Classical music on the waterfront

Classical music on the waterfront

Get ready to be immersed in the harmonies of Bach, Mozart, Faure and Wagner when Inventi Ensemble arrives in Docklands this month.

In partnership with Library at the Dock, the orchestral group is creating a free lunchtime concert series, starting in February.

This month you can enjoy a performance by internationally-acclaimed harpist Marshall McGuire, who will be joined by Inventi Ensemble artistic director Ben Opie on the oboe.

Mr Opie and fellow artistic director Melissa Doecke are both professional musicians and say the aim of the concert series, and of Inventi Ensemble itself, is to make classical music accessible to a wider audience.

“Our dream was to have a platform to make good music and bring good music to as many different people as possible,” Mr Opie said. “Finding where there’s a lack of live music and then doing whatever we can do to present it.”

According to Ms Doecke, Inventi Ensemble has toured and performed larger concerts on a professional scale, but also has a significant focus on community projects.

The group has performed concert series in Bayswater, Knox and Box Hill, children’s programs, interactive workshops in immigration detention centres in Maribyrnong and Broadmeadows and projects with Vision Australia and Scope.

“The community music side of it is so much fun, we get to program what we like and engage with the audience as well,” she said. In Docklands, the monthly concert series is scheduled through to July, with the intention of continuing to the end of the year. Thanks to a grant from the City of Melbourne, the concerts will be free to attend and audience members will also have the opportunity to speak with the musicians following the performance.

“It’s such a different experience to a concert hall,” Ms Doecke said of the community concert series. “One of the biggest comments we have is that the audience love being so close. They can see a full concert harp. They can see the musicians looking at each other and connecting, see the expressions on their faces.”

The first Inventi Ensemble: Lunchtime Classics concert is Thursday, February 11 at 1.30pm. The concerts will run for 45 minutes, making them ideal for local workers during lunch breaks.

Keep an eye on the Docklands Community Calendar each month for future concert dates.

For more information about Inventi Ensemble visit http://www.inventiensemble.com

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