Arts & Culture
21 October, 2025
Enjoy beautiful music from classical orchestra
Fresh from their recent Queensland tour and a sold-out Sydney Opera House performance, the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra (ARCO) is performing at St Jude’s Church this Wednesday 22 October and at the Kangaroo Valley Public Hall on Sunday October 26.
Fresh from their recent Queensland tour and a sold-out Sydney Opera House performance, the Australian Romantic & Classical Orchestra (ARCO) is performing at St Jude’s Church this Wednesday 22 October and at the Kangaroo Valley Public Hall on Sunday October 26.
These performances are part of a tour through rural New South Wales and Victoria, presented by Music in the Regions and locally through a partnership with the St Jude’s Music Association.
The orchestra was founded by renowned musician and educator, the late Richard Gill in 2013, alongside current Co-Artistic Director, Conductor, Director & Concertmaster, Rachael Beesley, and Nicole van Bruggen, Co-Artistic Director & Principal Clarinetist.
The orchestra brings music to life through vibrant, historically informed performances of orchestral and chamber music from the late 18th to early 20th centuries.
Performing with period instruments, they offer audiences a sound that goes back in time.
“The instruments we play usually have gut strings (made of either sheep or cow intestines rather than steel strings), and they often give a much richer sound,” Ms. Beesley said.
“I realised the other day that Nicole and I have been performing the Mozart clarinet quintet together now for 30 years!”
The quintet musicians have travelled from all over Australia including Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and the NSW Northern Rivers, with Ms. Beesley herself hailing from Melbourne.
The music on the program includes Franz Schubert’s String Quartet No.7 in D major, (D.94), Emilie Mayer’s String Quartet No.1 in G minor, Op.14 Allegro appassionato, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Clarinet Quintet in A major, K.581.
“We’re really happy to be performing in Bowral and Kangaroo Valley this week – and we’ve got a large audience base in both of these locations,” Ms. Beesley told the Southern Wire.
“Both St Jude’s and the Kangaroo Valley Hall are perfect venues to perform in acoustically, and also make it more personal to our audiences. When we performed in Huskisson last weekend, our performance was sold out.”
The ensemble has also been workshopping this week with the Shoalhaven Youth Orchestra (SYO) at the Nowra School of Performing Arts and with the Milton-Ulladulla String Orchestra on historical expression and techniques, inspiring local youth and community musicians.
The ARCO concert will commence from 1.15pm at St Jude’s Anglican Church, 38 Bendooley St, Bowral.
And the Kangaroo Valley performance will start at 2pm this Sunday at the Kangaroo Valley Public Hall, 179 Moss Vale Rd, Kangaroo Valley.
Pre-booking is recommended to reserve a space.
Tickets are $35 for general admission and $30 for concessions, with students and Under 18’s free, and can be purchased either at the door on the day or via Humanitix at https://humanitix.com/australian-romantic-and-classical-orchestra-bowral.
And to find out more about the orchestra, visit their website at https://www.arco.org.au/.
Read More: Bowral, Southern Highlands