Christmas has come early for Townsville’s Australian Festival of Chamber Music, with the festival securing more than $500,000 in funding from The Ian Potter Foundation.
The funds are regarded as a game changer for the increasingly popular North Queensland event.
The Ian Potter Foundation is one of Australia’s major philanthropic foundations and its backing is a definite nod of approval.
AFCM executive director Ricardo Peach says the festival successfully secured $525,000 over four years for the expansion of its Pathways Program.
“This funding … is a phenomenal vote of confidence in regional Australia, with a nationally significant initiative now solidifying its presence in Townsville-Gurambilbarra,” Peach says.
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“AFCM is beyond thrilled, and excited. We know that AFCM is one of the world’s leading celebrations of chamber music, and last year’s record-breaking figures proved the power of music in attracting patrons from around the country and across the globe. With The Ian Potter Foundation’s support, we will build an even stronger networking and capacity development component of this important festival.”
Ian Potter Foundation CEO Paul Conroy says the AFCM initiative aligns with the foundation’s goals to foster artistic excellence, innovation and regional engagement.
“We are delighted to support the AFCM as it leverages its 30-plus years of experience to foster industry connections and provide a program to address the gaps in high-level specialist production training and business development skills needed by emerging musicians to fully develop their careers,” Conroy says.
AFCM Pathways director Lloyd Van’t Hoff says the festival has been “diligently building the AFCM Pathways Program over many years, to help emerging musicians and ensembles reach their potential and develop professional networks”.
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“With this funding, we can now move forward with greater reach and confidence, nurturing the next generation of world-class musicians, taking our music further into the regions, building a team of experts and expanding our teaching online.”
Specifically, the funding will enable AFCM to build on its International Masterclasses by bringing Australia’s (and, later, the Indo-Pacific region’s) best emerging ensembles to Townsville during the festival. It will help establish an AFCM faculty of globally recognised industry experts and musicians to provide professional development opportunities for the selected ensembles. \
It will also extend the reach of the AFCM Fellowship Ensemble (selected from the previous year’s AFCM International Masterclasses cohort) by adding concerts and high school workshops in towns such as Proserpine, Tully, Ayr, Charters Towers and Ingham, along with performances in the main festival and other national and international events.
It will also assist in developing an AFCM online teaching platform to link elite remote and regional high school music students with international and Australian instrumental teachers associated with AFCM, for year-long instrumental lessons.
Independent research shows the 2024 AFCM generated a total spending in Queensland by all attendees of $19.98million, up 114 per cent from $9.32 million in 2023. The total attendance of 22,106 across all events, was an increase of 31 per cent on 2023, with interstate and overseas visitors increasing by 16 per cent.
Australian Festival of Chamber Music 2025 will run from July 25 to August 2.