By Violet Li
Casey Philharmonic Orchestra staged Music by the Lake at Wilson Botanic Park Berwick on Saturday 2 March, joined by a range of local dance troops, choirs, and bands.
Starting around 1.30pm and ending at 8.30pm with the last tint of sunset, the seven-hour acoustic carnival included performances from Casey Concert Band, Cranbourne Chorale, Chantelle and Friends Jazz Combo, Melbourne Youth Chorale, Cranbourne Lions Concert Band, Maori traditional group Te Hononca O NGA IWI, and Whisky ’n Ice Jazz Band.
The day ended with the Casey Philharmonic Orchestra presenting music from well-known movies like Star Wars, Superman, Spider-Man, and The Incredibles.
Artistic director Vicki Ware said they had just over 2000 people attend across the course of the day and the vibe was really fantastic.
“People were just enjoying sitting out on the lawn and the amphitheatre, eating and drinking and enjoying music, and kids running around having fun, so it was a really relaxed vibe too,” she said.
“When we played in the evening, everyone was really excited and even standing ovations, clapping after pieces.”
Ms Ware said they were just trying to get their music out there and share it with a wider audience.
“There’s a lot of music and other arts happening around Casey, and we don’t often get together and celebrate, so one of our aims is to get together and just celebrate how much music there is and share that with the community,” she said.
“At the moment with the cost-of-living crisis, a lot of families can’t afford to buy tickets to go to paid performances, so we wanted to run a free event in the park to make our music more accessible.”
