“Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy – LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN

Opening with Carl Orff’s dramatic setting of the 13th Century poem O Fortuna, and closing with Beethoven’s universally anthemic Ode to Joy finale from his Symphony No 9, this gala event brings together musicians from all over the South West region, alongside Melbourne musicians, magnificent soloists and esteemed conductor Richard Mills, on one enormous shared stage. Centrally featured is the world premiere of new work In the Beginning, a setting of text collaboratively created by children from all over Victoria, including students at schools in the Moyne Shire, Warrnambool, and the surrounding region, and members of the Dhungala Children’s Choir, in conjunction with Stefan Cassomenos as the work’s composer and musical facilitator. The theme of the text centres around the question of how everything came into being, and draws its answers from all of the world’s continents, sung in many of the world’s languages, in a celebration of both the diversity and commonality within the spectrum of cultural responses to universal questions.

ORFF O Fortuna (from Carmina Burana)

CASSOMENOS In the Beginning (World Premiere)

BEETHOVEN Finale: Ode to Joy (from Symphony No 9)