The annual Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music champions the cutting edge of musical thinking.

One of Australia’s most dynamic music festivals, the Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music (BIFEM) has launched its 2016 programme, and it looks to be one of the most ambitious offerings the Festival has ever presented. The innovative music festival in the former gold-rush town prides itself on presenting premieres and rarely performed long form works, and this year will be no different.

“The fourth annual edition of BIFEM evolves from the sophisticated vision of the last three critically acclaimed festivals,” said the festival’s founder and Artistic Director David Chisholm, “This year 2016 BIFEM is radically scaled up in size to include several chamber orchestral works and one symphonic spectacle with over 120 local, national and international musicians featured across the weekend event.”

The festival will open with the world premieres of a pair of double concertos – Jack Symonds’ Decadent Purity for Viola d’Amore and Percussion as well as Chisholm’s own Harp Guitar Double Concerto. The orchestra will be the Argonaut Ensemble – BIFEM’s resident ensemble, drawn from virtuosi across Australia as well as visiting international guests. Jack Symonds, who is also the Artistic...