Founder and artist director of the Bendigo International Festival of Exploratory Music David Chisholm says the festival has grown because artist and city support.
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The festival launched into its third year on Wednesday with the release of its 2015 program.
“I can’t get my head around the fact that this is the third one,” Mr Chisholm said.
“This festival doesn't happen because I want it to. It happens because people want to perform in it, people want to see it and they support it.”
This year’s festival will see almost 60 musician perform in almost 30 acts over three days from September 4 to 6.
“That can’t happen unless you are in an environment that supports growth. It’s extraordinary,” Mr Chisholm said.
“What's amazing is that the environment fosters culture but then the culture fosters the environment.
“Once you make that initial investment and take a risk, it makes life better and makes people feel good.”
BIFEM promotes the work of living composers who have created from the 1960s onwards but one performance will be close to Mr Chisholm’s heart.
Igor Stravinsky’s Fanfare for a New Theatre (1964) was composed for the opening of the Lincoln Centre in New York but will feature in the foyer of Ulumbarra on September 4 at 7.20pm.
Argonaut soloists Tristram Williams and Call G’Froerer will perform the piece.
“Stravinsky is very much a spiritual, musical grandfather for me. It is such a privilege to sneak him into the festival,” Mr Chisholm said.
“We might have to revise the era to 1970s onwards for next year. We need to be looking forward with what we do.
“We will always pick out the classics but we are very focused on living composers.”
Mr Chisholm said he wanted to provoke questions from patron when he first launched the festival in 2013.
“One reasons called it exploratory was to confuse people and make them ask 'what is that?' and at least get people asking the questions,” he said.
“I thought exploratory was a good term because it immediately provokes a questions.”
There were always going to be challenges with an exploratory festival but Mr Chisholm said as long as the performances were of a high quality it would be welcomed.
“If you have simple elements and the quality is very good, then don't need to write essays about how good it is, people can find their own way to it,” he said.
BIFEM has proven to be popular with a 200 per cent box office growth between the first and second festivals and recognition coming from all parts of the globe.
“It was incredible to see a 200 percent box office growth. We're not box office focused at all but it is nice,” Mr Chisholm said.
“We were really surprised in Europe at how many people knew about (BIFEM). In the information age the internet connects people that would be usually very disconnected geographically.”
The BIFEM website launches at 4pm today and will feature the entire program.
