Cities lit up by Candlelight Concerts
Since 2020 a series of concerts performed around Australia’s major cities in special venues with unique settings have created word-of-mouth but little mainstream attention.
Branded as Candlelight Concerts, the organisers Fever are also little known in this country, but have an International reach into over 100 countries and are regarded as one of the world’s leading producers of live entertainment.
In the coming months they plan on bringing to Sydney the music of Taylor Swift, Coldplay, Rhianna, Hans Zilmmer and even Linkin Park, to be performed by a classical orchestra in an intimate environment illuminated with the glow of thousands of candles.
“We do not advertise Fever as a brand, as all our money is spent on the experience and generating traffic to our platform and we want people to get excited about the quality off our shows,” Phil Mallet, Regional Manager, New Zealand and Australia, Fever Originals, said.
About three years ago, in Europe, Fever identified a gap between the interest of a younger demographic in classical music, but found that there were barriers for them such as the restrictions in the venues, the length of the concerts and the costs of the performances.
“It is about getting people to rediscover classical music in a more intimate environment with less barriers and closer to the way that people want to experience entertainment in 2023,” Mallet said.
In Sydney, the Phoenix Collective form the backbone of the performers, who have been expanded to a 19 piece orchestra for some of the recent Sydney Town Hall concerts.
Since entering the Australian market, Fever have extended their reach into 24 cities, including Wollongong and NSW regional areas.
One of the favourite and most used Sydney venues is the Grand Lodge of the Sydney Masonic Centre located in Goulburn Street opposites the Civic Hotel.
“Usually the performances at the Sydney Masonic Centre are for quartets and these are very intimate shows of around 300 people,” Mallet said.
“And then there is the character of the building, which has very unique architecture, and once you light that with 5000 candles it creates a special atmosphere that makes the listening to the music so much more enjoyable.”
Each show takes around three hours to check and place the battery operated candles, while the musicians do extensive rehearsals offsite.
One of the upcoming highlights for September is the music of Japanese composer Joe Hisaishi, who has worked extensively with film director Takeshi Kitano and master anime creator Hayao Miyazaki.
Most concerts are well priced, with some starting around $30, and the organisers allow photo opportunities against the backdrop of lighted candles.
For information about Candlelight Concerts around Sydney, visit:
feverup.com
