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About the Festival
“One of the best chamber music festivals in the world… and it just keeps getting better” ABC Classic FM
This spring, experience World-Class chamber music concerts, gourmet canapés and meals, and award-winning wine in the beautiful rustic setting of the Barrel Hall and grounds of the Huntington Estate Winery in Mudgee.
People travel from all around the world to attend the Huntington Estate Music Festival presented in association with Musica Viva Australia. The Festival is ‘An important, prestigious event in the national arts calendar’ (Music Australia) in ‘one of the country’s most iconic venues for Chamber Music (Limelight).
Since 1989, the Huntington Estate Music Festival has been held each year in the Huntington Estate Barrel Room, a fantastic space with "one of the greatest acoustics on the planet" (Richard Tognetti) and a unique atmosphere. All concerts include generous interval refreshments and are followed by gourmet meals and a selection of the best Huntington wines. Evening concerts are preceded by a choice of aperitifs, with the full wine service continuing through the concert interval and afterwards with dinner.
"A Festival the likes of which it would be hard to find anywhere else in the world. The music, the sunshine, the audience, the birdsong, the vines, the friendships made, the emotions created, all within this nest in the hills. Australia has one of the best chamber music festivals in the world in the Huntington Festival and Musica Viva with Carl Vine are ensuring it just keeps getting better." ABC Classic FM
Musical content is devised by Artistic Director Carl Vine and managed by the world's largest chamber music entrepreneur, Musica Viva Australia.
Each year features a stunning collection of prominent international artists alongside Australia's finest musicians, in stimulating programs that run the full gamut of the chamber music experience. Piano services Provided By Theme & Variations.
The 8 concerts of the Main Festival run over 5 days between 20th and 24th November. The Opening Weekend (16th & 17th November) offers a 2-concert 'Taste of Huntington'.
2019 - the 30th & final Festival
Telephone 1800 995 931 during office hours or for more information.
To find out more about why the Festival is ending Announcement Final Festival
About the Festival in more depth
From the first Huntington Estate Music Festival in 1989, to the 30th in 2019, this unique annual experience has delighted audiences and musicians alike. There are four key reasons why it continues to thrive:
- First, the format. Designed for abandonment to sensory pleasures: spread over five days, in one intimate venue, fully catered, with lazy afternoons and long evenings under the trees and stars to linger over a glass of wine and discuss music and the meaning of life with friends old and new
- Second is the very Australian concept of combining the highest quality with a complete lack of pretention. The world’s best musicians – brilliant and glamorous, playing on an improvised stage of upturned crates and pallets, amid the bare walls but brilliant acoustic of the barrel hall in a small winery
- Third is the incredible audience – noted for their appreciation and quality of listening by all performers, some of whom have attended all twenty eight Festivals to date, some of whom are enjoying their first exposure to Chamber Music
- Fourth, the sheer number and variety of extraordinary musicians and music presented by Carl Vine and Musica Viva Australia
If you've never been to the Huntington Estate Music Festival, read on to find out what it's like, and how it all works.
A day in the life of The Huntington Estate Music Festival
Saturday Evening - Opening Weekend
6.00 pm - 7.00 pm:
- Arrive at Huntington Estate and enjoy wine and a tasty selection of canapes.
7.00 pm - 9.00 pm:
- Evening concert with interval and refreshments (more wine and nibbles)
9.00 pm - 11.00 pm:
- Enjoy a leisurely dinner outside.
Go to bed tired but full of music, relaxed and happy to get ready to do it all over again tomorrow!
NB: Of course soft drinks are also served, and there's no compulsion to stay late after lunch or dinner. Some of our audience do and some don't. The option to indulge is simply there if you want to take it!
Sunday Morning - Opening Weekend
Wake up after a good night's sleep in one of Mudgee's many wonderful award winning B&Bs, cottages or hotels and enjoy a leisurely breakfast. Dress as you wish! Each year we warmly welcome guests in shorts, in black tie and everything in between. Arrive fully revived at Huntington Estate for coffee, tea or juice (under the trees if it's nice weather, otherwise inside the hall), ready for:
11.00 am - 1.00 pm:
- Morning concert with interval & refreshments
Afternoon
1.00 pm - 3.00 pm:
- Enjoy a leisurely and delicious lunch outside with a selection of Huntington wines and a local cheese and fruit to follow. Feel free to stay and chat (to old friends and new, musicians and staff), drink wine and eat cheese for as long as you like.
Main Festival
The First Day
The first concert in the festival starts at 7:30pm on Wednesday evening. Join us from 6:30pm for a welcoming drink and to collect your tickets. Relax in the quiet anticipation that always takes over our patrons ready for a flood of fine music, food and wine.
Morning
Wake up after a good night's sleep in one of Mudgee's many wonderful award winning B&Bs, cottages or hotels and enjoy a leisurely breakfast. Dress as you wish! Each year we warmly welcome guests in shorts, in black tie and everything in between. Arrive fully revived at Huntington Estate for coffee, tea or juice (under the trees if it's nice weather, otherwise inside the hall), ready for:
11.30 am - 1.30 pm:
- Morning concert with interval & refreshments
Afternoon
1.30 pm - 3.00 pm:
- Enjoy a leisurely and delicious lunch outside with a selection of Huntington wines and a local cheese and fruit to follow. Feel free to stay and chat (to old friends and new, musicians and staff), drink wine and eat cheese for as long as you like.
3.00 - 6.00 pm:
- While some of our patrons prefer to indulge in an afternoon nap in readiness for the evening, others take the opportunity to explore Mudgee and the surrounding area, visiting vineyards, tea shops and art galleries, or simply strolling around the beautifully preserved country town.
Evening
6.00 pm - 7.00 pm:
- Return to Huntington Estate and enjoy more wine and a tasty selection of nibbles (e.g., our famous sausages, asparagus and hollandaise sauce etc.)
- "In conversation" pre-concert talks during main festival outside (weather permitting, in the barrel room if not) with featured artists talking to artistic director Carl Vine.
- More wine and an enticing array of finger food
7.00 pm - 9.00 pm:
- Evening concert with interval and refreshments (more wine and nibbles)
9.00 pm - 11.00 pm:
- Enjoy a leisurely dinner outside... (see lunch!)
Go to bed tired but full of music, relaxed and happy to get ready to do it all over again!!
NB: Of course soft drinks are also served, and there's no compulsion to stay late after lunch or dinner. Some of our audience do and some don't. The option to indulge is simply there if you want to take it!
