2007 "Inaugural Festival"

Our inaugural Arts in the Valley Festival was held in 2007, the first of our planned biennial festivals of classical and contemporary music integrated with the visual arts.

Yvonne Kenny gave a recital of works by Schubert and Liszt. We commissioned 2 local composers Andrew Ford and Martin Wesley-Smith to compose a song for Ms Kenny. We also presented an Australian first in which musicians and artists (painters and sculptors) collaborated to create new works. The musicians and artists were Brett Dean with Heather Betts, David Pereira with Micky Allen and Alice Giles with Rosemary Madigan.

We invited local and regional sculptors to exhibit works in our first Sculpture Exhibition set in a stunning local garden. This highly successful event is now known as Sculpture in the Valley.

Another Australian first was the introduction of our Frozen Music Series. Audiences were given the rare opportunity to visit historic Barrengarry House or a stunning architect-designed house in Kangaroo Valley. The architect talked about the architecture followed by an intimate chamber concert.

These intimate concerts in local homes are now known as Hausmusik with houses chosen for their acoustic qualities as well as having interesting architecture and beautiful Kangaroo Valley views.