Donegal Chamber Music Festival to take place at three locations

The Donegal Chamber Music Festival takes place the next two weekends in different locations across the county. 

Since its first edition back in 2014, the Festival continues to show the best of local talent as well as inviting international artists to perform in Donegal. 

Presented by the Donegal Chamber Music Society, working together with local venues, festivals and cultural organisations, the 2025 edition will bring classical music concerts to Glenties, Ballyshannon and various venues in Letterkenny. 

The Festival starts in Glenties with the Brahms Requiem in St Connell’s Church at 8pm. The Donegal Voices, Choir and Orchestra. Conductor and Musical Director, Evan McGarrigle. Soprano Deborah Cunningham and Paul Martin, baritone. A milestone work of the repertory, a true masterpiece to mark their tenth anniversary. 

The same programme will be performed on Sunday in Ballyshannon's St Patrick's Church, at 7pm, and both concerts are part of the 25th Donegal Bay and Blue Stacks Festival.

Saturday s the day for children and families, with the WAINFEST’s lunchtime family concert by DMEP's Junior Strings, a collaboration between the younger string players of Donegal Music Education Partnership, An Grianán Theatre and Donegal County Libraries. A colourful concert in the theatre’s foyer showcasing the present and future of string playing in Donegal. Enjoy some nice coffee or lunch while listening to music by Vivaldi, Von Weber, Pachelbel, Rossini and Offenbach.

Sunday is Spanish National Day with guitarist Matthew McAllister. Celebrating the Spanish National Day, top Scottish guitarist Matthew McAllister will honour the day with a beautifully crafted recital of compositions for the Spanish Classical Guitar. The programme will include Albéniz's Asturias and Barrios's La Catedral, two of the core pieces of the Spanish repertoire for the instrument. 

The second weekend brings two very different concerts to the Cathedral town: On Friday, October 17, a fiddle gathering at the Regional Cultural Centre to honour the legacy of legendary Scottish fiddler James Scott Skinner (1843–1927). This special concert is a fundraiser in support of a campaign to erect a statue of Skinner in his hometown of Banchory, Aberdeenshire. The concert features acclaimed Scottish fiddler Paul Anderson, local fiddle players Séamus Gibson and Martin McGinley, rooted in the Donegal tradition; Violin and cello duo Orsolya Szabó-Yélamo and Victor Yélamo, known for their rich and emotive interpretations; and Multi-instrumentalist and educator Paul Harrigan, joined by talented young performers from his Letterkenny-based music school Ceol na Coille.

READ NEXT: Free concert in Letterkenny featuring Donegal Junior String Orchestra

On Sunday, October 19, 'Anniversaries' with Donegal Chamber Orchestra in Conwal Church.  A concert as part of the 10th Letterkenny Cathedral’s Quarter Literary Festival. Celebrating the anniversaries of Scarlatti, Salieri, Ravel, Kreisler, Anderson and Jane Austen’s 250th birthday, the Chamber Orchestra, led by Orsolya Szabó-Yélamo and conducted by Víctor Yélamo, will be playing music of her time. Soloists in the afternoon will be violinists Orsolya Szabó-Yélamo and Megan Armitage of Donegal Camerata as well as cellist Vyvyan Howard. The closing concert of the Donegal Chamber Music Festival 2025 promises to be another memorable Sunday afternoon of music-making in Letterkenny.