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 Director of the acclaimed Sydney Chamber Opera, will conduct his own concerto and Chisholm’s work will be conducted by visiting French conductor Maxime Pascal. Pascal has appeared at contemporary music festivals all over the world and was the guest conductor at the inaugural BIFEM festival in 2013.

Highlights of the festival will include the Australian debut of Swiss group Cod.Act. The group will be collaborating with the Bendigo Symphony Orchestra to perform pho:ton, a work that reimagines the orchestral experience, with players directed by lights triggered by the piano soloist Peter Dumsday, producing stunning visual and aural patterns.

Australia’s international contemporary music ensemble Elision will celebrate their 30th anniversary with three concerts across the weekend featuring world premieres by Aaron Cassidy and Liza Lim and a collaboration with the Australian National Academy of Music.

Australian pianist Peter de Jager, who recently performed in the Sydney International Piano Competition of Australia, will perform an all-Xenakis program for solo piano and solo harpsichord.

The festival will also feature the Australasian debut of Irish composer Jennifer Walshe’s hard-hitting, risque opera XXX_LIVE_NUDE_GIRLS!!! featuring live video, found objects and a cast of 17 Barbie dolls.

There will also be performance recitals, a writing course, a composer’s workshop and a lighting installation by Melbourne industrial designer Christopher Boots.

This year, BIFEM has teamed up with Melbourne radio station PBS106.7FM, who will broadcast concerts from the festival. “As unexpected as a partnership between PBS106.7FM and BIFEM might initially sound,” said Program Manager Owen McKern, “it takes less than a second to understand why an event such as this is not at the fringes of classical music, but rather at the pulsating heart of all things progressive.”

The Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music runs September 2-4

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