By GEORGIA WESTGARTH
LATROBE and Casey musicians are uniting for the Bells of Peace Anzac performance and exhibition, telling wartime stories through song and teaching how World War I impacted the people of the Yarra Valley, Ranges and foothills.
The Dandenong Ranges Music Council have been hard at work for many months putting together an Anzac spectacular, showcasing the performing skills of 300 local musicians, actors, artists and singers of all ages.
The two-hour performance starts before you’ve even walked into the theatre, with a group of performers playing the instruments that soldiers played around campfires in the foyers of both shows.
The learning experience and performing extravaganza has been a vision of the Dandenong Ranges Music Council for many years and a passion of board member Bev McAlister’s.
“A lady stopped me in the chemist and said her great aunt was engaged to my great uncle, a soldier in WWI, and she had just received all of his love letters and postcards,” Ms McAlister said.
“We decided to ask the electorates of Casey and Latrobe to support a project to tell the stories of the people of our area using drama, music and multimedia for the rest of the community,” she said.
The collection of volunteers and performers stretch far and wide, with Officer’s own Jodie Debono playing the important role of famous opera singer, Nellie Melba from Coldstream, who first heard the good news that the war had ended.
“She was the only one in town with a telephone and decided to head straight to Lilydale and ring the fire bell to let everyone know peace had come at last,” Ms McAlister said.
“Once the bell had been heard people flocked to town and many bells were ringing all over town – when a bell rings in the valleys it resonates all around,” she said.
The performance will include a choir made up of Southern Voices, Singularity, Tecoma Sing Australia, Monbulk Community Choir, Vokalista, Mt Evelyn, Monbulk, Tecoma, Birmingham and Kallista primary schools accompanied by a concert band.
Actors, along with Under 19s football players from the Lilydale Football Club will also grace the stage.
“The Lilydale Football Club had a parade when the troops left and a banner which read, ‘Join Us to Win the Final in Gallipoli’ and current players will re-enact the scene – 25 players left to fight that day and only five came back,” she said.
The visual art exhibition will hold 20 displays from schools, historical societies and RSL clubs.
“The Bells of Peace performance and exhibition is about capturing the palpable relief everyone felt that peace had come and teaching all of us about the sacrifice and how much the communities gave and how grateful we should be for peace,” Ms McAlister said.
The first show will take place at Mount Evelyn Discovery Church on Saturday 18 April at 1.30pm, followed by the final performance at Belgrave Heights Convention Centre on Monday 20 April at 6.30pm.
Tickets can be purchased through www.trybooking.com/HCEL.
