2026 concerts with
Evergreen Ensemble
Evergreen Ensemble programs can feature a single solo player, often 3-5 players, or a full chamber orchestra. Check each concert description for details as the programs vary greatly across the year.
Evergreen Ensemble also organises the Geelonging for Music series in Geelong West which features international, interstate, and local artists, as well as the Ensemble itself. All 2026 dates are listed here, but details and ticketing links relating to series concerts are accessed through the Geelonging for Music page.
evergreen ensemble
shane lestideau
ECHOES FROM SCOTLAND: A BAROQUE MYSTERY AT RIVERSDALE
Sun 11 April 2026
10:30-12, 2pm-3:30pm, Riversdale Homestead, Goulburn, NSW
A rare Scottish Baroque music manuscript from the 1700s is the feature of an enchanting recital and presentation by Shane Lestideau. Hear pieces played from the manuscript and be enthralled by the findings of Shane's research into its origins.
Join us at Riversdale for an enchanting Baroque music recital and presentation exploring the Arthour-Wight Manuscript, a 300-year-old music book containing rare and original dance tunes and airs.
Carefully compiled in the 1730s by two young women of Scottish high society, the manuscript – etched with their own handwriting – was discovered more than 200 years later tucked safely inside a piano at Riversdale Homestead, Goulburn’s oldest settlement.
How did this extraordinary object make its way to Australia, and what does research reveal about the women’s musical pursuits and personal lives?
Shane Lestideau, Australian violinist and musicologist, will present the fascinating findings of her international research and bring the Arthour-Wight Manuscript to life with an enchanting live Baroque recital, offering the rare opportunity to hear the music these women performed more than two centuries ago.
Tickets include: recital, presentation, refreshments and access to explore Riversdale.
EVERGREEN ENSEMBLE
geelonging for music series
FIRESIDE SONATAS
Thu 4 JUNE 2026
7:30pm, Geelong West town hall
Evergreen Ensemble presents an intimate evening of Baroque music from Scotland with Scottish folk melodies beautifully intertwined with Italianate sonatas of the 18th century. The performance will feature the rich and resonant sounds of the baroque and viola d’amore (Shane Lestideau), viola da gamba (Laura Moore), theorbo and baroque guitar (Samantha Cohen).
TICKETS: www.trybooking.com/DMDDU
evergreen ensemble
'WATER OF LIFE'
Sun 11 OCT
5:00pm, Geelong Basilica
Windfire Music festival 2026
Experience the magic of Antonio Vivaldi's virtuosic concerto for two violins alongside his rarely-performed concerto for viola d'amore in D major. Sparkling sonatas for three violins written in Venice in the 16th and 17th centuries by Gabrieli and Marini showcase the development of the instrument during the Italian baroque period. Completing the program are traditional Scottish tunes from the Isle of Skye and the Highland regions as well as Italianate sonatas and variation sets composed in 18th-century Edinburgh.
evergreen ensemble
shane lestideau & Meredith beardmore
'HER MUSICK BOOK' TOUR
In Edinburgh, 1734, two women sit down to play tunes they have just copied into a new practice book…
In Goulburn, 1980, a curious musician spies this book atop an old piano…
In New South Wales, 2026, two women sit down to play 300-year-old suites from the Arthour-Wight manuscript on the fiddle and flute…
Uncover the story of the Arthour-Wight Manuscript and experience its music as it would have been heard centuries ago.
Carefully compiled in the 1730s by two young women of Scottish high society, the Arthour-Wight Manuscript – etched with their own handwriting – was discovered more than 200 years later tucked safely inside a piano at Riversdale Homestead, Goulburn’s oldest settlement.
Discover the theories as to how the manuscript made its way to Australia and what the research reveals about the musical pursuits and personal lives of Margrat Arthour – born into an influential and controversial Scottish family in 1710 – and her friend, Helen Wight.
The presentation is followed by a 1-hour concert of music from the Arthour-Wight manuscript played on period instruments. The music has been arranged for baroque violin, viola d’amore, and baroque flute, along with recorded vignettes to weave the historical sound-world of 1730s Edinburgh into the program.
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Shane Lestideau – baroque violin, viola d’amore, research
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Meredith Beardmore – baroque flute, recorded samples
