THE Mourne Chamber Music Festival will return to Newcastle next month.
This is the second year of the event and it is taking place from the 28th to the 30th of August.
The festival organisers are calling on all music lovers to support the three-day festival in any way they can.
The festival hosts a group of young professional musicians from Northern Ireland and further afield to perform chamber music by a variety of composers in the beautiful setting of Newcastle Community Cinema.
It is organised by Orla McGarrity, from Newcastle, who is hoping to build on the success of last year’s inaugural event.
There will be three evening performances featuring a mixture of pieces by composers such as Fanny Hensel, Franz Schubert and Hans Krasa.
“If you don’t know any of those names or what a string quartet is, that’s totally fine!” the organisers added.
“We’re a friendly bunch of musicians and like to chat to the audience after each performance so come along and discover something new.
“We will be welcoming back some familiar faces, such as The Talland Quartet and violist Jamie Howe, but are also looking forward to introducing some new musicians to the local community, such as Scottish violinist Audrey Doyle and British Asian classical guitarist Ravi Nathwani.
“Last year was a great success and we want to continue to build on that.
“We are passionate about showing people that classical music can and should be for everyone and have designed the programme to represent this.”
Unfortunately, this year the festival organisers were not able to secure funding from Newry, Mourne and Down District Council.
They had been successful in the funding process last year and were optimistic that they would receive funding again in 2025.
They explained that receiving funding is very important to enable events such as this one to flourish.
“As a young organisation, we depend greatly on grants and sponsorships to operate, and we are now reaching out to local businesses for assistance,” the organisers added.
“If our mission resonates with you and you believe you can support us this year, please get in contact via the contact form on our website. Your generosity could ensure the future of Mourne Chamber Music Festival.”
The Mourne Observer contacted the district council to ask about the process of funding applications.
In response the district council explained that the application had “passed Stage 2 scoring” but said that “there is insufficient budget available to support all successful applicants”.
The council statement added: “Therefore, the application has been placed on the Scored and Ranked list. Projects on the Scored and Ranked list will be offered funding in rank order should funding become available within this financial year (2025/26).”
However, despite the setback, the Mourne Chamber Music Festival was keen to push on and to deliver another exciting show this year.
They are also developing a new aspect to the festival.
“We’re hoping to organise visits to local care/nursing homes during the rehearsal period to deliver short performances for people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to hear this kind of live music.”
They were planning to attend Daisy Lodge and Lawnfield House on their rehearsal days.
There are a number of ways that local people can support the event.
The organisers said: “We’d love to hear from you if you work somewhere that might be interested in getting involved.
“As we are still a young festival we are continually looking for support to ensure we can come back year after year with top quality events.
“From volunteering or sponsoring one of our events, to helping us look after our musicians there are so many ways you can get involved and lend us a hand.
“We are really keen to work with and promote local businesses where possible and there are also options to join the festival circle through donations.
“Visit the support page on our website to find out more and don’t hesitate to get in contact if you’d like to be involved.”
Tickets are on sale now via the website.
There are a range of options, including student tickets and festival passes.
You can also find information about the event on Instagram and Facebook and their website is www.mournecmf.co.uk
