The concert opens with performances that demonstrate the accomplishments of pupils of Queenstown-based piano teacher Kinga Krupa. It’s then your chance to hear outstanding clarinettist Marlon Sullivan showcase the versatility of the clarinet before he leaves for the prestigious music school Kunstuniveritat in Austria.

Demanding virtuosity from both clarinet and piano, this sonata is will delight and engage you with its Straussian influences and sparkling interplay between the instruments. The “Wanderer Fantasy” is among the most often played yet technically and musically highly challenging of Schubert’s works. It’s testament to the skill of pianist Willian Sun that this performance will draw out all the dramatic contrasts, jaunty airs and gentle melodies with which Schubert imbued this solo piano work.

The second half of the programme, with renowned New Zealand choral composer David Hamilton’s Shine out, fair sun, also takes us back to the Baroque era with works from Scarlatti, Monteverdi and finally Bach’s stately and at times exuberant Brandenburg Concerto No 3 composed for the then-unusual combination of three violins, three violas, three cellos and basso continuo. Performed by members of the Central Otago Community Orchestra and Festival artists, these performances perfectly reflect the Festival’s ethos of weaving together communities.