A brand-new chamber music festival has launched in Bendigo, with musicians from the Chamber Orchestra of Europe amongst the guest artists at the inaugural Bendigo Chamber Music Festival.

Co-director of the Bendigo Chamber Music Festival, Chris Howlett. Photo courtesy of Bendigo Chamber Music Festival

“We recognise that Bendigo is poised to become a major regional cultural hub, and a new large scale chamber music festival was a clear way to bring the best of the world and Australia to this wonderful city,” said Chris Howlett, who founded the festival with co-director (and fellow cellist) Howard Penny. “The packed and varied program is designed to appeal to both interstate guests as well as local music lovers.”

The five day, 14-concert festival will be held in February next year, with six members of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, of which Penny is a longstanding member, appearing as Artists in Residence. The program spans Russian songs to music by Paul Stanhope, with plenty of Beethoven and a tribute to Nikolaus Harnoncourt from the Chamber Orchestra of Europe musicians along the way.

“I am so thrilled to be able to invite some of my extraordinary colleagues from the COE...