Chamber music with a view | 18th–20th April 2025
About
You are invited to the first ever Megalong Music Festival (MMF), nestled in the heart of Blue Mountains’ spectacular Gundungurra country. For three days over Easter 2025, escape the madding crowds to experience exceptional chamber music concerts, immersed in the panoramic views of the Megalong Escarpment. Led by Artistic Director Asmira Woodward-Page, these unique performances will feature distinguished Australian and international guest artists performing alongside emerging talent.
Photo by Gabriel Hutcheon
2025 MMF Fellows Program for Piano and Strings
The 2025 MMF Fellows Program nurtures the next generation of talent through collaboration. Young artists take a deep dive into chamber music’s treasured classics, exciting newer works, and a newly minted collaborative composition, created by our 2025 cohort of guest artists and fellows.
Once our fellows are placed into groups with mentors, their week of hard work is showcased in an atmosphere of vibrant exchange at the festival concerts. These dynamic collaborations between generations of talent – emerging and established – ensure that live music will continue to thrive.
Artists
Concerts @ the Megalong Community Hall
Friday Frolic
Friday, 18th April, 2025 | 5pm
Saturday Sunset
Saturday, 19th April, 2025 | 5pm
Sunday Farewell
Sunday, 20th April, 2025 | 11am
Program
An exuberant program of dance-inspired works, featuring a newly-minted collaborative work featuring music created by our 2025 cohort of artists, inspired by Megalong Valley’s incredible landscape. Guided by Gundungurra elder, Uncle David King.
- 2025 Cohort of artists – new work
- Ross Edwards – Ecstatic Dances for viola and cello
- Josef Haydn – “Gypsy” Piano Trio
- Michi Wiancko – Blue Bouree for string quintet
- Astor Piazzolla – Four for Tango for string quartet
- György Ligeti – Five Pieces for piano 4 hands
- Dimitri Shostakovich – Five Pieces for two violins and piano
- Rebecca Clarke – Dumka Duo Concertante for violin and viola with piano
- John Adams – Shaker Loops for string septet
Program
Sumptuous chamber music to soak in the sunset glow as it lights up the Megalong escarpment. In today’s and tomorrow’s programs, music weaves connection across time between the works of the Mendelssohn siblings (Sunday’s program) and those of our contemporary composers, US-based Reena Esmail and Australia’s own Anne Cawrse. Program:
- Christopher Theofanidis – Visions and Miracles for string quartet
- Claude Debussy – Sonata for violin and piano
- Robert Schumann – Piano Quartet in E flat major, Op. 47
- Reena Esmail – Saans (“breath”) for piano trio
- Antonin Dvořak – Piano Quintet in A major, Op. 81
Program
A bubbly midmorning concert to farewell everyone until next festival.
- Ludwig van Beethoven – 7 Variations on Mozart’s Magic Flute, arranged for viola and piano
- Arthur Benjamin – Jamaican Rhumba for piano 4 hands
- Franz Schubert – Piano Trio in B flat major, No. 1, Op. 99
- Anne Cawrse – Songs Without Words for piano trio
- Fanny Mendelssohn – Capriccio in A flat for cello and piano, H. 247
- Felix Mendelssohn – String Octet in E flat major, Op. 20
News
LOT 101 PICNIC BOXES
Megalong Music Festival has partnered with the wonderful team at Lot 101, who will provide a delicious ploughman’s [...]
Support Us
Megalong Music Festival is launching its chamber music mentoring program in 2025!
Support emerging talent who will perform alongside distinguished guest artists at our regional festival concerts.
Set in the Megalong Valley, Blue Mountains 13th-20th April 2025, the inaugural Megalong Music Festival (MMF) Fellows Program for Piano and Strings offers a fully-sponsored chamber music intensive for exceptional emerging Australian and New Zealand artists in the early stages of their career. Guided by distinguished Australian and international guest artists, the next generation is nurtured through mentoring, performance opportunities, and high quality professional development. Highlights of the program include fellows performing alongside their mentors at the MMF concerts, creating and performing a collaborative composition, performing for regional audiences, and networking with renowned artists usually only accessed at international festivals. Our fundraising initiative is to ensure this unique program is accessible to all our talented applicants.
Young artists often leave Australia because they lack: the critical support needed to advance their careers here, access to the wider range of internationally renowned artists available to other young artists abroad, opportunities to work on collaborative repertoire with other high level artists, or perform for regional Australian audiences. Founded by violinist and Artistic Director, Asmira Woodward-Page, and fellow arts programming innovator, Matthew Hoy, the 2025 MMF Fellows Program closes that gap by providing opportunities to participate in a world class festival here in Australia, engaging high level guest artists who will share their decades of expertise with fellows and audiences, and providing full scholarships to every fellow. Since these workshops are not offered anywhere else, your valuable support is crucial to make this program a reality, keep it accessible to all applicants, engage high quality guest artists and help nurture the careers of deserving young artists.
Your donations will be used to provide transport,accommodation, meals, hall rental and vital equipment neededfor our program, and most importantly pay guest artists tomentor our fellows. Young artists who go through the programwill make connections with other talented peers and guestartists, who can provide professional opportunities in Australiaand abroad. Like many successful international festivals, MMFplans to include their young artist alums on tours with established artists in future, once the festival has gained traction. In this way, our Fellows Program will nurture thecareers of young artists and contribute to the well being of livemusic in regional Australia. We really appreciate your generous donations and look forward to meeting you at our concerts!
Visit
Come stay a while. Reserve your festival tickets and enjoy soul-soothing music surrounded by the exceptional beauty of the Megalong Valley. Relax with friends and family for the holidays while you delight in delicious local produce at the Tearooms or Megalong Restaurant. The Megalong Music Festival offers audiences post-concert picnic boxes (ploughman’s platter-style), available for purchase with your tickets, catered by Lot 101’s Megalong Restaurant. Discover local bush walks, and visit the Megalong Makers Market on Saturday to enjoy local art, crafts and produce, while meeting some of our festival musicians for a free community performance. Parking is available at Werriberri, adjacent to the concert venue, as well as at the Megalong Community Hall and Showground for those with less mobility. If you can’t make our Festival, please consider visiting the following weekend to the Blackheath Chamber Music Festival