Peninsula Summer Music Festival

As the sun rises on New Year’s Day 2024, Artistic Directors Ben Opie (Oboe) and Melissa Doecke (Flute) will perform at the Peninsula Hot Springs in the first of twenty classical and contemporary musical events being presented across the Mornington Peninsula over eight days for the much-loved annual Peninsula Summer Music Festival 2024.

Following Melissa and Ben’s early morning performance of Sounds at Sunrise in the Peninsula Hot Springs, the New Year kicks off in earnest with the traditional Hair of the Dog in the gardens of St John’s Anglican Church in Flinders. The evocative Tango Noir ensemble will celebrate new beginnings creating the atmospherics of a 1930s French salon with Ruth Roshan’s bittersweet lyrics blending beautifully with mandolin, accordion, and oboe for an afternoon of lush European tango and waltz.

Melbourne-born violinist Brigid Coleridge (USA) and renowned pianist Kristian Chong pair up for two stunning concerts at Moorooduc Estate on Tuesday 2 January performing Beethoven’s elusive Violin Sonata No.10 and JS Bach’s exciting sonata for violin and harpsichord. The 2024 Festival Artist, Australian-American harpist Emily Granger will feature in several events throughout the festival.

The Peninsula Hot Springs will bubble with contemporary and classical music throughout the festival including performances from Amsterdam duo Zenith (Jorge Jiminez (violin) and Anna Stegmann (recorders), Swedish Trio Northern Resonance (Jerker Hans-Ers (violin), Anna Ekberg (viola) and Petrus Dillner (nyckelharpa), and a collaboration of classical and First Nations group Burrundi Theatre and Inventi.

At Port Philip Estate on Thursday 4 January with Neal Peres da Costa (fortepiano) and Anna Fraser (soprano) reimagine Franz Schubert’s famous song cycle Schwanengesang (Swan Song). The recital pushes the boundaries of musical artistic practice, exploring how the song cycle may have sounded in the hands of Schubert and singers he knew and loved. This rare chance to hear the full song cycle by leading artists includes an exquisite pre-concert three course dinner and an exclusive preview performance by Festival Artist Emily Granger (harp).

The festival’s signature St John’s Weekend on January 6 and 7 features a daytime program of luscious romantic repertoire that showcases the next generation of performers. Exciting newcomers to Melbourne’s chamber music scene, Spell will perform two works from R.Schumann and Amy Beach with Lily Begg (piano), Lachlan MacLaren (violin), Emma Amery (violin), Patrick Shannon (Viola) and Sarah Wang (cello).

On Sunday evening at St John’s, acclaimed baroque harpist Hannah Lane will be joined by the stunning soprano Anna Fraser to explore the rich musical legacy of the great female singer/harpists of the Baroque period. Set against the stunning stained-glass windows of St Johns, Baroque by Candlelight features works from Luzzaschi, Caccini, Frescolbaldi and others.

Peninsula Summer Music Festival 2024 comes to a rousing climax at Montalto on Monday 8 January when Australian jazz royalty James Morrison gathers his quartet for an evening of swinging jazz standards, sublime ballads, and haunting Latin numbers with a few surprised thrown in. Twilight Jazz audiences can enjoy a relaxing meal on the lawns or a three-course restaurant experience prior to the show.