“People forge new friendships at music festivals”. The Australian Festival of Chamber Music, 2023. Photo © Andrew Rankin

“Attending a regional music festival,” says chair of the Australian Festival of Chamber Music, Mary Jo Capps, “means audiences are completely away from distractions. Audiences can immerse themselves fully in the festival offerings.”

Escaping the southern winter to the balmy dry season of Townsville – Gurambilbarra – in North Queensland for the AFCM comes with an added bonus; it lightens the luggage load. T-shirts and togs are acceptable concert wear.

Capps adds that the social interaction is just as important as the festival program. “People forge new friendships at music festivals, and they even get to know the artists.” She says that this also extends to the musicians. “They feed off each other’s energy,” and this manifests itself in the performances, ultimately “stirring the minds and hearts of musicians and audiences alike.”

She says that, at the AFCM, the program also allows audiences to “get in behind the music” via the Concert Conversations series. Here, the artistic director/violinist Jack Liebeck hosts a kind of Q&A with festival artists. Audiences learn all sorts...