The Canberra International Music Festival 2008 offers fine music lovers a dynamic and varied program, featuring over 20 visiting composers, 50 musicians and 30 concerts in venues across the city for 12 days of autumn music making. This year’s program which runs from the 7th to the 18th of May showcases the full spectrum of chamber music, from early music through to contemporary jazz, and just about everything in-between: music-theatre, chamber opera, world, cabaret, multi-media and experimental -all performed at the highest level and designed to attract a diverse audience nationally.

The line-up of performers include:
The Canberra International Music Festival 2008 features a diverse line up of artists from around the world, many of whom have never performed in Australia: the Czech diva/songstress and violinist Iva Bittova, New York’s Grammy-nominated Don Byron Ivey-Divey Trio, the phenomenal percussion quartet So Percussion and the worlds’ best theremin player Rob Schwimmer with his cabaret trio Polygraph Lounge. From Ireland comes the Crash Ensemble, a 19-member amplified chamber ensemble directed by composer Donnacha Dennehy and from within Australia the infamous Robyn Archer and Paul Grabowsky will perform a new collaboration of City Songs, while the Dean-Emerson-Dean Trio, the Grainger String Quartet, Ensemble Offspring, Drumatix, Gary France, and Clarity Clarinet Quartet will also perform. Other programs will feature Ian Grandage, Topology, William Barton and the Sculthorpe String Quartet, The Australian String Quartet, Jouissance, Geoffrey Lancaster, the Band of the Royal Military College, Duntroon, the New RMC Steamboat Stompers, The Swiss Piano Trio and Tango Futur (France). The Crash Ensemble will premiere two commissioned works by Australian composers Kat McGuffie and Michael Smetanin. The Grainger String Quartet will perform a world premiere by Huw Belling, winner of this year’s Canberra International Music Festival Young Composer’s Competition.