Review: Celtic Celebration on 22nd October 2023

This review of the October Concert was published in the Townsville Bulletin on October 25th, 2023. Thank you to Trevor Keeling for this review. Celtic music stirs your soul Concert celebrates very deep roots There is very little that can stir the soul like Celtic music. Or could it be that so many people in this ... More

Review: AFCM Queens Gardens Concert

A review by Trevor Keeling of the 2023 AFCM Queens Gardens Concert has been published on the Stage Whispers website. You can see the review, titled "A Perfect Afternoon at the Proms", at this link. More

Review: The Magic of Vienna on 10th June 2023

This review of the June Concert was published in the Townsville Bulletin on June 14th, 2023. Thank you to Trevor Keeling for this review. A Magical Night of Music IT IS often said that Vienna is a city of romantic delights, and nowhere could this have been more true than on Saturday night when the Barrier Reef ... More

Review: Music in March on 11th March 2023

This review of the March Concert was published in the Townsville Bulletin on March 13th, 2023. Thank you to Trevor Keeling for this review.  Sun shines in magic evening  If anything, last Saturday’s Barrier Reef Orchestra performance proved its value with the magnificent, featured presentation of 17-year-... More

Review: Slavonic Splendour on 25th June 2022

by Billie Saint Rang Lifting restrictions at large gatherings seems to bring back some sense of order in our lives, so audiences are again showing their support for the return of theatre and music   The Barrier Reef Orchestra has always had a solid following so there were few vacant seats in the JCU Sir ... More

Review: A Feast of Classics on 12th March 2022

by Billie Saint Rang The Covid regulations saw a dormancy in live orchestral performances. With those regulations now relaxed, a Saturday night outing to the BRO March concert was a welcome jaunt – and a jaunt worth taking; to a concert that lived up to its title. Under the baton of Patrick Pickett, the orchestra and ... More

Review: Let’s Dance on 26th October 2019

Review by Trevor Keeling IT WAS with some joy – and relief - that we returned to the post-flood refurbished Townsville Civic Theatre for the last Barrier Reef Orchestra concert of the year. While the past two concerts this year have been characterised with some “big” presentations such as Dvorak’s New ... More

Review: AFCM Queens Gardens Concert on 28th July 2019

Townsvillians and visitors have once again voted with their feet, legs, torso, arms and head and headed for the now annual Queens Gardens free concert organised by the Australian Festival of Chamber Music and Townsville City Council and featuring the Barrier Reef Orchestra, soloists from the Festival and 1RAR Band. E... More

Review: Tchaikovsky on 14th July 2019

It is a testament to the quality and ever-increasing reputation of Townsville’s Barrier Reef Orchestra that it continues to attract such a range or international conductors to lead it, and word has it that that there is a queue of conductors registering their interest to perform here. This time the ensemble was under ... More

Review: New Worlds on 16th March 2019

Townsville gave its adopted prodigal son, Ukrainian conductor Theodore “Ted” Kuchar a warm and appropriate standing ovation at the conclusion of Saturday night’s performance with the city’s 60-piece Barrier Reef Orchestra. Now principal conductor of the Ukrainian Festival Orchestra, he conducts orchestras all ... More