Australian Festival of Chamber Music

The Australian Festival of Chamber Music (AFCM) is a nine-day international festival focused on chamber music held in Townsville, North Queensland commencing on the last Friday in July. The AfCM also incorporates a Winterschool for emerging artists. Some 20 to 30 chamber musicians from around Australia and the world converge on Townsville, each year to perform and teach emerging artists.

The festival was founded in July 1991 and has been held annually ever since. In 2015 it celebrated its 25th anniversary. It is the largest festival dedicated to chamber music in the southern hemisphere.

The AFCM is presented in partnership with all three levels of government as well as several commercial, tourism, regional development, and educational, organisations. The festival's patron is Paul de Jersey, Governor of Queensland.

The festival was founded in 1990 for a 1991 premiere by Professor Ray Golding, the then Vice-Chancellor of James Cook University and Theodore Kuchar who continued as the artistic director for the next 16 years until 2006. The festival began conservatively focusing on the more contemporary music of the classical and romantic periods, over the first five years Kuchar started inserting works of Bartok, Bloch, Martinu, Shostakovich, expanding the musical depth for enthusiasts while maintaining the popular appeal.

The festival has tried to avoid a perception that it is only there for cultivated southerners, for example in 2005 for the first time the AFCM had a presence at a Cowboys football match and in 2006 increased publicity focusing locally.

In 2007 the AFCM gained a new Artistic Director in Piers Lane AO. Lane, an Australian, is a leading international pianist who is based in London; The 2007 programme involved vocalists and more variety than previous years to appeal to a broader audience, taking a "lifestyle approach" and focussing on music, wine and food.

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