Sept. 11th to 14th 2025
This years festival will follow a similar format to 2024 as displayed below.
2025 'Artist in Residence' reveal coming soon !!
Nomad String Quartet
Bellingen Muse’s 2024 ‘Artist in Residence’ is the Nomad String Quartet, whose playing combines the energy of a rock band with the spontaneity of a jazz ensemble.
Nomad are passionately committed to breathing new life into classical music and will perform every day of the festival. Nomad seeks to break down the fourth wall to engage directly with the audience.
Their concerts will include Danish Folk Songs in the beautiful Gleniffer Hall & Mendelssohn String Quartets in the exquisite acoustics of St Margaret’s Church.
A feature event of the festival will be their Friday night performance at Memorial Hall of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Nomad will share their unique interpretation of this much-loved work incorporating some of the original aspects including improvisation and spoken poetry.
The Nomad String Quartet musicians all perform with the major Australian orchestras. Nomad has given concerts to more than 50,000 people ranging from core repertoire to popular music, including the popular Candlelight Concerts.
ZÖJ
This year’s “world music” showcase is ZÖJ, a remarkable fusion of Neo-Classical Persian music and daring experimentalism featuring the harmonious duo of Gelareh Pour & Bryan O’Dwyer.
Pour’s classical background comes through in her masterful playing of the kamancheh and evocative interpretations of Persian poetry sung in Farsi. When paired with O’Dwyer’s experimental rhythms and hypnotic drumming, this duo’s connection is nothing short of magical, radiating with raw emotion and a shared sense of purpose.
Guided by emotion, environment and energy, ZÖJ’s structured improvisations take on a life of their own, ensuring that no two performances are the same.
Gelareh will also be hosting a conversation titled Iranian Women’s Voice and Musical Influence: From Iran and Beyond. She will share and explore the experiences and contributions of women in music in Iran & the Iranian diaspora, & the Women Life Freedom movement.
ZÖJ is brought to Bellingen Muse with the assistance of Musica Viva.
Listening with the Body
Alice Giles AM & Moran Wiesel combine to present Listening with the Body; an experiential journey through the powerfully moving resonances of the harp.
Alice & Moran create a space for the audience to explore the art of listening. Moran draws on sensory awareness & meditative practices to help us listen in a deeply embodied way to the harp, our inner worlds, each other & the music.
The audience, arranged ‘in the round’, may move, lie or sit to engage with the sound, colour & complex patterns of Alice’s playing of classical & contemporary harp music. The musical program is rich & varied, including Bach, Fauré, Debussy, the contemporary Australian composer Mary Doumany, & some improvisation.
The program runs without applause to enhance the immersive experience. Each program adapts & responds to individual audiences, making Listening with the Body a collaboration between listener and performer.
Listening with the Body is brought to Bellingen Muse with the assistance of Musica Viva.
Alice Giles
Alice Giles AM is celebrated as one of the world’s leading harpists & has had a wide & varied international solo career.
First Prize winner of the Eighth Israel International Harp Contest, she has had a wide and varied international solo career, from London’s Wigmore Hall, New York’s Merkin, ‘92nd St Y’ and Carnegie Halls, to Mawson Station, Antarctica.
As director of the Seven Harp Ensemble (SHE) Alice has commissioned many new works by Australian composers as well as solo works for the electro-acoustic harp.
Alice will perform a solo harp concert of classical & contemporary music in the acoustic balm of Bellingen’s St Margaret’s Anglican church.
Moran Wiesel
Join Moran for Earth Connections, a guided, multi-sensory experience of a beautiful, secluded landscape on the banks of the Never Never River.
Drawing on earth-based meditations, sensory & creative prompts & playful movement, Moran will guide us to explore how we can listen to the wisdom of this interconnected Earth with our bodies.
Earth Connections is an opportunity to find creative ways of engaging in an intimate conversation with the beings that enliven this planet.
Moran is an ecotherapist, performance poet, & a multi-disciplinary creative, often weaving together music, spoken word & storytelling, & thrives in collaborating across art forms.
Gleniffer Strings
As part of the Bellingen Connections concert, Liz Neville & Lachlan Wilkins aim to share their joy in playing their instruments & the music. They will present delightful & accessible works from the solo & duo string repertoire.
Liz Neville has worked with many of Britain’s top orchestras, & is a member of the Sydney Symphony & plays with the Apollo Piano Trio. Liz & her family have lived in Bellingen & she tutored & played with the Bellingen Youth Orchestra advanced string players.
Lachlan Wilkins grew up in the Bellingen Shire & delighted audiences from an early age. He has since graduated from the Qld Conservatorium & now teaches violin & is a regular in the leading ensembles in Brisbane. At last year’s festival he thrilled the audience playing in a collaboration with Adam Chalabi, now Head of Violin at the ANAM.
The Last Violin
This event combines an award winning movie on the big screen, a live violin performance, plus a Q&A with the filmmakers.
Following the screening Lachlan Wilkins will play the violin that is the subject of the film.
The Last Violin is a feature length documentary about Australia’s great violin maker, Charalambos Vatiliotis (known as Harry) & the making of a last violin for his friend Romano Crivici. It also threatens to be Harry’s last, as the ravages of old age take their toll on each of them.
An important element is an exquisite score by Crivici played entirely on instruments made by Harry.
BYO
The Bellingen Youth Orchestra presents a full symphonic experience, as well as performances by their advanced strings ensemble Sinfonia.
The orchestra will be joined in concert by their patron pianist David Helfgott.
This concert will include works by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Andrew Lloyd Webber & Gustav Holst.
The BYO proudly works to inspire new generations of musicians to grow a love of music.
Akabella
Akabella is Bellingen’s longest running community choir. It is a vibrant & inclusive group known for its diverse repertoire.
The choir embraces a variety of genres including contemporary, traditional & world music, all sung a cappella.
Akabella’s mission is to foster a supportive & engaging environment where singers of all skill levels can come together & enjoy making quality music.
Akabella will perform in the Bellingen Connections concert that also features Gleniffer Strings & Performance Poetry.
