FESTIVAL
The programme of the 2026 Cape Town Baroque Festival has a strong focus on musical instruments and instrumental repertoire from the baroque, and both celebrates and explores the many colours and expressive nuances offered by historical instruments. The festival opens on 19 September with a Baroque Woodwind study day (Event 1: Baroque Woodwind Study Day) that includes lecture presentations on a variety of period woodwind instruments, as well as masterclasses and performances by student ensembles. Folk/baroque cross-over ensemble Here Be Dragons will present a concert of instrumental transcriptions of vocal music ranging from Guillaume de Machaut to JS Bach on the afternoon of 20 September (Event 2: Motet & Madrigal). On 24 September (Event 1 – continued: Advanced Recorder Masterclasses) the educational aspect of the festival continues: Visiting Dutch recorder virtuoso Erik Bosgraaf presents recorder masterclasses to advanced students.
The centrepiece of the 2026 Cape Town Baroque Festival takes place on 26 September (Event 3: The Road to the Symphony) where the Cape Town Baroque Orchestra will present, in collaboration with the Cape Town Concert Series, a programme of early Classical orchestral repertoire on period-appropriate instruments – a boundary pushing production for the players of the CTBO!
On 27 September the final two concerts of the festival takes place at the Sufi Temple in Newlands, with a duo recital (Event 4: Consort of Two) for viola da gamba and voice (Lutesong Consort) and a contemplative journey through sound from the middle ages to the baroque (Event 5: Meditatio Sonorum) featuring nyckelharpa, viola da gamba and baroque violin, by the newly formed Adamastor Consort. These two concerts will be interspersed with a relaxed social event, celebrating the valuable audience base that supports and gives meaning to the work of Cape Town-based Historical Performance practitioners.
FESTIVAL PROGRAMME
Click on each event below for more information and booking links:
Or click here for a downloadable version of the full programme.
We look forward to seeing you at the 2026 Cape Town Baroque Festival! In true Cape Town Baroque Orchestra style, we invite you to a complimentary glass of wine after each concert.
Enquiries can be sent to [email protected].
FESTIVAL PASSES – Experience it All!
We are offering a limited number of discounted festival passes, which include access to all of the festival events, except Event 1 (Recorder Symposium), which must be booked separately. These passes are priced as follows: R850, R750 (pensioners), R300 (students). Bookings: https://qkt.io/BUFeDK
SUPPORTERS AND COLLABORATORS:
MORE INFORMATION
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