August 9th, 2024Baroque masterpiece performed in Ballarat concert

CLASSICAL vocal group Vox is preparing to perform the third part of one of the most celebrated choral works of the Baroque era with a concert in Ballarat tomorrow afternoon.

Backed by a guest conductor and local instrumentalists gathered specifically for the show, the acapella ensemble is bringing George Frideric Handel’s Messiah III: The Redeemer to the region.

 The Ballarat show will be held tomorrow August 10 from 2pm at the Anglican Cathedral Church of Christ the King.

Led by guest conductor Michael Fulcher, music director of Christ Church South Yarra, and Polyphonic Voices, the show will boast 14 singers and 13 instrumentalists.

Vox bass singer Peter Freund says the show will offer something different from the group’s traditional performance.

Freund says preparing for the performance has presented a few growth opportunities for Vox.

“It’s a skills development for us as well because normally we don’t work with a conductor so that brings new approaches and new skills,” he says.

“Normally we’d sing with just the core membership as an acapella ensemble but from time to time in the nearly 20 years we’ve been performing, we undertake bigger projects,” he said.

“We’ll do works with an orchestra and an ensemble partly to offer our audiences a different experience. Accompanied pieces can be more inviting to an audience too.”

Tickets to the Ballarat concert are $40 adult, $35 concession, $15 student, and free for primary school children, and can be booked at bit.ly/4c8MkuK.