It may only be small, but Bellingen Music Festival certainly packs a punch. This year’s Bellingen Music Festival looks to be another outstanding musical experience in this, it’s seventh year. It is a small festival by many standards, in tune with the small town of Bellingen, but certainly packs a punch. A festival review in Limelight claimed that “Bellingen is the perfect place in the world to have a classical music festival… just about the best setting.”  Performers say that Memorial Hall has the most fantastic acoustic. As in previous years, the programme is an intriguing mix of traditional and contemporary classical pieces, performed by both acclaimed and novice performers. Celebrated recorder virtuoso, Genevieve Lacey, whose extraordinary versatility has seen her playing for the Queen in Westminster Abbey, on an oval on Thursday Island alongside Indigenous colleagues, in a shearing shed in north-west Tasmania and at the opening night of the London Jazz Festival, will headline the festival teamed up with pioneering classical accordionist James Crabb. Both Genevieve and James are soloists with a passion for chamber music and imaginative collaboration. Their repertoire ranges from medieval and renaissance treasures, through Bach, Vivaldi and Sammartini, via Scottish folk tunes, to contemporary classics by Piazzolla…

The halfway, the Het and the hiccup: cellist Julia Janiszewski fills us in on the latest from abroad.

Arseny Tarasevich-Nikolaev has been signed to Universal Music on the Deutsche Grammophon label.

One of the 97 musicians currently on tour in Europe shares their experiencs from the Orchestra's first entire rehearsal period abroad.

A New Zealand fur seal who enjoys sunning on the Opera House steps has returned and he’s brought a friend.

A snapshot from Preliminary Round 1 Concert 2 of the Sydney International Piano Competition.

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Eoin Andersen shares his experience of the online service.​ As long as there have been orchestras, there have been auditions. It’s a familiar process to most professional musicians, but it can be stressful and not just because of the pressures of performance. Making the right contacts, finding the best vacant positions, providing the correct paperwork and coordinating a busy schedule can make the necessary business of auditioning a challenge, and this can be even more problematic when auditioning overseas in a country where English is not the first language. Fortunately, a new online service is bringing the process of auditioning into the 21st-century. Muv.ac are a one-stop-shop for orchestral musicians, listing vacancies from orchestras around the world. Users can distribute C.Vs, make online applications and download all necessary documents, easily, quickly, and perhaps most importantly, cheaply. One of Australia’s most highly-regarded orchestral musicians, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra co-concertmaster Eoin Andersen, is one of thousands of musicians already using the service. Andersen was a long time member of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, held the position of principal second violin of the Ochester der Oper Zürich, and has also been either guest principal or…

If there is one event in the Canberra Symphony Orchestra's season that's guaranteed to sell out, it’s the Icon Water Opera Gala.

It’s 19th-century parlour music, for the 21st century​. Following three years of regular events in Sydney, Resonance will welcome music lovers in Melbourne this week with a launch in one of the city’s most historic venues. The beautiful Yarra Room at Melbourne Town Hall will provide an elegant Victorian backdrop for an evening which encapsulates the concept of the Resonance brand: outstanding musical performances in beautiful surroundings, and with an air of informality and a focus on socialising. Since 2013 Resonance has presented over 30 programmes with music ranging from Purcell to the works of contemporary Australian composers. The series has seen leading opera singers and instrumental soloists, chamber groups and even an award-winning youth choir take to the stage, and during that time the model has remained largely unchanged. The concerts themselves run for one hour without interval, and are followed by complimentary drinks parties aimed to bring audiences and artists together in a way which never quite happens with regular concertgoing.  My name is Chris Cartner and I’m the founder and pianist for the series, and this social aspect is a key ingredient of the Resonance ‘experience’. The approach was not to try to recreate ‘parlour music’ evenings…

Accountant Dianne Steller offers her top tips for making the most of your tax return as an artist. 30 June 2016: probably not a date that many have circled on their calendar, but for us accountants, it has huge significance. It’s the date marking the start of the new financial year, and that means it’s that time of the year again: Tax Time. For freelance workers, such as musicians, artists and other freelance creative professionals, getting your finances in order for the annual tax submission can be stressful, but it needn’t be. Here are some simple tips to help you in the lead up to the end of the financial year, and completing your Income Tax Return. DO keep accurate records of your income and expenses. If possible, summarise this information into categories. DON’T give your accountant an unsorted shoe box full of receipts (unless you want to pay the cost of having the accountant summarise it for you!) DO keep all relevant invoices. If you are selected by the ATO for an audit, they will want to see the original invoices and documentation which support your deduction claims. DO keep a record of your travel between workplaces – a…

Party will reverse cuts and invest extra $270.2 million, doubling investment in small to medium arts organisations. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Ahead of Queensland Conservatorium’s The Magic Flute this week, Head of Opera Nicholas Cleobury gives insight into training opera singers. In January this year I became Head of Opera at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University. This week we present our Val Machin Opera Scenes (The Magic Flute) directed by our Movement Director, the renowned Anna Sweeny. It’s been an exciting start at this vibrant music school, surrounded by wonderful colleagues and motivated students; I am thoroughly relishing the experience. My new job in Brisbane brings together many strands of my work, from opera conducting, in particular recently at Mid Wales Opera with its emphasis on young singers, the Jette Parker programme at the Royal Opera House and the National Opera Studio in London. Training singers to be the finished article takes time and has many facets. The Con is well set to build on its valued reputation and offer a real journey for students from Day 1 to their launch into this rewarding, exciting but difficult profession. Just having a voice is only the start, there is so much more to it! It takes time and there are no shortcuts. Foremost in our minds here at the moment is The Magic Flute. As well as being demanding vocally (I once…