Town Hall to light up for concerts

INTERNATIONAL musical event series Candlelight Concerts is coming to Bendigo’s Town Hall for a three-show run that will include tributes to Hans Zimmer, Queen, and Vivaldi.

Set for July and August, the concerts are being put on by live entertainment platform Fever and aim to engage those who may not have attended a classical music performance before by placing them in smaller venues in a unique way.

“It’s really a multisensory experience that goes beyond the live performance itself,” said Fever’s regional manager Phil Mallet.

“It will be hosted at the Town Hall and it’ll be illuminated by thousands of candles which create a really strong visual element and there will be a string quartet, Eclective Strings, from Melbourne.

“They are performing tributes to Hans Zimmer, Queen, and Vivaldi. These are the first three shows that we will be performing in Bendigo.

“Compared to a more traditional classical music concert you will find something more intimate with this atmosphere, created not only by the candles but also the fact that you’re in a smaller size venue and there is more engagement with the artists.”

Mr Mallet said the concerts had evolved to include more mainstream artists in an attempt to broaden engagement.

“Initially we really focused on traditional composers like Vivaldi and Mozart,” he said.

“But we rapidly realised that there was a strong appetite for tributes to more contemporary artists like Queen, Coldplay, and Abba. At some concerts we have a jazz band performing Amy Winehouse.

“We have a show with a ballerina. So, you have a string quartet or a piano playing with the ballerina on stage dancing for the audience.

“More recently we are really experimenting with a much broader set of tributes to contemporary artists like Taylor Swift, Rihanna, and even Korn.”

Candlelight Concerts The Best of Hans Zimmer and Tribute to Queen will take place on Saturday 22 July with Vivaldi’s Four Seasons scheduled for Saturday 19 August.

For more information and tickets visit feverup.com/en/Bendigo.