Justine Cormack is the festival director for At the World’s Edge Festival and is one of the founding members eight years ago, along with UK-based violinist Benjamin Baker.
As a professional violinist, Cormack has a love for her art that has taken her all over the country and the world.
Before moving to Queensbury, near Wanaka, eight years ago, she had helped set up NZ Trio, a piano, violin and cello ensemble in 2002.
She is now the concertmaster with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra and previously was the concertmaster of the Auckland Philharmonia.
As exciting as her travels around the country were, moving to the district meant the discovery of a hidden gem. She then felt a calling to combine the beauty of her new home with her love for classical music.
With Baker performing in the UK and Cormack being a local, the pair were able to bring the two worlds together in harmony.
"Bringing those two worlds together to create a festival that puts the best musicians from around the world on stage with our best musicians from New Zealand."
There was also something unique about having the festival in the district. Ms Cormack had performed all over the country and overseas, but came to the realisation that the Queenstown Lakes District was not a common place for classical musicians to play.
"I was really keen to create more of that opportunity in Queenstown ... but also obviously we have all these travellers coming in and I want them to experience the best of New Zealand creativity."
She said, after several years of running the festival, she could see the many benefits it brought the community.
Cormack noted that tickets sold fast and there was always a growing interest in the performances. It gave the community a chance to experience something different as they escaped the pressures of life and entered a world of rhythm and harmony.
"Quite honestly with many of the things that are going on in the world, it’s those really personal, emotional, life-affirming experiences that are so valuable," she said.
The festival starts on October 4 and runs until October 17. Most of venues are in Queenstown, Wānaka and Cromwell.
