Musical Storytellers, Arcadia Winds, to Tour NSW’s South Coast

5 member of Arcadia Winds wearing black and holding their instruments (image by Keith Saunders).

Following a successful 2022 tour with The Muffat Collective, Music in the Regions will return to NSW’s South Coast, featuring the energetic Arcadia Winds. A wind quintet, made up of bassoon, horn, clarinet, oboe, and flute, Arcadia Winds’ arrangements give new life to familiar works, while also incorporating the work of contemporary Australian composer Harry Sdraulig. Pictures in Arcadia will take audiences on a sensory journey across the globe, showcasing the ensemble’s craft as storytellers, vibrant musicians, and strong advocates for new Australian music. 

With a program that will inspire striking imagery, display innovative arrangements, and capture Arcadia Winds’ high octane performance ability, this tour will make its way through Moruya, as part of the River of Art festival, Wolumla, Tanja, Braidwood, and Nowra.

Music in the Regions General Manager and Producer, Ian Whitney said: “I have a real soft spot for wind quintet, and the huge range of colour and texture composers can find in this group of very different instruments. Australia is very lucky to have an ensemble like Arcadia Winds who have built their career in exploring and commissioning this repertoire, and I’m very excited to tour them along the south coast.”

LLoyd Van’t Hoff of Arcadia Winds said: “Regional touring is an important part of what we do at Arcadia Winds. Central to this is the drive to ensure our music and our wind instruments are heard by as many people as possible. We have an exciting selection of works that we will be taking on tour, consisting of new pieces for wind quintet and some truly sublime arrangements of classic repertoire. We hope that you may be able to experience music and the instruments of the wind quintet in a new light and we are excited to be sharing this with audiences in what is one of our favourite regions in the entire world!”

Forming in 2013, Arcadia Winds received a fellowship through the National Academy of Music, before going on to be Musica Viva Australia’s inaugural FutureMakers from 2015-17. Now in their tenth year, Arcadia Winds is passionate about commissioning new Australian works for wind instruments, founding the Arcadia Winds Composition Prize in 2018, and are seen as ambassadors for new Australian music worldwide. Arcadia Winds’ brand of energetic, joyful, and spontaneous performance has seen them tour Nationally and through mainland China; while their broadcast on BBC Proms Australia chamber music series has put Arcadia Winds on the global stage.  

Arcadia Winds will perform Pictures in Arcadia at:

MORUYA: as part of the River of Art festival: Saturday, 23 September, 1pm at St John’s Anglican Church, in partnership with River of Art and Music in the Church.

WOLUMLA: Sunday, 24 September, 2:30pm at Wolumla Memorial Hall, in partnership with Sapphire Coast Music Society.

TANJA: Wednesday, 27 September, 6pm at the Old Tanja Church, in partnership with Navigate Arts.

BRAIDWOOD: Saturday, 30 September, 2pm at Braidwood Uniting Church, in partnership with Braidwood Concert Series.

NOWRA: Sunday, 1 October, 2pm at Nowra School of Arts, in partnership with Music Shoalhaven.