Celebrating its 30th anniversary, the Canberra International Music Festival’s program for 2024 takes on the spirit of the word mulanggari – ‘alive’ in the language of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people – and all its vivid, joyful connotations.

CIMF 2023. Fairies and Fools. Photo © Peter Hislop.

2024 will the final of Artistic Director Roland Peelman‘s leadership tenure, which began in 2015. He will be succeeded by Eugene Ughetti, whose term commences in July.

Spanning 1–5 May, the 2024 Festival has been halved in length from the traditional 10-day structure. The bash begins a little earlier, too, with Nicole Smede’s A Major Lift commission ushering in the festival on 30 April.

Smede’s new work will be performed in a solo set by soprano Lotte Betts-Dean in the first Verity Solo Session for voice and electronics, which also includes pieces by Kaija Saariaho, Caroline Shaw and Linda Buckley.

Officially opened with a Welcome to Country on 1 May by...