Patriotism is rife albeit refined, in Australia’s state of “Big Things”, with Queensland looking to go bigger and better in their biannual state-wide music festival, and organisers are planning to break not one, but two Guinness World Records during the course of the 17-day long event.

The Queensland Music Festival, established in 1990 as the Brisbane Biennial Festival of Music, is a collaborative, interactive, and free-of-charge gathering of musicans and music-lovers alike who showcase a vast array of genres and styles.

Having accumulated an impressive list of past Artistic Directors including founding director Anthony Steel and singer-songwriter Debra Conway, renowned trumpeter and multi-instrumentalist James Morrison has also joined the ranks for both 2013 and 2015 Queensland Music Festival .

His first bold public initiative as the festival’s Artistic Director being a call to arms to Australia’s classical musicians in a mass attempt to break the two Guinness World Records for “Worlds Biggest Orchestra” and “Largest Trumpet Ensemble”, as Travel Blackboard reports.

Planning to start the state-wide festival with a brassy bang, Morrison has publicly invited those with the goods to register for the event, leaving submissions wide open for those of varying ages and levels of experience. “Whether you’re part of a school or community orchestra, concert or brass band, a professional musician or play just for fun, we need you to be part of this historic moment.” – James Morrison
“Whether you’re part of a school or community orchestra, concert or brass band, a professional musician or play just for fun, we need you to be part of this historic moment,” says Morrison.
To break the current records, 6,500 musicians are required to form the “World’s Biggest Orchestra” while 1,200 trumpeters are needed for the “Largest Trumpet Ensemble”.
According to the Guinness World Records the current record-holders of the latter are the 1,166 trumpters who came together as part of a mass concert organised by Napoleón Gómez Silva in Oruro, Bolivia, on 19 February 2006. Altogether, 5,000 different instruments were involved in that mass event.
Morrison has already arranged a true blue Aussie set list for the Orchestra to play at the festival, enthusiastically stating:

“Of course, this is an Australian orchestra so we’re going to start with “Waltzing Matilda”, and being a symphonic event, we need to pay tribute to one of the grand masters, so Banjo Patterson will be followed by Beethoven with “Ode to Joy”.”

The Artistic Director saving the best for last: “And for the grand finale we are going to rock out with Queen’s iconic “We Will Rock You”.”

Promoted by the State Government as an open event showcasing “the best of local, national and international talent” in “every conceivable style of music” to  “Queenslanders from all walks of life, in over 30 regions from Warwick to Winton, Mackay to Mt Isa, Birdsville to Brisbane and beyond”, Arts Minister Ian Walker understandably shares the same degree of enthusiasm as Morrison.

Minister Walker stating: “Thousands of people coming together for the chance of a lifetime promises to be a thrilling event and is just one more example of the enormous power the Queensland Music Festival will generate across our state in July,”

The overall value of the Festival’s record-breaking initiative cannot be underestimated, with the numbers predicted for the event to serve Queensland’s tourism industry well, and possibly rectify the public face of the State Government who have been asked for open submissions on their Liquor Licensing policies, following some controversy in department’s “bully”-like approach to live music.

Registrations for the two Guinness World Record events at the Queensland Music Festival open 9am, Monday 8 April.

The two events will take place on Saturday July 13 at Suncorp Stadium in the heart of Brisbane City, with Morrison adding, “this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make musical history.” Go on musos, get on it!

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