Springmount Parish put on another night to remember on August 4 with an event at St John’s Anglican Church in Creswick.

Festival spokesperson Fiona Watson said the church was “the ideal location on a cold winter’s night to hear the magical music of Kavisha Mazzella and her trio”. 

“With veteran musician Nicolas Lyon on violin and double bass and Jack Norton on guitarra batente and bazouki, Kavisha’s amazing voice with its fado and gypsy influences, brought the warmth of Europe to Creswick and took her singing to another level,” she said. 

Ms Watson said Mazzella both enthralled and engaged those in the audience with songs influenced by love, seduction and betrayal. 

“Kavisha had everyone singing and perhaps, a first for this church, dancing in the aisles. Those who were there will not easily forget such an evening as this,” she said. 

Over in Clunes the following evening, the Invictus Quartet, comprised of four senior students from The Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, played at St Paul’s Church.

Ms Watson said the performance was “sublime and infinitely moving” and the festival was humbled to have Jin Long, Rebecca Wang, Annika Cho and Nyssa Sanguansri upon their return from playing in Salzburg and Texas. 

“The first piece they played was Haydn’s String Quartet No 51 in G Op 64 No.4. This familiar piece was lively and played with passion and gusto.

“The second piece was Debussy’s String Quartet in G minor, Op.10. This composition reflected the impressionist era and though he rejected being called the first impressionist composer, the title stuck,” she said. 

The next musical event will take place at the spring installment: A  Pleasant Sunday Afternoon at St Matthew’s Anglican Church in Newlyn on September 9.

This event will involve soprano Eleanor Kerr singing to a rather different beat during a jazz and blues performance. She will be joined by Linda O’Brien and Ron Caffyn.