The group has finished its tour of the state with seven shows held in Hobart, Franklin, Tullah, Burnie, Launceston and St Helens, as well as an Australian digital concert held via livestream.

Van Diemen's Band toured the state in June with an all-Bach program featuring the group's newest member: a harpsichord newly-built in the Spanish workshop of Titus Crijnen, one of the finest craftsmen in the world.

The harpsichord, adorned with Tasmanian flora and fauna drawings, was custom built from donations by supporters of the band and the public

Van Diemen's Band artistic director Julia Fredersdorff said the harpsichord's acquisition was due to an overwhelming fundraising effort.

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"We commissioned this harpsichord back in 2020 and we had a fundraising drive back in that time," she said.

"The harpsichord is very important for a Baroque repertoire, it's in indispensable for the type of music that we play.

"When we were fundraising the aim was to raise $8000, but we ended up raising $40,000, which is why we were able to get this incredible, custom piece."

Ms Fredersdorff said there was one main reason behind the idea to do the Bach concertos tour.

"We wanted to show off this beautiful instrument," she said.

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"We wanted audiences to discover something new. It's a large double manual harpsichord, so it has two keyboards.

Performer Donald Nicolson said the harpsichord was an integral part of music from the 17th and 18th centuries.

"We are playing some concertos that are written for the harpsichord," he said.

"Different to a grand piano, the harpsichord is not as powerful and bold but instead creates great textures and rhythms that guide the concertos.

"Not only does the harpsichord sound incredible, it also looks amazing too and has emblems of Tasmania with gold leaf, making it uniquely Tasmanian for our Tasmanian group."

Founded in 2016 by violinist Julia Fredersdorff, the Van Diemen's Band varies in size from an intimate chamber group to a larger mid-18 century orchestra.

Nicolson was the soloist in two of Johann Sebastian's concertos for the instrument, together with the Violin Concerto in A minor BWV 1041 featuring VDB's artistic director Julia Fredersdorff and the spell-binding Air from the Suite No 3, better-known as the Air on the G String.

The group works with regular guest directors, such as French Baroque specialist Martin Gester, exploring the creativity and freedom of expression in music of the period while deferring to historical sources on style and instrumentation.

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