The Orchestra Victoria Bendigo Festival Returns To The Region With A World Class Series Of Concerts And Workshops

The Orchestra Victoria Bendigo Festival returns to the region with a world class series of concerts and workshops

Orchestra Victoria will return to the City of Greater Bendigo to delight audiences with a world class series of classical music concerts and workshops for the fourth annual Bendigo Festival and On the mOVe! education program from 11 August to 18 August 2018.

Over eighty of the state's finest classical musicians will present a unique and engaging series of 17 concerts, education programs and pop-up performances, culminating in a captivating full orchestra performance at the iconic Ulumbarra Theatre.

Entitled Love and Hate, conducted by Artistic Director of Orchestra Victoria Nicolette Fraillon AM, the festival's closing concert will feature the wonderful Orchestra Victoria performing Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story" by Leonard Bernstein, Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis by Ralph Vaughan-Williams, The Isle of the Dead Op.29 by Sergei Rachmaninoff and Violin Concerto in E by Felix Mendelssohn featuring a performance by special guest violinist and 10-year old Australian child prodigy, Christian Li.

Christian first drew international attention in April 2018 when he became the youngest-ever joint Junior 1st Prize-winner at the Yehudi Menuhin International Violin Competition in Geneva, performing with the Geneva Chamber Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra London.

A highlight of the festival is always the Orchestra Victoria brass ensemble, this year, performing at the Sacred Heart Cathedral on Monday 13 August. The program, conducted by Maestro Simon Thew, will feature works for antiphonal brass, originally written for St Mark's Basilica in Venice.

Another 15 chamber music concerts will be performed at venues across the City of Greater Bendigo, including Elmore, Goornong, Heathcote, Mia Mia, Eaglehawk, Long Gully, and in central Bendigo itself. Repertoire from the Baroque period through to the present day, from Bach to Gershwin, will enchant audiences, whether in the beautiful surrounds of the Bendigo Art Gallery, Star Cinema, or deep underground in the Crib Room of the Central Deborah Gold Mine. The players not only perform but talk about the music and their instruments, with each concert offering opportunities to meet the musicians and ask all those questions you have always wanted to ask about the music they perform and how they do it.

Aspiring young musicians will have their chance to flex their classical music muscles when the much-loved education program, On the mOVe! returns to Bendigo. Members of Orchestra Victoria, conducted by Maestro Dominic Harvey, will work with young musicians from across the region in a series of rehearsals and tutorials.

The workshops will conclude with a free final concert in which the students will perform alongside their professional role models. This tour is supported by Creative Victoria's Touring Victoria program, the William Buckland Foundation and Bendigo Bank as Orchestra Victoria's longstanding Principal Regional Partner.

Executive, Engagement Innovation Bendigo Bank, Robert Musgrove said "We are very proud of the bank's fourteen-year association with Orchestra Victoria. As partners we've shared a vision, and our efforts, so that communities across Victoria can have access to great music performed by world class musicians. This shouldn't be confined to the cities. We also want to foster the emerging talent within our communities, and this is why we've been such ardent supporters of the On the mOVe! program that gives young Victorians an exceptional opportunity to learn and develop their skills alongside the orchestra's musicians.

Commenting on the festival, Artistic Director of Orchestra Victoria, Nicolette Fraillon AM said "Since 2015, Bendigo Festival has been a highlight in Orchestra Victoria's annual calendar and we're thrilled to be returning in 2018. Members of the orchestra love the region, the city, and the opportunity to interact with the wonderful communities that make up this wonderful part of Victoria. This year, we will visit both traditional and new venues, and welcome special guest violinist and child prodigy Christian Li, who is sure to inspire residents and musicians alike."

Program Dates: Bendigo Festival 11 to 18 August 2018 and On the mOVe! Workshops 14 to 16 August 2018.

For more information and the complete festival schedule, visit: orchestravictoria.com.au

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