth Orchestra began in 2009, and she is delighted to now be leading the AYO Momentum ensemble for this project.
Morgan Ip is a Brisbane based violinist with a passion for music, currently studying his final year of Bachelor of Computer Science/Arts at the University of Queensland. He was previously mentored by Elizabeth Morgan AM and Adam Chalabi, and now studies violin with Brendan Joyce in pursuit of furthering his musical knowledge.
He was a member of the QYO programs from 2018-2024 and played first violin with QYS from 2020 to 2024, during which he toured Singapore and Europe with QYS in late 2023. His achievements include getting the AmusA for Violin in 2019, and Mansfield State High School’s Musician of the Year 2022. In 2022 he performed as a guest soloist with the Brisbane City Pops Orchestra.
Morgan participated in AYO’s National Music Camps since 2023, and more recently in 2025 AYO’s International Tour and Chamber Players. He looks forward to participating in AYO’s 2026 programs, of which include performing in Darwin in July for the first time.
Ingram is currently studying violin at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University under the guidance of Associate Professor Michele Walsh. He began learning the violin at age seven and has since won several awards, including the Vicky Speight Trophy for “Most Outstanding Soloist in Strings” at the Gold Coast Eisteddfod, the Nancy Weir Music Scholar Award from the Music Teachers Association of Queensland, and the Beverly McIlwain Scholar Award in 2017 from the Gift Fund Committee, Friends of Gold Coast Arts Centre. He placed second in the Young Instrumental section of the internationally recognised Australian Concerto and Vocal Competition in 2018, and first in the Paganini Prize at the Queensland Conservatorium in 2022.
In 2019, Ingram travelled to Italy to attend the Cremona International Music Academy and Festival, where he had the opportunity to study with Paola Tumeo, the late Roberto Cani, Mark Lakirovich, Jacob Lakirovich, and Sophia Novak-Sogland. In 2023, Ingram took part in the QYS international tour, performing in renowned concert halls across Singapore, Austria, and Germany, with the Musikverein being the most notable. He has also participated in five AYO National Music Camps, as well as the 2024 and 2025 Season Programs.
Aside from music, Ingram is an avid enthusiast of Nike Air Max sneakers and vintage ‘W.E. Hill & Sons’ violin chinrests. In his free time, Ingram enjoys eating, ice skating, shooting, playing video games, practicing calligraphy, and the academic study of Catholic apologetics and Christian theology.
Siobhan Makinson is a violinist studying at the University of Western Australia, majoring in performance, under the tutelage of WASO Associate Concertmaster Riley Skevington. She has previously studied under Alexandre Da Costa, Martine Cardinal, and Sunmi Jung. In addition to her music studies, Siobhan is a third-year student at Curtin University, studying a Bachelor of Commerce, majoring in Marketing and Event Management.
Siobhan has been awarded the Delano Music Scholarship at UWA and holds music diplomas in violin performance. Her musical achievements include winning top prizes in various competitions, such as the North of Perth Music Festival and the Fremantle Eisteddfod. Recently, her string quartet was awarded the 2024 Flora Bunnings Prize for Chamber Music at UWA.
An avid chamber and orchestral player, Siobhan is active in the Perth music scene, having performed and collaborated with the UWA Symphony Orchestra, UWA Chamber Orchestra, Cygnus Arioso, West Australian Opera, Perth Symphonic Chorus, St. Georges’ Chamber Orchestra and more.
Lydia Hwang is a violinist and dedicated musical collaborator currently in her third year of study at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, where she studies under the tutelage of Michele Walsh. She has been actively involved in orchestral performance through ensembles such as the Queensland Youth Symphony and Australian Youth Orchestra programs, fostering a strong passion for orchestral playing.
Lydia has gained further professional experience performing with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra as part of its Oceans project, as well as through collaborations with Ensemble Q and Opera Queensland. In 2025, she performed as a soloist with the Queensland Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra as part of the Conservatorium’s Concertos Festival, reflecting her interest in diverse performance opportunities.
An engaged chamber musician, Lydia has explored a wide range of collaborative settings throughout her studies, including a side-by-side program with members of the London Symphony Orchestra Wind Quintet and more recently alongside the Australian String Quartet. Alongside her work with Camerata, she continues to develop her solo, chamber, and orchestral repertoire, with the aim of sharing music with audiences across various cultures and communities.
When not rehearsing or performing, Lydia enjoys recharging with a matcha — a small but essential ritual.
Xavier Richardson is a versatile violinist, currently in his third year of a Bachelor of Music Performance and Bachelor of Advanced Studies (Statistics) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, under the mentorship of Timothy Kantor and Goetz Richter.
In 2024, he won the first prize in the under-nineteen age category of the Fine Master Violins Competition, winning a violin by Australian luthier Paul Ridden.
Originally from Melbourne, Xavier is a frequent performer with the Melbourne String Ensemble and has performed as a soloist in 2022 and as concertmaster and principal viola during the ensemble’s 2024 tour of Germany and Czechia.
For the first two years at the Sydney Con, Xavier has been a joint-recipient of the George Henderson Travelling Scholarship for string quartet. This has allowed him to play in the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival in Finland in 2024 and the Echo Arts Festival under a residency with the Schumann Quartett in Munich in 2025.
He has had masterclasses with Akiko Suwanai, Marlene Ito, and Takacs Quartet, to name a few. Other orchestral experiences include performing in a production with Victorian Opera.
