From August 8 to 10 the festival Surprise! will feature symphonies, operas and other performances by many New England artists.

The festival receives its name from Joseph Haydn’s symphony of that nickname which features a big bang aimed at waking up sleeping audience members.

Armidale Piano Duo will perform the symphony on the Saturday morning at 10am.

Following in the theme of great immigrant British composers, Isla Biffin will play George Frideric Handel’s Harp Concerto.

Armidale recorder players Elana and Shae Leske will also play music by Handel and Lennox Berkeley.

But organiser say the highlight of the weekend will be Henry Purcell’s Did & Aeneas, an opera of three short acts.

Singers from Newcastle and Tamworth will unite for An Evening of Light Opera and Beyond on Saturday at 7pm.

There will also be excerpts from Gilbert and Sullivan followed by highlights of My Fair Lady, a medley of great songs by The Beatles and Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.

Earlier on Saturday organists from the New England will also perform British organ music on two of the city’s British organs: the 1879 Father Willis at the Uniting Church and the Hunter of St Peter’s Cathedral.

At 2pm on that day singers from Armidale, Newcastle and Tamworth will perform opera and on Sunday at noon instrumentalists from this city and Bellingen will play chamber music from the 18th to the 20th century.

The closing concert at 2.30pm is shared by the Armidale Choral Society, directed by Jan-Piet Knijff, and accompanied by Lena Schmalz on the organ, and a cappella Nova from Newcastle, directed by Samantha Cobcroft and accompanied by Vincent Parmeter on piano.