Concert collab for magical music

A MUSICAL interpretation of one of fantasy’s most successful book series is set to be delivered by two premier concert bands next weekend.

On Sunday 17 September, members of the Ballarat Wind Orchestra and Eureka Brass will come together for a performance of Symphony No. 1 The Lord of the Rings

Ballarat Wind Orchestra president Andrew Dale will perform bass clarinet during the concert which he said will showcase an exciting new piece for the group.

“We haven’t performed this before as a group,” he said. “Prior to COVID we’d perform once or twice a year. We wanted to play a substantial work and this is where we arrived at.

“Previously we’ve performed large scale works like Carmina Burana by Carl Orff and Mozart’s Requiem with the Victoria Chorale and other musicians.

“Our conductor for the concert is Mario Dobernig who’s been our conductor since the inception of the group. Heather George is the leader of the ensemble and she’ll be our lead clarinet player.”

Written by composer Johann de Meij in 1988, the work is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s iconic The Lord of the Rings book trilogy released between 1954 and 1955.

Seventeen woodwind, and 18 brass players as well as three percussionists from Ballarat Wind Orchestra will perform throughout the work’s five movements, while Eureka Brass’ 40 performers will be conducted by Mark Witham.

Mr Dale said both groups will complement each other well.

“This is our first time performing with Eureka Brass,” he said. “They’re our guests for this concert and we’re particularly excited about that.

“This concert will actually feature a finale performance of The Dam Busters March with both groups playing which I’ll conduct.

“It’s certainly going to be a vibrant concert of wind-band music.”

Tickets range from $27 to $32 and can be booked at bit.ly/3P7hhpo.