Forbes Town Hall will come alive with music on Sunday 18 May as two lifelong friends and musicians reunite to share their passion - and two spectacular instruments - in a unique concert for a cause.
Local talent Maz Rees and Sydney-based Grant Barton will blend the rich tones of the pipe organ with the modern versatility of the electone, bringing together an eclectic program of music that spans genres and eras.
Entry is by donation to CanAssist, with all proceeds supporting local families affected by cancer.
Maz and Grant first met as children in Forbes, learning music together and performing in local eisteddfods.
That shared love of music still thrives and it’s brought them together again, this time to celebrate a musical treasure tucked away in Town Hall: the late Paul Coles’ custom-built pipe organ.
“We decided we should do something to bring it to life a little bit and celebrate the amazing instrument that is sitting in the Town Hall,” Grant said.
So they began: bringing together a whole range of musical pieces from different genres, arranging and rearranging them for pipe organ or two organs.
Now the big day is almost here and they’re hoping the community will join them in a wonderful morning of music.
The duo has spent months arranging music for the concert, drawing from everything from film scores and pop tunes to nostalgic ballads like When Smoke Gets in Your Eyes and theatrical classics such as Phantom of the Opera.
Maz, who has a degree in music composition, has brought the Town Hall organ to life for numerous local events, while Grant, who studied in Japan and competed in the Yamaha Electone Festival, brings with him a passion for electronic organ music - and a few impressive electones brought back from overseas.
“What I love is that you can create anything you want to create on this instrument - and since I started the technology in these instruments has improved ten-fold,” Grant said.
“It can be an orchestra if you want it to be, it can be a rock band if you want it to be, it can a simple string quartet, it can sound like a jazz trio – it can do any of that and I think that’s what makes it so exciting for me.
“This instrument is so powerful and creates such magic.”
The pipe organ is locally significant for Forbes as it was custom made for the late Paul Coles and hosted concerts upstairs in his Forbes Builders Supply store for years. He gifted it to Forbes Shire Council – and Maz and Grant both believe the instrument has much to give Forbes.
“The tone of the wind passing through those wooden pipes, feeling that reverberation through the Town Hall is just something that you can’t describe,” Grant said.
“You need to feel it and that’s what we’re trying to achieve with the concert.
“It’s going to be this amazing mix of traditional and modern together.”
The two will move back and forth between pipe organ and electone, playing solos and duets, and this in itself is interesting for the performers.
You can prepare your performance for the electone: literally save the settings you want to a USB and plug it into the instrument before you begin to play. Changes during play can be made with a flick of your foot.
The pipe organ is of course manual.
“Every time you want to play a song you’ve got to pull out a stop, you’ve got to push one in,” Grant said.
“When you’re performing if you want to change a sound, you’ve got to reach out, pull out a stop.”
They can't wait to share these incredible instruments with the community in concert.
On Sunday 18 May doors open at 10am with the music to begin at 10.30am. Entry is by donation to CanAssist.
Maz and Grant thank Jolene Jones and Forbes Shire Council for their support in both enabling rehearsals, in the venue hire and morning tea for the occasion.