Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra has announced its 2026 season with four programs set to tour to Brisbane and Toowomba, and a special event to kick off the year.

Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra. Photo supplied

At Brisbane Powerhouse on 31 January, Musical Meditations invites audiences to bring their own mats, lie down and unwind for an hour-long program featuring music by Bach, Pärt, Barber and 2025 Emerging Composer-in-Residence Abigail Lui.

Classic Alchemy(20–21 February), offering a program where “tradition meets transformation” in the form of a Brahms sextet, Ethel Smyth’s Suite For Strings, Michael Patterson’s Concertino For Double Bass and String Orchestra (featuring Principal Bass Marian Heckenberg) and Carl Vine’s Smith’s Alchemy – an expansion of his Third String Quartet for string orchestra.

Following this, Revolution Remixed (29–30 May) features Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition in an arrangement by Australian composer Julian Yu.

Brisbane-born pianist and harpsichordist Anthony Romaniuk is guest musician in Old. New. Borrowed. Blue (20–22 August), featuring in his arrangements of works by Des Prèz and Dave Brubeck and in his own Blue Poles. The program also features music by Mustonen, Bach, Shostakovich and an arrangement of Aphex Twin’s Blue Calx.

Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra: Your Eternal Memories. Photo © Alex Jamieson

Camerata’s Quartet-in-Residence, the Orava Quartet, performs works by Haydn, Mendelssohn and Janáček in Brisbane and Toowoomba (28–29 October), while Queensland Symphony Orchestra Principal Cellist Hyung Suk Bae is a soloist in Fire and Finesse (12 and 14 November), which brings the season to a close and pairs Mozart’s Symphonies No. 25 and No. 40 with Peter Sculthorpe’s Lament and Françaix’s Variations for Cello and Strings.

Last month, Camerata also announced that violist Sophie Ellis has joined the orchestra as Artistic Associate. Born and raised in Far North Queensland, Ellis was selected for Camerata’s Upbeat Program in 2020 and has performed with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Ensemble Cherubim, amongst other groups.

More about Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra can be found here.