two unique duos for winter 2023

Alicia and Joshua of Duo Blockstix (image supplied) next to Emily Granger and Andrew Blanch (image by Keith Saunders).

Music in the Regions is launching two Winter Tours for 2023 coming to NSW’s Mid-North Coast, North-West, and Upper Hunter regions. Featuring two duos with unique instrument pairings, these tours will give audiences a new perspective on these well-known instruments.

Beginning in the Mid-North Coast in July, Duo Blockstix, comprising of Alicia Crossley on recorder and Joshua Hill on percussion, will perform the world premiere of a new work by Anne Boyd as part of their Sylvan Soundscapes program. Exploring themes of love, reflection, magic, and even pencils, audiences will be captivated by this duo’s unique pairing. 

Alicia Crossley of Duo Blockstix said: “Recorders and percussion instruments are some of the most familiar instruments to audiences, with many people having had their first music education experiences with these instruments. However, audiences rarely get to see these instruments performing together on the concert hall stage. Our concerts will present virtuosic works for recorder and percussion from across the ages, from 12th Century minstrel music to a freshly composed work by Australian composer Anne Boyd, so new, the ink is still drying on the score. We look forward to meeting all the classical music lovers on this tour and sharing this wonderful repertoire with audiences.”

Bringing together music from medieval minstrels, baroque madrigal masters, and contemporary composers, this tour will see Duo Blockstix visit Coramba, Dorrigo, Nambucca Heads, Kendall, and Tuncurry.

In yet another instrument pairing rarely seen together, guitar and harp duo, Andrew Blanch and Emily Granger, return for a second tour with Music in the Regions in August. Heading to NSW’s North-West and Upper Hunter regions this duo is at once both fresh and familiar. Side by side on stage, the instruments face each other like an enchanted reflection – with striking visual and aural similarities. In this way, the sound world created by these two plucked string instruments is not dissimilar to that of a guitar duo – the harp, with its 47 resonant strings and a collection of extended techniques, providing an expanded range of expressive possibilities to the more common two-guitar pairing.

Emily Granger said: “Andrew and I are delighted to join forces with Music in the Regions again to bring the unique sounds of the classical harp and guitar to regional NSW! We are both passionate about getting out of the urban centres to bring Sydney Opera House standards to regional community halls.”

Having performed widely as a duo at venues such as Sydney Opera House, UKARIA, Canberra International Music Festival, and Australian Digital Concert Hall, Andrew Blanch and Emily Granger will tour Suite mágica to Nundle, Emerald Hill, Barraba, Gloucester and Dungog.

Music in the Regions General Manager and Producer, Ian Whitney, said of the Winter Tours: “I’m really looking forward to coming back to the coast and North-West regions since we had such a great time in 2022. Both Duo Blockstix and Blanch & Granger are gorgeous pairings that show the versality of classical music. Alicia, Joshua, Andrew, and Emily are charismatic performers who make this repertoire shine.”

Duo Blockstix will perform Sylvan Soundscapes at

CORAMBA: 3pm, Saturday 29 June at Coramba Community Hall

DORRIGO: 4pm, Sunday 30 June at Old Gazette Theatre, in partnership with Dorrigo Dramatic Club

·NAMBUCCA HEADS: 6:30pm, Tuesday, 1 August at, and in partnership with, Nambucca Heads Island Golf Club

KENDALL: 7pm, Thursday, 3 August at Kendall Community Centre and Hall.

TUNCURRY: 2pm, Saturday, 5 August at Tuncurry Memorial Hall.

Andrew Blanch and Emily Granger will perform Suite mágica at:

NUNDLE: Saturday 19 August, 1pm Nundle Memorial Hall in partnership with the Upper Peel Landcare Group

EMERALD HILL: Sunday 20 August, 2pm at Emerald Hill Hall in partnership with Gunnedah Conservatorium

BARRABA: Tuesday 22 August, 6:30pm at, and in partnership with, The Playhouse Hotel

GLOUCESTER: Saturday 26 August, 4pm at The Citizens Centre in partnership with the Gloucester Arts and Culture Council Inc

DUNGOG: Sunday 27 August, 3pm at, and in partnership with, The Royal Hotel.