Alex Monro is an Australian violist, harpist, and composer. Born in Adelaide in 2006, he is currently pursuing a double degree in Music and Advanced Science (physics) at the Australian National University and performs professionally on both viola and harp. He composes for chamber ensembles, films and plays, and creates digital media.
Alex is a violist in the Canberra Symphony Orchestra and is a guest artist in Apeiron Baroque. He has performed in Parliament House and has performed solo at the Hungarian and Croatian embassies. He studies viola with Marianne Yeomans and harp with Alice Giles.
Pascal began playing the violin aged five with Suzuki teacher Toni Robson. During high school, he studied violin with Fintan Murphy and viola with Gabrielle Halloran at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School, graduating in 2024.
Pascal is currently studying at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music with Roger Benedict, where he is the recipient of the Corinna D’Hage Mayer String Scholarship and the Kathleen and Allison Short Scholarship. He has also been awarded the St Andrew’s College Major Music Scholarship and the Rathbone Music Scholarship.
An avid orchestral performer, Pascal has been a member of the Australian Youth Orchestra since 2024 and has served as Principal Viola for Young Symphonists (2024) and National Music Camp (2026). In 2024, he toured internationally with the Melbourne String Ensemble, performing in cities across Germany and Czechia.
As a soloist and chamber musician, Pascal has been recognised with awards from Musica Viva’s “Strike A Chord”, the Music Society of Victoria, Sydney Eisteddfod, the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School, St Andrew’s College (USYD) and the University of Sydney’s Palladian Cup.
Noah is a dynamic young musician from Bendigo, Victoria, on Dja Dja Wurrung country. He has performed side-by-side with most of Australia’s professional orchestras and as an artist at the Bendigo Chamber Music Festival and Port Fairy Spring Music Festival. As a soloist, he has performed with the Percy Grainger Youth Orchestra and twice with the Bendigo Symphony Orchestra. Having completed three years of study under Howard Penny at the Australian National Academy of Music, he is looking forward to taking up the position of Fellow with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in 2025. Noah started his journey with the AYO in 2018 at Young Symphonists and continued on to National Music Camp, Seasons, Chamber Players, and all of AYO’s programs throughout the years. Music for Noah is all about connection, and he is thrilled to have the opportunity to do so again with the AYO in 2025.
The Associate Principal Cello Chair is generously supported by Carolyn Fletcher AM.
At age eight, James announced that he would become a “mathemusician”. This has proven prescient: he currently studies cello with Howard Penny at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM), having previously studied under Simon Cobcroft and Rachel Johnston, and holds a Bachelor of Philosophy (Honours) in physics and mathematics from the Australian National University.
The Australian Youth Orchestra is largely to blame for luring James towards a musical career. He served as AYO’s Principal Cello on the 2025 International Tour, performing at Musikverein and Het Concertgebouw. He is also a member of the Academic Orchestra of Zürich and a casual cellist with the Adelaide and Canberra Symphony Orchestras.
Incurably fond of chamber music, James has collaborated with William Barton, Wilma Smith, Kirsten Williams, and Ensemble Offspring. As a soloist and recitalist, he has appeared for Musica Viva, the Canberra International Music Festival, and at various embassies. His concerto performances have garnered “wild acclaim”, with Canberra City News calling him a “dynamo on the cello”.
James has been supported by the ANU Friends of the School of Music Performance Scholarship, Ruth Pfanner Scholarship, Erika Haas Prize, Wesley Scholarship, Fankhauser Travelling Fellowship, and Dunbar Physics Honours Scholarship. When not playing cello, he enjoys composing, discussing differential geometry, and reading Murakami.
The Principal Cello Chair is generously supported Simon Johnson & David Nichols.
Cellist Mahalia Shelton moved to Melbourne to begin high school at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School (VCASS) after spending her childhood in the regional town of Mansfield. Over the last few years, Mahalia has loved being a part of the Melbourne Youth Orchestra, where she shares the position of principal cellist. She has attended various Australian Youth Orchestra programs since 2022, performing with the Flagship Orchestra since 2023, where her love for orchestral music thrives. Mahalia aspires to a career in a professional orchestra.
In 2023, Mahalia was a finalist in the Melbourne Bach Competition held at the Melbourne Recital Centre. She was awarded her LMusA with distinction in 2024. Mahalia performs regularly with many chamber ensembles, notably with the ‘Sturt Street Sextet’ winning the VCASS Chamber Competition and the Musical Society of Victoria Chamber Competition.
Prized for his raw expression, musical story-telling, and lyrical captivation, Oliver Murphy is a multi-instrumentalist and composer, based in Brisbane. He is currently completing his second year of double bass studies at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University, under Phoebe Russell. He teaches at St Peters Lutheran College and is a 2026 Upbeat Artist with Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra.
Originally from Toowoomba, Oliver has performed with Australian Youth Orchestra for several years and is looking forward to performances in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, and Darwin in 2026. He frequently performs and collaborates with Bellsonance Productions, a creative arts organisation empowering young artists. Oliver has also performed with the Australian Doctor’s Orchestra, Queensland Pops Orchestra, North Queensland Chamber Orchestra and UQ Symphony Orchestra.
Oliver is a committed advocate for solo and chamber music, enjoying the intimate and collaborative nature of small-ensemble work. As well as bass, Oliver is a proficient violinist, violist, cellist, and is a celebrated composer. Additionally, he has served as Music Director and Concertmaster, co-founded community concerts, and been commissioned to compose and perform for studio recordings. Oliver is experienced in Music Production and is the youngest person to win QCGU’s ScoreIT film scoring competition.
Oliver hopes to have a multi-faceted career featuring solo, chamber and orchestral performance.
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