Ukulele players from the Hunter will take to the stage at this weekend’s Melbourne Ukulele Festival. (Feb 25 – March 1)
Around twenty players from the Newcastle Ukestra and its sister groups at Lake Macquarie, Maitland and Port Stephens will perform a half hour set as part of the Melbourne festival which was held for the first time last year.
Ukestra founder Mark Jackson says “it’s the first major festival performance for the group, which has played at a range of smaller events over the last year.”
Jackson formed the Newcastle Ukestra 18 months ago with a handful of players and the membership has since exploded to 150 people across the Hunter region.
He also teaches Ukulele in schools.
The tiny stringed instrument has been around for more than a century after Portuguese immigrants took it to Hawaii, but Australia is now at the forefront of a worldwide resurgence with annual festivals being held in Melbourne, Cairns and the Blue Mountains.
The Newcastle Ukestra will represent Australia at the 41st Hawaiian Ukulele Festival in July.
Check out this link :
http://www.nbntv.com.au/index.php/2010/11/15/ukulele-revival-newcastle-ukestra/
