Atherton Tablelands Chamber Music Festival

01/06/2026

One more month until early bird sale ends! If you haven’t yet decided here is the full program 🥳 🎵

17/05/2026

13/05/2026

The incredible Haydn ‘Guitar’ Quartet was discovered in Brussels in a collection that contained chamber works attributed to Joseph Haydn for lute and strings. However, scholars later realized these pieces were actually versions of existing Haydn string quartets: the so-called “Lute Quartet in D” corresponds to String Quartet Op. 2 No. 2, and the “Cassation” matches Quartet Op. 1 No. 6.

This edition is arranged by Karl Scheit who argues that Haydn probably did not originally compose these works for lute. Instead, they were most likely arranged by musicians of the time, following a common 18th-century practice of adapting popular chamber music for different instruments. The surviving lute parts appear to have been created by combining material from the violin and bass lines, which caused awkward voice leading and technical problems because the lute sounds an octave lower than written.

For his edition, Scheit returned to Haydn’s authentic string quartet scores and rewrote the lute part so it could be performed effectively on the modern guitar while preserving the structure of the original music. He also notes historical references suggesting Haydn may indeed have written some music involving lute, though no autograph manuscripts have survived.

Ultimately, Scheit believes that since Haydn’s music was performed with lute during the composer’s lifetime, these arrangements deserve continued life in modern performance, including with guitar as the lute’s natural successor. This work will be performed on 18/07 at 3:30pm with our festival ensemble and Danish classical guitarist Simon Thielke!

12/05/2026

On the program at this year’s festival!!! 🥳

Ralph Vaughan Williams’s The Lark Ascending is one of the most beloved works in classical music: a serene, dreamlike piece for solo violin and ensemble that tries to capture the feeling of a skylark rising into the sky while singing.

It was written in 1914, just before World War I, and revised after the war. Vaughan Williams based it on a poem by George Meredith, whose lines appear at the top of the score:

“He rises and begins to round,
He drops the silver chain of sound…”

10/05/2026

🎶 We’re extending our early bird festival pass prices a little longer! ❤️

Join us for all 4 concerts in the wonderful Herberton Shire Hall and enjoy a weekend of music featuring works by:

✨ Haydn
✨ Mozart
✨ Korngold
✨ Reinecke
✨ Vaughan Williams
✨ Elgar
✨ Leclair
✨ Paganini

From classical favourites to rarely heard gems, it’s a program we’re really excited to bring to the festival 🎻🎹🎶

01/02/2026

🎶 Atherton Tablelands Chamber Music Festival – Celebrating Milestones in 2026 🎶

This year marks a very special moment for the Atherton Tablelands Chamber Music Festival as we celebrate 10 years of regional chamber music and our fifth festival — a decade of bringing great music to the heart of the Tablelands.

Over the years, our stages have been filled with unforgettable performances, including

✨ String Quartets by Haydn, Mendelssohn and Tchaikovsky
✨ Schumann’s Fantasie for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 131 and Sibelius’ Suite for Violin and String Orchestra, Op.117
✨ Piano Trios by Arensky, Hush and Dvořák
✨ Guitar concertos by Tansman and Rodrigo and de Fossa Guitar Trio
✨ Solo violin works by Locatelli, Paganini, Sculthorpe, Ysaÿe and Bach
✨ Duo for Cello and Violin M.73 by Ravel and Cello Sonata No.1 in E minor, Op.38 by Brahms
+ much,much more

These highlights reflect the depth, brilliance and diversity of music we’ve been privileged to share with our wonderfully supportive arts community over the past decade.

🎟 Early Bird Festival passes are now on sale, with remaining individual tickets released on 1 March.

03/01/2026

✨ 🎶 Happy New Year! 🎶✨
As we head into our 5th Festival Edition (!!!) we’re proud to also celebrate 9 continuous years of chamber music concerts, workshops and regional arts development on the Atherton Tablelands. Stay tuned - 2026 dates coming very soon!

28/10/2025

🇦🇺 🇸🇪 🇩🇰

Project with Oresund Quartet kicked off in September with these incredible musicians! Greatful for my participation and repertoire development to be supported by the Australian Government’s Regional Arts Fund.

🇦🇺 🇸🇪 🇩🇰

27/08/2025

👀 What’s On Magazine Tablelands - 🐮 cowboys…and a little feature of the 2025 festival 🎵 😁

23/07/2025

And that was 2025!! Thank you to our wonderful community and visitors from as far as Perth, Melbourne and various parts of NSW and SA 🎵 We hope you have experienced something special as we certainly think our celebration of Regional Arts in FNQ is Unique 🎭 🦎

🎵 To all our performers including Charlotte Nunn and our Festival Ensemble thank you 🙏
🎶 Thank you to Billycart Brewing Co. as well as Uptown Music Teaching Studios Atherton and not least The Arts Council Tablelands Inc. - Tactic for your support
🎵 To the Tablelands Regional Council for their support through the Regional Arts Development Fund - ensuring pathways for development - this year through our Children’s Concert/Workshop.
🎵 Nik's Snacks for keeping our crowds nourished and cared for with beautiful 🇮🇹 food and coffee