By Casey Neill
A Jane Austen descendent is just one course in a feast of music, film, words and ideas being served in Woodend on the King’s Birthday long weekend.
The Woodend Winter Arts Festival (WWAF) will return for its 20th year from Friday 6 to Monday 9 June, with more than 40 events for audiences to devour.
To celebrate 250 years since Jane Austen’s birth, the author’s fifth great niece, Caroline Jane Knight, will share memories of growing up where Jane lived, wrote, and published her most celebrated novels.
She’s among more than 90 artists taking part in the internationally-recognised showcase.
“Have a feast and do it locally,” co-founder and organiser Jacqueline Ogeil said.
“Just run from one thing to another.
“It’s really magical and you’ll be inspired by the level of talent we’ve got out there.”
World-class classical musicians Ms Ogeil and husband John O’Donnell found the house of their dreams in Woodend.
“We’d travelled the world. We thought ‘why not bring the world to Woodend?’” she said.
“I got the idea from French village festivals.
“I had wanted to do a summer festival, but because of our bushfire season I thought it was too risky.
“The Queen’s Birthday long weekend was the quietest weekend of the year for Woodend.
“The shops would close early and it would rain. People would huddle inside and enjoy a bottle of red.
“Classical music and literature and words and ideas and all those sorts of things are very prevalent in countries with bad weather, where you need to stay indoors and entertain your mind.”
She soon discovered the town’s St Ambrose Church had “really good acoustics, on the same level as any concert hall” and the rest is history.
They held the first festival in 2005, since missing only 2020 due to lockdowns.
“We work as a committee of volunteers all year round on the festival,” Ms Ogeil said.
“It’s pretty hectic, but I really believe in what we’re doing.”
WWAF boosts local businesses and supports classical artists “in a changing world that is not very kind to them”.
“They really appreciate getting a gig,” she said.
“Whilst we’re all recording artists – we’re on Spotify, we’re on Amazon, we’re on Apple – we don’t get anything from what we do.
“That is the problem with AI in the recording industry and being a modern day artist.”
More than 80 percent of WWAF audiences are repeat attendees.
Ms Ogeil said those dipping their toe into the classical music pool found the festival cheaper and less intimidating than major concert halls – with the same calibre of performers.
“We’ve got international artists that are exclusive to the festival,” she said.
Direct from Vienna, Anne-Harvey-Nagl will perform Brahms’ three sonatas for piano and violin.
Ms Ogeil will take part in four performances, including Purcell’s Ode on St Cecelia’s Day.
“I don’t believe Melbourne’s had a performance of that since 1987,” she said.
A family friendly performance of Cinderella by Inventi Ensemble is also on the menu, along with so much more.
Visit woodendwinterartsfestival.org.au to view the full WWAF program and book tickets.
