Brisbane Bach Unwrapped 2026

Bach Unwrapped | 20–30 March 2026
10 Days • 10 Events • 2 Artists • Mini-Festival Microtour

About

Celebrate the music of Johann Sebastian Bach in a series of intimate concerts, masterclasses, and special events across Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast. From solo cello explorations to collaborative performances with guest violinist Margaret Blades, and cellist Louise King,

Bach Unwrapped invites audiences and emerging artists to experience Bach’s music in new, immersive ways. Experience Bach up close in intimate halls, studios, cafes, and outdoor spaces, while supporting emerging artists in our masterclasses. The 2026 program engages music lovers of all ages, with online audiences joining via Instagram LIVE sessions.

Concert Program

• Support Act: Masterclass Artist - solo movement by J.S. Bach

• Headline Artist: Margaret Blades - Partita in E major (solo violin)

• Interval: meet & mingle with the artists

• Headline Artist: Louise King - Suite in C major (solo cello)

• Headline Duo: Two-Part Inventions & beloved Bach works

Small, acoustic, immersive, join us to listen to the joy, architecture and brilliance of Bach. An intimate afternoon of solo and duo instrumental music by baroque composer, J.S. Bach. Join celebrated English cellist Louise King and Australian violinist Margaret Blades for Bach Unwrapped, a rare opportunity to experience solo and chamber music up close.

2026 Program

1. Friday 20 March 5:30 PM Bach’s Birthday Bash Studio Session Eudlo Sunshine Coast

2. Saturday 21 March 1:30-2:30 PM Bach Unwrapped Masterclass for Emerging Artists Ithaca Hall, Red Hill, BRISBANE

3. Saturday 21 March 3-5 PM Bach Unwrapped Concert featuring guest artist Margaret Blades (violin) Louise King (cello) Ithaca Hall, Red Hill BRISBANE

4. Sunday 22 March 1:30-2:30 PM Bach Unwrapped Masterclass for Emerging Artists Woombye School of Arts, Sunshine Coast

5. Sunday 22 March 3-5 PM Bach Unwrapped Concert featuring guest artist Margaret Blades (violin) Louise King (cello) Woombye School of Arts, Sunshine Coast 

6. Tuesday 24 March - Friday 27 March Daily 12 PM AEST Bach At Lunch Instagram LIVE featuring Louise King (Cello Dreaming) 

7. Friday 27 March 5:30-6:30pm Bach in the Park, Olsen Mill Park, Eudlo, Sunshine Coast featuring Louise King (Cello Dreaming) 

8. Saturday 28 March 5:30-7:30pm Bach at The Barn, featuring guest artist Margaret Blades (violin) Louise King (cello) Private Property Eerwahvale, Eumundi, Noosa Hinterland

9. Sunday 29 March 3-5pm Bach Unwrapped Concert featuring guest artist Margaret Blades (violin) Louise King (cello) The Nook, Shop 10/1 Diamond Street, Cooroy, Noosa Hinterland 

10. Monday 30 March 10-11 AM Bach & Brunch at Eudlo General Store featuring Louise King (Cello Dreaming) 

Headline Artists

• Margaret Blades – Violin

• Louise King – Cello

Our support artists performing first in our public concerts are Masterclass Artists TBA.  

About Our Artists

Margaret Blades - Violin

Margaret Blades is a distinguished Australian violinist, chamber musician, and educator. She is Co-Artistic Director of Gold Coast Chamber Orchestra, guest artist for Southern Cross Soloists, and Creative Director at Bond University, Gold Coast.

Formerly Concertmaster of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Associate Concertmaster of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, Margaret has forged a career performing with Australia’s leading ensembles, including the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Sydney Symphony, and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

As a soloist, she has appeared with the Adelaide Symphony, Tasmanian Symphony, and West Australian Symphony Orchestra, performing works by Vivaldi, Ross Edwards, Richard Mills, and James Ledger, including a notable performance of Vivaldi’s Double Violin Concerto alongside Nigel Kennedy. 

She has performed internationally in New Zealand and the USA, including Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with Emerson String Quartet violist Lawrence Dutton. A sought-after collaborator, Margaret has shared the stage with Michael Goldschlager, Geoffrey Tozer, and Geoffrey Lancaster, and has been featured on ABC Classic FM and at major festivals across Australia.

Louise King - Cello 

Louise King is an award-winning, internationally trained Australian cellist, Festival Artistic Director, mentor, and educator based on Gubbi Gubbi Country,Sunshine Coast. 

Equally fluent across classical, baroque, contemporary, jazz, and global folk traditions, she has recorded seventeen albums with ABC Classics, Corella, and Naxos, and collaborated with leading independent composers and singer-songwriters Australia-wide. 

Louise’s professional orchestral career spanned Europe and Asia, including positions with the BBC Philharmonic, Halle Orchestra, and Hong Kong Philharmonic, performing in iconic venues from London’s Royal Albert Hall to Hong Kong’s Cultural Centre before she moved to Australia in 2003. She has shared the stage with global icons including U2, Andrea Bocelli, and Diana Krall, as well as Australia’s finest artists, such as Kate Miller-Heidke, Katie Noonan, Karin Schaupp and Sara Macliver.

A graduate of London’s Royal College of Music, Manchester’s Royal Northern College, and New York’s Lincoln Centre’s Global Teaching Artist Lab, Louise now designs community programs, mentors emerging and established artists, and leads professional development for councils, and arts organisations. 

As Artistic Director of Long Listen Festival, Cello Dreaming and founder of Muses Trio, which was the recipient of the 2025 APRA Australian Music Centre Luminary Award, she champions women in music and curates transformative, internationally inspired performance and learning experiences.

A Message from Louise King

“International music festivals program Bach as a music centrepiece, as it is a moving and profound listening experience. In Leipzig, Germany, the chance to hear Bach’s solo works has become a pilgrimage for audiences, a way to pay homage to his genius and to artists who perform his works. Living on the Sunshine Coast for the last twenty years, I have yet to find a venue, music organisation or a festival that programs and produces concerts of his music. So, I do and I champion it.”