2026 Festival Program
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2026 Festival Program
Monday July 27
10:00 am CPAC Studio
AFCM Concert Conversations 2
AFCM Concert Conversations begin each morning with Artistic Director Jack Liebeck in conversation with guest Festival artists, sharing stories and insights from their musical journeys. Each session is followed by a 45-minute performance, with tea and coffee served.
Tickets start from $30 for patrons under 30 years of age and $89 for AFCM Friends.
SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
- Included in Gold and Gold Plus Subscriptions
- Available for selection in Silver & Silver Plus Subscriptions
Concert Details
ANTONIO VIVALDI
Concerto in D major for Guitar, Two Violins, and Continuo, RV 93
DJANGO REINHARDT (Stẻphane Grappelli)
Minor swing
Jack Liebeck, Simon Martyn-Ellis
JORGE MOREL
Danza Brasilera
Karin Schaupp
ROBERT KAHN
Serenade in F minor, Op. 73
Alexander Krichel, Stefan Dohr, Emmanuel Cassimatis
1:00 pm Bulmba-Ja Theatre
AFCM Pathways International Public Masterclass 3
AFCM International Public Masterclasses offer audiences a rare behind-the-scenes insight into the creative process, as AFCM Pathways Program participants work one-on-one with world-class Festival artists. Open to the public, these sessions explore interpretation, technique and musical storytelling in real time, culminating in a special Pathways Showcase concert on Friday 31 July at Bulmba-Ja, at 2:00pm.
AFCM International Public Masterclasses are FREE to attend and open to the general public, Seating is strictly limited.
Concert Details
3:00 pm Bulmba-Ja Theatre
AFCM Illuminates 2 - Einstein the Musician, with Professor Brian Foster
Albert Einstein once said that if he were not a physicist, he would have been a musician. In this illuminating lecture, Professor Brian Foster explores the profound relationship between music and science, revealing how rhythm, harmony and imagination shaped Einstein’s thinking, and how music continues to influence the way we understand the universe.
Tickets start from $30 for patrons under 30 years of age and $41 for AFCM Friends.
SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
- Included in Gold Plus Subscriptions Only
- Available for selection in Silver & Silver Plus Subscriptions
Concert Details
5:00 pm CPAC Theatre
AFCM Ray Golding Sunset Series 2 - Baroque Sunset
Recharge your body and soul with the first of two baroque music concerts!
Tickets start from $30 for patrons under 30 years of age and $69 for AFCM Friends.
SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
- Included in Gold and Gold Plus Subscriptions
- Available for selection in Silver & Silver Plus Subscriptions
Concert Details
JOHANN FRIEDRICH FASCH
Concerto, FaWV L:d1, for gallichon
Stefanie Farrands, Julian Smiles, Jack Liebeck, Emmalena Huning, Simon Martyn-Ellis
HENRY PURCELL
“If music be the food of love” Z. 379A
Robin Tritschler, Simon Martyn-Ellis
HENRY PURCELL
Now that the Sun hath veiled his Light
Robin Tritschler, Simon Martyn-Ellis
HENRY PURCELL
'Tis Nature's Voice, fr. Ode to St. Cecilia
Robin Tritschler, Simon Martyn-Ellis
HENRY PURCELL
Music for a while
Robin Tritschler, Simon Martyn-Ellis
ANTONIO VIVALDI
Trio Sonata in G minor, RV 85
Simon Martyn-Ellis, Dene Olding AM, Julian Smiles
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
Cantata Ich armer Mensch, ich Sündenknecht, BWV 55
Emmalena Huning, Dimity Hall, Joshua Batty, Emmanuel Cassimatis, Robin Tritschler, Irina Morozova, Charlotte Miles, Simon Martyn-Ellis
7:30 pm CPAC Theatre
AFCM Evening Concert 1 - Cairns' Colossal 150th
This evening, we explore pivotal years in Cairns’ history. From 1770—the birth year of Beethoven and the year Captain Cook named the bay on which Cairns was eventually built—to music written in 1876, when the settlement became Cairns, and on to 1923, when it was officially made a city. These wonderful pieces put our new home into a musical perspective.
Tickets start from $30 for patrons under 30 years of age and $86 for AFCM Friends.
SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
- Included in Gold and Gold Plus Subscriptions
- Available for selection in Silver & Silver Plus Subscriptions
Concert Details
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN
Sextet for Two Horns and String Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 81b
Stefanie Farrands, Emmalena Huning, Ben Jacks, Stefan Dohr, Alexander Sitkovetsky, Charlotte Miles
GUSTAV MAHLER
Quartet in A minor for Piano, Violin, Viola, and Cello
Christian-Pierre La Marca, Dene Olding AM, Alexander Krichel, Lise Berthaud
GABRIEL FAURE
Sonata No. 1 in A major for Violin and Piano, Op. 13
Wu Qian, Alexander Sitkovetsky
JOAQUIN TURINA
Sinfonia Sevillana, Op. 29
Karin Schaupp
