Relocating the Bangalow Chamber Music Festival to Queensland makes sense. The outfit behind it, Southern Cross Soloists (SXS) is, after all, based in Brisbane, and for a Queensland outfit to be putting on a music festival in enemy territory seems a tad counterintuitive.

This year’s Bangalow Music Festival was cancelled and replaced with the Soloists Mountain Showcase at Tamborine Mountain on August 18. This is a taste tester to a bigger event next year – The Soloists Chamber Music Festival, which will also be at Tamborine.

Bangalow was great but the move to Tamborine is inspired. It’s a gorgeous spot, near the Gold Coast but untainted by the glitz and superficiality of the glitter strip.

It’s a favourite haunt of artists and writers and the mountain was for many years home to the much-loved Australian poet Judith Wright. You couldn’t pick a more suitable spot.

So, in place of the Bangalow Music Festival this year SXS is offering a one-day, two-concert bespoke taster event with headline artists Australian guitarist Slava Grigoryan, Finnish pianist Paavali Jumppanen and Polish violinist Jakub Jakowicz.

They’ll be performing at the stunning acreage surrounds of Shambala Estate, Tamborine Mountain, the jewel of the Scenic Rim. Shambala Estate is an enchanting venue, hidden in the lush rainforest of the Gold Coast hinterland, offering picturesque vistas and serene surroundings, with perfect acoustics for an intimate boutique chamber music performance.

In a statement about the move SXS says the organisation is “optimistic and excited about the possibilities in Queensland, particularly in Mount Tamborine, which we believe offers the same charm and potential for our loyal audience”.

“As we embark on this new chapter, we remain committed to delivering a high-quality chamber music experience in a stunning location,” SXS says. “We encourage everyone to join us this year for a special ‘taster’ event in the new rainforest setting of Tamborine Mountain as we look towards the future for SXS’s annual festival event in its new Queensland home.”

It’s an exciting development at a time when festivals are dropping off the twig right, left and centre. And it’s a shorter drive for those of us from Brisbane who regularly make the two-hour journey to Bangalow.

So SXS will permanently relocate its festival to Tamborine Mountain for its 21st coming-of-age edition – and be able to attract local and state funding, enabling SXS to align with Queensland’s preparedness for the 2032 Brisbane Cultural Olympiad.

The Soloists Chamber Music Festival is now scheduled to take place from August 22 to 24 in 2025. Early development planning has begun. As an Arts Queensland funded organisation, SXS’s strategic future is to align with Arts Queensland’s Creative Together roadmap.

SXS has also announced a partnership with Tamborine Mountain Arts Precinct (TMAP), a non-profit organisation formed in 2023 to establish a world-class arts precinct in the heart of Tamborine Mountain.

SXS chair Marg O’Donnell says it is “a unique opportunity to engage with TMAP and to assist in the process of establishing a world-class arts precinct for Tamborine Mountain that can also serve as an Emergency Hub for a region that has been hit hard by climactic events”.

“We all know arts venues are in much need and assist greatly with the wellbeing and social cohesion of communities in order for them to thrive. We are proud to put the 20-year brand energy of our chamber music festival behind this new long-term venture.”

TMAP co-founder John Tardy says he is “delighted to be partnering with SXS, a prestigious organisation that is also company-in-residence at the state’s flagship cultural precinct, QPAC”.

“We look forward to working with SXS to enact our own arts precinct plans here in Mount Tamborine. I thank Shambala Estate for their support of the Soloists’ Mountain Showcase, which will be a delightful day on the mountain for all.”

southernxsoloists.com

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