The 12th New England Bach Festival runs from May 1 to 4.
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Organisers said it features a wonderful mix of local and visiting musicians and an eclectic program.
"One of my aims is always to ensure that baroque music is part of a living culture," artistic director Benjamin Thorn said about the program.
"Every generation rediscovers and reinvents the music from the baroque period and can use it to create something new and vibrant."
While the core of the program is historically informed baroque performances, including Australia's leading natural trumpeter John Foster, organist David Drury, the Marais project from Sydney, mandolinist William Grose, from Darwin and locals Sofia Debus, Robert Manley James Chen, Alana Blackburn, Camilla Tafra, Warwick Dunham, Lena Schmalz and EphenStephen (Stephen Tafra and Stephen Thorneycroft), even they will extend the possibilities of baroque music.
John Foster's program includes a couple of new works by himself and Mr Thorn.
David Drury is one of the leading organ improvisers in the world (he's won international competitions) and will demonstrate his skills in a solo concert and in the organ crawl.
He can make any organ sound like you've never heard it before. The Historical Stories program combines baroque music with texts by local writers Sarah Lawrence, Steve Harris, Catherine Emerson and Katy Haselwood.
The juxtapositioning of text and music provides new insights into both. Two of the Marais Project reinvent themselves with others as Elysian Fields, Australia's only band with an electric viola da gamba, in a scintillating baroque/jazz fusion that will blow your mind.
The old favourites are still there.
The Armidale Organ Crawl (like a pub crawl but with a short organ recital in each church rather than a beer in each pub) is always a highlight, and Armidale is almost unique in having four good organs within two blocks. There are two free events: the Coffee Cantata in Hanna's Arcade and the Festival Evensong.
Tickets are available from trybooking.com (search for nebf) or from Regional Australia Bank branches. Further information can be found at www.ne-bach-festival.com.
