The West Cork Chamber Music Festival is a music festival, established in 1995, in the town of

Bantry Bantry () is a town in the civil parish of Kilmocomoge in the barony of Bantry on the southwest coast of County Cork, Ireland. It lies in West Cork at the head of Bantry Bay, a deep-water gulf extending for to the west. The Beara Peninsula is ...

West Cork West Cork ( ga, Iarthar Chorcaí) is a tourist region and municipal district in County Cork, Ireland. As a municipal district, West Cork falls within the administrative area of Cork County Council, and includes the towns of Bantry, Castletownbe ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It usually occurs in July.

Performers

The festival's performers have included the

RTÉ Vanbrugh Quartet The Vanbrugh, often styled The Vanbrugh and Friends and previously the RTÉ Vanbrugh Quartet, is an Irish classical musical group. The resident string quartet to Raidió Teilifís Éireann, Ireland's national broadcasting service, until 2013, ...

, Barry Douglas,

Nicola Benedetti Nicola Joy Nadia Benedetti (born 20 July 1987) is an Italian-British classical solo violinist and festival director. Her ability was recognised when she was a child, including the award of BBC Young Musician of the Year when she was 16. She w ...

Tanja Becker-Bender Tanja Becker-Bender (born 11 February 1978) is a German violinist. She lives in Berlin and Hamburg. Musical career Born in Stuttgart, Becker-Bender has performed since age of eleven as a soloist on international stages under the baton of Kur ...

and

Natalie Clein Natalie Clein (born Poole, Dorset) is a British classical cellist. Her mother is a professional violinist. Her sister is the actress Louisa Clein. Early life and education Clein started playing the cello at the age of six, and attended T ...

. Presented works have included some by contemporary composers, such as

Thomas Larcher Thomas Larcher (born 16 September 1963, in Innsbruck) is an Austrian composer and pianist. Biography and Work Thomas Larcher completed his studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna under Heinz Medjimorec and Elisabeth Leonsk ...

Venues and activities

Performances take place at venues around the town, including Bantry House and St Brendan's Church. Bantry House is the central venue; its drawing room has a capacity of about 50. The festival has included presentations on violin and bow making, master classes, and composition competitions whose past winners include Harry Whalley, Sebastian Adams and Solfa Carlisle. It has also held competitions for young composers.

References

{{coord missing, County Cork Bantry Music festivals in Ireland Classical music festivals in Ireland Tourist attractions in County Cork Chamber music festivals