11 April 2021
By Mary Bermingham
mary@TheCork.ie
What: West Cork Chamber Music Festival
When: 25th June – 4th July 2021
West Cork Music (WCM) is devastated to announce that, once again, the West Cork Chamber Music Festival, which is due to take place from Friday, June 25th to Sunday, July 4th, has to move online.
Flautist Mary-Ellen Nagle at the launch of the West Cork Chamber Music Festival
Pic Darragh Kane
Since last summer the team at WCM have been making every effort to produce a live festival for 2021 – upending the normal timetable by scheduling 130 concerts and recitals, the largest ever programme. The idea was simple – to enable audiences to experience a full festival despite the strict limitations imposed by social distancing.
The festival’s plans for a live event were just completed with a full programme available on the website when the pandemic’s third wave struck. Once it became clear that the uncertainty around restrictions would not be resolved, the team had to accept that a live festival, with a live audience, would not be possible. After more than a year listening to music through the veil of a computer screen, the 2021 festival was intended as a celebration of live music and to cancel it is a blow to everyone involved.
The WCM team is now focused on curating a Virtual Festival. Building on the experiences of last year, a larger online programme will be created with a more engaging and interactive online experience. Almost all the musicians engaged for the original programme will present at least one filmed concert from venues around Europe and the USA.
The programme for the 2021 Virtual West Cork Chamber Music Festival will be announced over the coming month. Keep an eye on www.westcorkmusic.ie and West Cork Music’s social media channels for further updates.