COFFS City Orchestra will present a classical springtime concert at the Harbourside Markets on Sunday 22 September.

“People are used to seeing full orchestras on stage in concert halls but we’re taking our instruments outdoors to celebrate spring on the Coffs Coast,” Tim told News Of The Area.

“We will have around 40 musicians on stage with strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion playing a very wide range of music from the classics of Mozart, Beethoven and Handel, as well as more contemporary works from Gershwin, John Williams, a few Elvis numbers and the William Tell Overture.”

The orchestra includes instruments that the public may find unfamiliar such as a bassoon and the timpani, often known as the kettle drum.

“We even added the sound of a synthesiser to the Olympic concert in the performance of Chariots of Fire and the sound was incredible.”

Connecting with the audience is a must for the orchestra.

“We always provide an opportunity for a child to have a go at conducting and when we play the Radetzky March, everyone gets involved and claps along.”

Hoping for accommodating weather, Tim said it should be a wonderful concert for people to hear and see a full symphony orchestra outside in the market atmosphere.

“It has a certain ‘culture’ that is out of the ordinary and as such provides a new experience for many people that we hope will be inspiring and pleasantly musical.”

The Orchestra has been entertaining local audiences for 45 years and is made up entirely of volunteers who love making music and enjoy rehearsing once a week.

The youngest musicians are teenagers and the oldest are aged in their 80s.

The Harbourside Markets concert program includes four sets from 10am until 2pm.

By Andrea FERRARI