Australian Festival of Chamber Music: record ticket sales

Right: Poul Hoxbro and Genevieve Lacey. Below right: Francesca Dego and Jiri Bart.

More photos follow the story.

The Australian Festival of Chamber Music (AFCM) opened in Townsville last weekend starring 42 of the world’s best chamber musicians, under the baton of Artistic Director, Piers Lane. The festival achieved record sales and sold out

status across a raft of events.

Piers Lane said the 2017 program, his final

festival, covered a wider range of music than ever before, with his signature of juxtaposing much-loved repertoire with rare and new works peppered throughout the nine days. “Poul Høxbro will be playing medieval music on the one hand, and on the other, we shall be mounting the world premiere of a new work for string quartet by our Composer-in-Residence for 2017, Sydney-based composer Matthew Hindson, to be played by the Goldners, our Quartet-in-Residence,” he said. “We shall glory in Bach one day and be uplifted by Jake Heggie’s Pieces of 9/11 the next. We shall again take the opportunity for a boat trip to Orpheus Island to view whales and stunning mid-Winter sunsets, and support and celebrate the young artists of the Winterschool on other days.”

Standout events over the weekend included the opening night concert and the Governor’s Gala. Piers Lane was also awarded the Keys to the City for his contribution to the cultural fabric of Townsville over the past 11 years.

Four international artists make their Australian debut at the 27th AFCM including Poul Høxbro (Flutes and Percussion) from Denmark, Italy’s Francesca Dego (Violin), Henk Neven (Baritone) from the Netherlands, and from the United Kingdom, Martin Owen (Horn).

The AFCM concludes this Saturday evening.

Mote stories in Showbiz News.

Mischa Simmonds Loz Copley Piers Lane Kirsty McCahon.

Bonnie Zaghini, Kath Rose and Amy Whebell.