Cooper and Hammond will perform a series of concerts and school workshops for Queensland Music Festival’s (QMF) Cooper & Hammond: Classics, Gypsy and Jazz from July 25 to August 1.

Cooper and Hammond will also visit Atherton, Innisfail, Palm Island, Charters Towers and Gladstone in an effort to make  music  accessible to regional and remote Queenslanders. The tour will visit Palm Island and Burketown for the first time.

Cooper and Hammond are two of Australia’s  finest classical musicians, and have performed around the world.

ARIA Award-winning Cooper is the country’s most exciting virtuoso violinist. He was commissioned to compose and perform the Tin Symphony for the opening ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games; and has appeared with Silverchair, Simon Tedeschi, Barry White, and the Hoodoo Gurus.

Hammond has performed across the world and worked with  Lalo Schifrin, Patrick Zimmerli and Vishwa Mohan Bhatt. She is also the founder of Girl Truck Piano, a project presenting concerts in remote locations worldwide.

It will be the second flying tour  in QMF 2015. The first  will see Emma Pask and the John Morrison Trio fly to remote and regional west Queensland from July 16 to 22 with their  Latin, jazz and soul sounds.

Cooper, Hammond, Pask and the John Morrison Trio will all perform  at QMF’s regional  event, Mount Isa Celebrates.

Artistic director James Morrison said QMF was the only festival in Australia, and possibly the world, to reach such a large geographic area.

“Cooper & Hammond: Classics, Gypsy and Jazz is an important part of our regional and community program, and reflects QMF’s commitment to offering regional and remote communities the opportunity to experience sublime music,” Mr Morrison said. “QMF wants to transform the lives of Queenslanders through music, whether people live in Brisbane or the furthest-flung regions of Cape York. Geographical barriers shouldn’t be a deterrent to presenting a festival of great music that is truly statewide.”