Chamber music festival inspires exploration

FOR the fifth year running, Bendigo Chamber Music Festival will ring along View Street this summer.

Created by long-time friends and musical co-conspirators Chris Howlett and Howard Penny, BCMF is aimed at inspiring audiences to make new discoveries in chamber music.

According to Penny, who is an accomplished cellist and head of strings and cello at the Australian National Academy of Music, chamber music provides a powerful entry point for the appreciation of classical music.

“The whole origin of chamber music was people’s living rooms and it’s that living room feel where you are that close to the sounds being created in real time, in the moment,” he said.

As a first encounter with music, especially for children Penny said, Chamber concerts provide the opportunity to see, hear, and feel the music as it is performed up close and personal.

“I personally think that a piece of music doesn’t exist until it’s performed, and it doesn’t really exist until it’s performed to an audience,” Penny said.

“We’re making that triangle of the composer, the performer, and the audience, and this incredible piece of expression of humanity.”

BCMF is supported by Bendigo Venues and Events and takes place in several locations including the Capital Theatre, Bendigo Art Gallery, Ulumbarra Theatre, and Forest Street Uniting Church.

Chris Howlett, also a cellist and former student of ANAM, said the festival also takes attendees on an intimate tour of Bendigo.

“When people come from Brisbane, or Melbourne, or Perth, people perhaps who haven’t been before, you want to show them the church, or Ms Batterhams, and Ulumbarra, and the Capital,” he said.

The program is curated by Howlett and Penny to include popular pieces, such as Mozart’s piano concerto which this year will be performed by Tim Young, and more obscure compositions for the audience to discover.

“I think that’s why 200 people come to Bendigo for the five days, because they want to discover and find new music as well as appreciate the fantastic talent,” Howlett said.

A highlight of the program this year is the Community Concert where local musicians Noah Lawrence and Andrew Young will perform with the Bendigo Symphony Orchestra and the other BCMF artists.

“It’s actually going to be fantastic this year because all the festival artists play with Bendigo Symphony Orchestra.” Howlett said. “It’s a real community celebration.”

Bendigo Chamber Music Festival will start on 31 January and run until 4 February.

Tickets are available via the festival website.