Zelman Symphony capacity audiences of Mahler's epic Eighth Symphony - the "Symphony of a Thousand" - at the Melbourne Town Hall. In what was believed to be "a first" for an Australian Community Orchestra, the performances involved over 580 performers including an augmented Zelman Symphony of some 125 players led by Guest Concertmaster, Wilma Smith, Concertmaster of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO), and featuring many guest principal players from the MSO and other top orchestras and music institutions. David Macfarlane played the magnificent organ, a 370 voice choir was formed from nine community choirs, and an 80 voice children's choir involved students
A Thousand Lives interviews, Scheeres presents a heart-breaking portrait of belief, survival and loss in this idyllic community. The book was critically acclaimed and widely reviewed. "The San Francisco Chronicle" wrote that it was "Riveting... unforgettable... heart-breaking... bone-chilling. You will not be able to look away." "The Los Angeles Times Book Review" wrote, "Scheeres convincingly portrays the members of this community as victims, not fools. It's hard to imagine how people might be so browbeaten, afraid and misled that they would bring about their own deaths—but Scheeres has made that terrifying story believable and human." A Thousand Lives A Thousand Lives: the Untold