The Orange Chamber Music Festival's (OCMF) free all-day community event Cultured returns to the city's cultural precinct on Saturday 14 March.
Cultured will be held from 10am to 6pm at locations in the cultural precinct, culminating in a combined orchestral performance at the Derek Pigot Auditorium at Kinross Wolaroi School.
The event will offer a full day of interactive, accessible cultural activities throughout the cultural precinct for audiences of all ages, celebrating music, art, history and community in a relaxed and welcoming environment.
As a signature OCMF initiative, Cultured is designed to foster high-quality, multi-disciplinary collaboration; increase community participation and enhance Orangeʼs reputation as a premier cultural destination for visitors.
Since 2022, OCMF has developed Cultured as a joint cultural experience that connects the visual arts, local history and live music into a mobile and immersive program. Activities are open to all members of the community and are intentionally informal, offering an alternative to traditional concert settings.
Orange City Council's Recreation and Culture Policy Committee Chair, Cr Tammy Greenhalgh, said the Council was proud to support the annual event.
"Cultured has become one of our most valued community celebrations, bringing together music, art and history in a way that is welcoming, vibrant and uniquely Orange, inviting everyone to experience it in their own way," Cr Greenhalgh said.
"What makes Cultured so special is the way it builds connections, between emerging musicians and world class artists, between cultural organisations, and between our community and the arts. It's events like this that inspire our young people and reinforce Orange's reputation as a thriving regional cultural hub."
The day will commence at 10am at the Orange Regional Museum, where musicians of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra Fellows will perform a series of solo and chamber works throughout the museum galleries, responding to the exhibitions and spaces.
Following this, audiences will be welcomed into the Orange Regional Gallery, where another group of Fellows will engage musically with the galleryʼs architecture, textures and light. Performing alongside local and touring exhibitions, the musicians will present works that thoughtfully juxtapose the art of music-making with the art of visual appreciation.
Audiences are then invited to continue their journey at the adjacent Library, for a relaxed performance by visiting Victorian ensemble Gryphon Baryton Trio, who will introduce audiences to the baryton - a rare and historically significant instrument - through a relaxed performance.
A core element of Cultured is its commitment to supporting local talent by providing opportunities to collaborate with visiting artists and perform within a world-class festival setting. Since OCMFʼs foundation in 2021, this vision has grown into a dynamic movement involving young students and professional musicians alike.
In partnership with Kinross Wolaroi School, local young musicians will work side-by-side with the Sydney Symphony Fellows during an intensive three-day music camp. The experience will culminate in a combined orchestral performance at the Derek Pigot Auditorium, open to the entire community, and serving as a joyful finale to a day that celebrates the power of music, art and community connection. This concert will also feature performances from other Kinross Wolaroi School ensembles.
Cultured 2026 is supported by the Orange Regional Arts Foundation, Orange City Council, Kinross Wolaroi School, John Davis Motor Group and the Australian Cultural Fund.
