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Festival 2024: The Woods So Wild
Loch Shiel’s temperate rainforest is one of our most precious habitats. It is as important as tropical rainforest, but even rarer. Yet few people in Scotland know it exists and fewer still know how globally significant it is.
This year at Loch Shiel Festival, we are celebrating and exploring our glorious local habitat with a focus on the native woodlands of the Loch Shiel area - exploring the five peninsulas of the west highland in new and interesting ways. With talks, walks, film screenings, workshops, and family performances augmenting the woodland-inspired programmes from some of the best musicians and ensembles in the world, the festival is sure to be a hugely memorable and inspiring experience for everyone!
Join us from 1st-5th May 2024 in the breathtaking surroundings of Loch Shiel to experience some truly transformative listening experiences!
festival highlights
FOOLS & DREAMERS: THOMAS FOSTER, MAXWELL QUARTET (+ FILM SCREENING) | SHIELBRIDGE HALL
AR COILLE: A NEW COMMUNITY MUSICAL WORK | GLENFINNAN CHURCH
KATIE COVENTRY (MEZZO-SOPRANO) & RACHEL SPENCER (VIOLIN) | ROSHVEN BOATHOUSE
maxwell quartet | RESIPOLE studios
DOPEY MONKEY (BRASS DUO) | GLENUIG HALL
CHRIS STOUT & CATRIONA MCKAY with THE MAXWELL QUARTET | glenUIG HALL
COLIN CURRIE (PERCUSSION) | GLENFINNAN CHURCH
THOMAS FOSTER (HARPSICHORD) | SHIELBRIDGE HALL
booking
Explore Music in Nature
Loch Shiel Spring Festival brings together great chamber music performances with breathtaking surroundings of the Scottish Highlands. Each year we invite some of the top artists in Scotland and further afield.
the best of new scottish music
We’re incredibly proud of the music scene in Scotland, which not only embraces its traditions and cultural history, but fearlessly explores the new, too. Loch Shiel Festival is committed to bringing the most exciting Scottish artists to perform year on year.
unique site-specific experiences
We love to take you to new spaces to appreciate music in a different context. We’re not afraid to get a bit damp ‘n’ muddy to explore the soundscape, and have curated events in bothies, under railway viaducts, in forests, ruined castles, and much more!
youth & community
The Highlands is all about community spirit and engagement, and our festival is closely connected with the local people of Loch Shiel. We partner with local schools and music organisations to put on unique collaborative events between international artists and the local community.
chamber music at its finest
At its heart, Loch Shiel Festival is a true celebration of the magic of intimate chamber music. From Indian tabla music to European classical string quartets, we think Loch Shiel is the perfect place to come and be inspired by the wonder of intimate music making.