Founded in 2019 by the RIAM’s Head of Chamber Music, Sarah Sew, ChamberFest Dublin is rooted in the RIAM’s aim to provide high-quality and meaningful performance experiences for students.
Monday 27 April to Friday 8 May, 2026
ChamberFest Dublin 2026 brings together over 50 chamber music groups across 30 concerts and events, taking place over two weeks from Monday 27 April to Friday 8 May. Now in its seventh year, ChamberFest is a vibrant, collaboratively produced celebration of chamber music, and a vital performance platform for RIAM students as part of their artistic development and assessment. A central aim of the festival is to recognise and nurture excellence. This year, the festival expands its awards with new prizes for string quartet and for the performance and composition of new music, alongside the prestigious ChamberFest Dublin Prize.
On the opening evening, New Works by RIAM Composers, showcases collaboration between RIAM student composers and chamber ensembles in an evening of performance premieres. At the close of this concert, we will award the inaugural Ina Boyle Composition Prize.
On the second day, the festival welcomes international artists and guest quartets from Lyon, Copenhagen, Kraków, Amsterdam, and Bern for a week-long residency as part of RIAM’s European QuartetLab: What Is the Word project. Inspired by Samuel Beckett’s final poem, the project explores the expressive possibilities of musical and spoken language with repertoire spanning four centuries – from Bach’s unfinished The Art of Fugue to Barry Guy’s Kronos Quartet ‘50 for the Future’ commission, what is the word for string quartet (2019).
Audiences can immerse themselves in a rich programme of concerts, masterclasses, ChamberLabs and interactive lecture-performances involving RIAM students, faculty, and international guest artists. Highlights include Bach in 3D: The Art of Fugue featuring Head of Keyboard Peter Tuite on 1 May, and the QuartetLab: What Is the Word Finale on Saturday 2 May. This powerful closing concert presents Beethoven’s ground-breaking String Quartet in F minor, Op. 95 ‘Serioso’ and Beckett’s What Is the Word, performed by acclaimed Beckett interpreter Barry McGovern, alongside Barry Guy’s striking setting for string quartet with students playing alongside members of the ADAM Quartet.
Our series of Focus Concerts offers audiences the opportunity to explore particular strands of the chamber repertoire in greater depth. Brass Focus (29 April) features Young Artist Programme musicians Christina Troup and Louise Byrne performing Beethoven Horn Sonata, followed by Flute Focus (30 April) and Chamber Music with Voice (1 May). Building on the success of last year’s viola focus weekend, 1 May also features viola masterclasses with leading international pedagogues Tim Frederiksen (Royal Danish Academy of Music) and Patrick Jüdt (Bern University of Arts).
On 5 May, the Historical Performance department presents a morning of Baroque consorts, before returning for an evening performance of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater. 7 May is String Quartet Day, showcasing eight RIAM quartets across three concerts, culminating in the presentation of the ChamberFest String Quartet Prize which awards €1,000 to an outstanding string quartet for an engagement at Music in Monkstown. The festival comes to its conclusion on Friday 8 May with our Festival Finale in the Whyte Recital Hall.
ChamberFest Dublin is rooted in RIAM’s commitment to providing meaningful, high-quality performance experiences for students. At its core is the belief that the process of preparation – rehearsal, collaboration, and mentorship – is as significant as the performance itself. It is this spirit of shared learning and artistic discovery that defines the festival, which we open-heartedly share with our audiences.
Sarah Sew
RIAM Head of Chamber Music