Australian Festival of Chamber Music Scores Funding Boost

The Australian Festival of Chamber Music has secured two funding grants as it prepares to launch a new chapter in Cairns this July.

The Festival has been awarded $180,000 over two years through the Queensland Government's Cultural Tourism Fund, and a further $45,000 from the Donald and Joan Wilson Foundation to support the AFCM Fellowship Ensemble, the Orpheus Quintet, on a regional northern Queensland tour.

The Queensland Government funding will support the launch of Global Chamber Voices, a new two-year cultural tourism initiative designed to bring internationally renowned chamber ensembles exclusively to Cairns. The program is expected to draw interstate and Indo-Pacific visitors while generating economic, artistic and community outcomes through performances, residencies and public engagement programs.

"AFCM is in a moment of tremendous change," AFCM Executive Director, Ricardo Peach, said.

"Global Chamber Voices will create distinctive, high-quality and accessible cultural experiences designed to cement AFCM's position as a premier event for international and interstate visitors in its new home of Cairns, with particular emphasis on strategic markets throughout the Indo-Pacific region.

"Cairns is globally recognised for its natural attractions and gateway access to World Heritage-listed wonders, yet there is enormous opportunity to further strengthen its profile as a cultural destination. This initiative is designed to harness that opportunity by anchoring internationally significant artistic residencies in Cairns, enhancing the city's cultural tourism offering while supporting the Queensland Government's priorities under Destination 2045 and Queensland's Time to Shine arts strategy."

The second grant sees the Donald and Joan Wilson Foundation provide $45,000 to support the Orpheus Quintet — a Sydney-based wind ensemble formed at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music — as they undertake a regional tour across northern Queensland following their return to AFCM in 2026.

Comprising flautist Kara Thorpe, oboist Gahyun Lee, clarinettist Justin Wang, bassoonist Dylan Roberts and French horn player Jude Austen Kaup, the quintet is rapidly building a national reputation for vibrant performances, technical precision and collaborative energy. After participating in AFCM's Pathways Program in 2025, the ensemble has now been named the Festival's Fellowship Ensemble for 2026.

The regional tour will take the quintet from Port Douglas to Proserpine, delivering performances and workshops to communities across the north. It will also feature the world premiere of Along the Pacific Flyway, a newly commissioned work by Australian composer Sam Wu, developed during his residency in Cairns as part of the AFCM Emerging Composers Program.

That program recently secured an additional two-year $96,000 grant from Creative Australia through Music Australia, further underscoring the Festival's commitment to nurturing the next generation of Australian composers.

The Australian Festival of Chamber Music runs from July 24th to August 1st. Tickets are on sale now.