Media release – Van Diemen’s Band, 14 April 2023

LUNCHBOX CONCERTS COMING TO THE BURNIE ARTS CENTRE

Live music at lunch comes to pataway/Burnie in a new series of concerts presented by Van Diemen’s Band and the Burnie City Council.

It’s hard to think of a better way to enjoy quality music: concerts shorter than a lunch-hour – and all for the price of a sandwich!

That’s the formula for the Lunchbox Concert Series initiated by Tasmania’s ensemble Van Diemen’s Band back in 2019 to make great live music affordable and accessible.

Audiences jumped at the chance to escape daytime hustle and bustle and step into an oasis of calm, listening to beautiful music in a casual and welcoming setting; an eclectic mix of genres and styles, showcasing some of the State’s finest musical talent alongside interstate and international guests.

Now, thanks to the vision and support of the Burnie City Council, the Lunchbox is landing at the Burnie Arts Centre for a series of five Thursday concerts, commencing on April 20th and continuing until May 18th. Each starts at 1.05pm and finishes before 2.00pm.

VDB’s Artistic Director Julia Fredersdorff (who also plays in the opening concert) is the curator of the series and is delighted the concept has found a new home in pataway/Burnie.

“Van Diemen’s Band has been committed to presenting music across the north of the State ever since we started back in 2017,” she says. “We tour here at least twice a year and have had the privilege of playing for audiences from Zeehan around to St Helens. It’s a logical next step for us to set up shop in the north and we’re delighted that Burnie City Council is enabling us to do so at the wonderful Arts Centre, assisting audiences in cash-strapped times to enjoy live music at close quarters for a very reasonable price.”

Tickets are just $15 if paying at the door, but even cheaper if purchased online (vandiemensband.com.au) – just $10 per concert, or $50 if pre-paying for the entire five-concert series.

The music on offer includes beautiful baroque, kinetic klezmer, fabulous four-hand piano and much more:

CONCERT 1: THURSDAY 20 APRIL – MINI VAN DIEMEN’S BAND

VDB principal artists Julia Fredersdorff (baroque violin) and Donald Nicolson (harpsichord) perform baroque favourites by Handel and Vivaldi. This is a terrific opportunity to see and hear the harpsichord made especially for the group by Dutch master-builder Titus Crijnen, now the finest instrument of its kind in the country.

CONCERT #2: THURSDAY 27 APRIL – YYAN & EMILY

They live in Tasmania and are now making waves around the country: Multi-talented guitarist Yyan Ng and experimental violinist and composer Emily Sheppard play their original compositions that speak to our unique landscape.

CONCERT #3: THURSDAY 4 MAY – JACQUELINE WARD

Trained in Sydney, the young and fast-rising concert soprano Jacqueline Ward is now based in pataway/Burnie. She’s joined by pianist Jane Edwards for a journey to the salons of the past in a program filled with gems of nineteenth century ‘Song Books’.

CONCERT #4: THURSDAY 11 MAY – MEYERS & MCNAMARA

Well-known violin/accordion duo Rachel Meyers and Dave McNamara continue the Lunchbox tradition of presenting world music in a fascinating mix of soulful Jewish melodies with more contemporary sounds. This Lunchbox comes with extra spice!

CONCERT #5: THURSDAY 18 MAY – ONE PIANO, FOUR HANDS!

The first pataway/Burnie Lunchbox Concert Series concludes with a flurry of fingers in a piano four-hand recital by Karen Smithies and Jennifer Marten-Smith, side-by-side at the keyboard, in a dazzling program of Mozart and Debussy.