From one name to another
The event known from 2003 as the Murray River International Music Festival was reported under the Mildura Summer Music Festival name by 2018. Press coverage that January in Sunraysia Daily explained the change in passing, noting the festival's earlier title and the years it had been bringing musicians to the district.
The Italian link
Sunraysia Daily reported that the 2018 artists were almost entirely from Italy, and the festival's chair presented the event as a celebration of Italy and of the historic link between Italy and Sunraysia. A January 2020 article likewise described programming at the Mildura Arts Centre that drew together Italian and Australian musical influences.
The festival's founders, the brothers Sergio and Stefano de Pieri, are credited with initiating it, and the pairing of Italian and Australian musicians was already its stated idea under the earlier name.
What we can and cannot confirm
Coverage of the festival thins out after 2020, and we could not confirm any later edition. It is therefore written about here in the past tense. For the earlier years of the event, including its touring route along the Murray, see our page on the Murray River International Music Festival.
Further reading
- Sunraysia Daily, 'Festival of musical variety' and 'Music festival hits town', January 2018
- Sunraysia Daily, 'Be taken on musical journey at Mildura Arts Centre', January 2020