The festival is in its third year and focuses on premiere or rarely performed long form works. It has received critical praise from around the world.

Trumpeter Callum G’Froerer will host a Cushion Concert for pre-school aged children in The Capital’s Banquet Room at 10.30am while guest ensemble The Amplified Elephants will run a music-making working shop in the Bendigo Bank Theatre.

A special performance of Igor Stravinsky’s Fanfare for a New Theatre (1964) will be performed in the foyer of Ulumbarra on Friday night ahead of Maudite Soit La Guerre, a 1914 anti-war film that will feature a live score from the Argonaut Ensemble.

Stravinsky’s Fanfare was originally composed for the opening of the Lincoln Centre in New York.

Yesterday, French ensemble Sound Initiative spent the afternoon rehearsing at The Capital.

“It’s the first time we have played in the southern hemisphere, so its a big deal for us,” violist Winnie Huang said.

“We have passed through Singapore and New Zealand already. This is the third country and biggest festival we are doing.

Ms Huang, who was born and raised in Melbourne said Sound Initiative is made of of mostly French performers as well as Polish, Italian and Austrian talents.

“We’re a young ensemble and for us to be able to play a program like this is a good way for us to showcase what we doing in our part of the world,” Ms Huang said.

“What we try to do is present two shows that show lots of different types of exploratory music. 

The ensemble’s Friday performance at The Capital, The Exhausted, is their showcase show while Saturday’s Ulumbarra show, Made in France, is more of an exploratory music sampler.

The ensemble’s performance of The Exhausted is by composer Bernhard Lang that has been co-commissioned by BIFEM.

BIFEM runs until Sunday, September 6. For more information or to see the full program, visit www.bifem.com.au