The Newcastle Music Festival celebrates its eighth season in 2025, having been inaugurated in 2016, and missing festivals in 2020 and 2021. The Festival was founded by its first Artistic Directors, David Banney and Ross Fiddes, and the seven festivals so far have included more than 130 concerts, with music ranging from classical to jazz, and from world music to contemporary music.

Our artists have included the best musicians of Newcastle and the Hunter Valley, as well as outstanding national and international performers. In addition, the Festival has given performance opportunities to hundreds of community musicians through the Festival Choir and Festival Strings, and masterclasses.

The Festival has collaborated with leading Australian ensembles and organisations, including Pinchgut Opera, Opera Australia and Musica Viva. Festival innovations have included the highly successful Music on a Plate series, in which music and food are paired in iconic Newcastle venues. These include FogHorn Brewery, with which we provide concerts during Newcastle Food Month, and Stanley Park, which hosts the annual Opera Cocktails event.

In 2023, our sixth festival, we introduced Rising Stars, and we again invite young performers from the region to audition for a chance to perform in concert during the 2025 Festival. We are proud to be in our eighth year of the Festival and look forward to bringing you an exciting program.

Artistic Director – Ross Fiddes
Artistic Consultant – Chris Allan

Jillian Albrecht – Operations Manager and Editor
Georgi Laney – Festival Choir Convenor

Committee 2025

Emeritus Professor John Rostas – President
Colleen Potts OAM – Vice-President/Volunteer Coordinator
Ross Fiddes – Secretary/Treasurer
Jillian Fiddes – Administrator
Kerrie Coles – Community Liaison  
Greg Kerr – WHS Advisor
Ruth Newman – Rising Stars Convenor/ Administration Support

The Newcastle Music Festival logo was created in 2016 by TAFE NSW student Christina Atherton, whose design was selected from many beautiful designs created by students of the Diploma of Graphic Design at Newcastle Campus, supervised by Gregg Carson. Christina’s effective and engaging design, based on the musical stave, provides a recognisable emblem for Newcastle Music Festival.