VIRTUOSO: Cellist Louise King will be performing at  Jumpers and Jazz.
VIRTUOSO: Cellist Louise King will be performing at Jumpers and Jazz. Contributed

Jumpers and Jazz event to spotlight talents

LOUISE King want to challenge the status quo when it comes to what classical music can sound like.

The cello virtuoso is the musician bringing Bach to the Bush, a touring performance as part of the Queensland Music Festival.

The tour will head to other regional towns across western Queensland and comes to Warwick on July 23 for the first Sunday of this year's Jumpers and Jazz festival.

"Although Bach is a monumental classical composer with such a legacy, and that name might lull people into thinking it's all about classical music, this performance is much more than that," Louise said.

"We've got some Jimi Hendrix-inspired blues, some Leonard Cohen, and pieces that are very evocative of the bush - all the sorts of things that make this performance really accessible.

"And the best part is that it's all free for people to come and enjoy."

Percussionist and experienced commercial pilot John Morrison will fly to all nine towns - Boonah, Goondiwindi, Cunnamulla, Quilpie, Bedourie, Charleville, Barcaldine, Longreach and Warwick - to perform alongside Louise.

Many shows will see local community choirs joining Louise and John on stage, as part of QMF's signature festival choral project You're The Voice.

"I've come to Warwick before on the way through to Armidale and travelling around Toowoomba, but this is the first time I've been to the festival," Louise said.

"It's pretty exciting to get to zip around in a small plane to places in Western Queensland that would ordinarily take a long time to drive to.

"The Queensland Musical Festival, as a biennial festival, pick artists who have sense of adventure and want to bring their music to the wider community.

"Growing up in a regional area myself, I love bringing music to small communities."

Having come from a creative family herself, Louise said she hoped to engage with and nurture the creative spirit and inspire regional people to pursue their passions.

"My dad was a music teacher and my mum is an interior designer, and my sister and I have both ended up as professional musicians," she said.

"For me now, teaching as a music educator and as a tutor for the Queensland Youth Orchestra, I find there's really phenomenal talent happening not just in the cities but in the regional communities.

"I have found a lot of kids can get turned off classical music around age 10 or 11 but those younger kids can be so explorative and it's why I like going into music classrooms around the state."

Catch Louise and John for Bach to Bush at the Warwick Town Hall on July 23.

For more information, go to jumpersandjazz.com.



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