The Melbourne Recital Centre was filled with applause on Wednesday night, as the musical production Alexander the Great: Pioneering Multiculturalism drew to a close.

More than 900 people filled the venue to experience what has been dubbed one of the most well-produced concerts on Hellenic culture to hit the stage in Australia – not at all surprising given the names involved.

Presented by the Australian Institute of Macedonian Studies (AIMS) in collaboration with the Greek Community of Melbourne and Victoria and the Pan-Macedonian Association, the evening was a chance to honour the life of Alexander the Great and his many achievements, and to mark the 30th anniversary of AIMS’ foundation.

Famed composer Christos Ioannidis wrote the score, which was brought to life by the 25-piece Camerata Chamber Orchestra led by conductor Douglas Heywood OAM, together with the 52-member Camerata Chorus. Performing as part of the group were multi-award-winning baritone Adrian McEniery and nationally-renowned soprano Lauren Savrasov (Oldham).

Meanwhile, throughout the concert, Rena Frangioudakis and Vaios Anastassopoulos narrated the story to ensure the audience was able to stay on track, with explanations in both Greek and English.

As the name suggests, an important running theme throughout the production was Alexander’s role in pioneering multiculturalism and promoting Hellenic ideals within a vast multicultural empire. While the narrative may date back thousands of years, the vision continues to resonate even in 2016, as leaders from countries like Australia and others with tighter borders, seek to find ways to bring different cultural and inter-faith groups together and live in greater harmony.

President of the AIMS, Professor Anastasios Tamis, said that while he prefers to leave the final verdict up to the audience, he was extremely pleased with the execution of the production and expressed his thanks to all involved.

“Naturally I must thank Christos Ioannidis for his excellent creation of music, combining Greek, contemporary and classical, and also our conductor for the excellent performance and the implementation of Christos’ composition. My sincere thanks to Rena Frangioudakis and Vaios Anastassopoulos for their narrations, and our charismatic diva Lauren and tenor Adrian McEniery,” Professor Tamis told Neos Kosmos.

But for the professor, it was ultimately the huge turn-out of numbers on the night and their enthusiasm that left the most impressive mark.

“It was a combined effort. It proves that by Hellenes in Australia closely working with Australian artists, we are able and capable of presenting these kinds of concerts, sharing the mainstream facilities and the mainstream talent. And this combination of talents, I think, is enriching multiculturalism and also enriches the cohesion we should have.”