Choir returns in full voice

THE Bendigo Chamber Choir returned to the stage for the first time in two years last weekend for a community concert as part of the Bendigo Chamber Music Festival.

Choir president Andrew Pickles said six months of preparation had gone into Saturday’s performance, which brought together the festival’s musicians and the local vocalists.

“This is a real opportunity for us because these are professional musicians that we’re performing with,” he said.

“Some of them have been in the Chamber Orchestra of Europe so they are top notch. It’s a wonderful experience for us.”

The groups performed a Bach Lutheran Mass to a sold-out crowd in the Town Hall before the festival wrapped up on Sunday.

While they held their own rehearsals in the week leading up to the performance, festival co-director Chris Howlett said the two groups only came together for the first time on the morning of the show.

“We put the halves together and two halves became one,” he said. “There was that beautiful interaction both musically and socially.”

Mr Howlett said the five-day event had been a success despite the challenges of COVID, with mainstage performances and educational concerts in schools held throughout the week.

“We’ve been so thrilled, it’s amazing to be able to have such great audiences and we’ve had such fantastic feedback from all the primary schools where we’ve been,” he said.

“This is us restarting the project and it’s awesome to be able to be part of the community,” he said. “We want to really be able to connect and this is a beautiful way of doing it.”