The Newcastle Music Festival is one of the city's biggest annual fixtures, and the 2026 edition runs from Thursday 6 August to 16 August, with a bill that leans heavily on classical and chamber music. The main hub is the Adamstown Uniting Church at 228 Brunker Road, a community of faith, justice and creativity on Awabakal land, which splits the programme across several rooms: the Church Auditorium holds about 224, the Memorial Hall seats 130, the Barnes Meeting Room takes 20 to 30, and The Dungeon holds 90. All spaces are wheelchair accessible except the Green Room, which doubles as a children's activity room.
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Opening night is the exception to the Adamstown rule, with a concert at the Harold Lobb Concert Hall at the Newcastle Conservatorium on 6 August, doors estimated at 7:30pm and tickets A$24 to A$49. Friday 7 August pairs clarinettist Mitchell Berick and pianist Erin Sweetman (A$24 to A$49) alongside two Candlelight tributes, one to Taylor Swift and one to Adele, both A$30 to A$80. Saturday 8 August brings Bach Akademie Australia with soprano Miriam Allan (A$24 to A$49) and the Duo Mimesi, Federico Bucaioni and Gioia Barbera (A$29 to A$59).
Sunday 9 August is a busy one. A cross-disciplinary concert pairs Dave Brubeck's "Points on Jazz" with Saint-Saëns' "Carnival of the Animals", with pianists Erin Sweetman and Greg Smith, dancers from Newcastle Dance Academy, musicians from Chamber Music in the Hunter and narration by Barry Shepherd (A$29 to A$59). At the same time, internationally renowned soloists, the Italian piano Duo Mimesi and the Festival Choirs play The Barn at Stanley Park on Fullerton Cove for A$75, while a separate performance blending music, art and storytelling runs for A$20.
Mid-week, the Rising Stars Recital on Wednesday 12 August (7:00pm to 8:00pm, A$10 to A$30) gives four young regional musicians the spotlight: violinist Gabrielle Wikstrom, who began studying at age three and was accepted into the Sydney Conservatorium Rising Stars Program in 2022; 12-year-old cellist Sienna Copaceanu, who began at age five and took first place in the Senior Strings section of the Wendy Ireland Scholarship Awards in 2025; 14-year-old violinist and pianist Kaytlin Copaceanu from Lake Macquarie, who joined the Canberra Symphony Youth Chamber Orchestra at 11; and Year 11 soprano Lily Szabó, who hopes to pursue opera. They are joined by pianist Erin Sweetman and perform Haydn, Bloch, Kabalevsky, Saint-Saëns, Draghi, Mozart, Strauss, Lerner and Loewe and Piazzolla. That same night, The Dungeon Big Band plays "Big Band Classics" from Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Gordon Goodwin and Andy Fiddes for A$40 to A$45.
The final days round out with mezzo soprano Linda Barcan and pianist Coady Green on 13 August (A$24 to A$49), Miriam Allan and Erin Helyard on 14 August — a pairing appearing together for the first time outside a capital city (A$55 to A$65), and 15 August splitting between guitarist Paco Lara with three flamenco dancers led by Deya Giner (A$29 to A$59) and Mahler's first symphony in a chamber orchestra version with the Christ Church Camerata (A$15 to A$45). Deborah Humble has accepted the invitation to be Festival Patron, and bookings are open across the board, with family tickets available.
Published Date
3 August 2026
