The 19th Annual

 Glebe Music Festival

In conjunction with The Glebe Society Inc

This is the official site for the Glebe Music Festival. Glebe is an inner suburb of the city of Sydney, Australia. Come back often to find updates about this year's events, how to get tickets and a lot of useful information about the festival and its history.

The Glebe Music Festival is fortunate in having been awarded a grant through the Quick Response Grant Program of the Council of the City of Sydney. For this, the Glebe Music Festival is exceedingly grateful.

The Glebe Music Festival grew out of the many informal musical soirees held at the early 19th century building Margaretta Cottage since the late 1960s. The late Dr Vincent Sheppard built up a unique collection of keyboard instruments including an 18th century Dutch chamber organ, a 19th century Kapps grand piano, a Sperrhake harpsichord, a pedal piano and a clavichord. More recently a copy of a Rucker's Flemmish double harpsichord and an original Clementi piano have been added.

The underlying philosophy of the Glebe Music Festival is to bring together musicians at different stages of their careers in the intimate atmosphere of Margaretta Cottage. With large choirs this has expanded to the performance of major choral works at St Scholastica's Chapel in Glebe. Other venues are used including Gleebooks, St John's Bishopthorpe, the Great Hall at the University of Sydney and the Old Court House. In the past, the Glebe Music Festival has hosted concerts by a Balinese gamelan, Andean groups (Cantolibre and Andean Dreams), an African township jive band (Jive Kayana), guitar groups such as the Katona Duo and Duo Agostino, opera such as the Opera Project and Opera Under the Stars, choirs such as Coro Innominata, Bel a Cappella, the Choir of Christchurch St Lawrence, Sway and the Tall Poppeas, soloists such as Trish O’Brien and Chris Pidcock (cello), Simon Powis (guitar), Jason Xanthoudakis (saxophone), Erin Helyard and Douglas Hollick (harpsichord), Urban Excentrics, jazz (Sway), cabaret, chamber music, brass, organ and much more. Of particular note was the visit by the US Marine Forces Pacific Band in 2005. A constant partner is the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.

Over the years Margaretta Cottage has seen the likes of Elizabeth Schwartzkof, Geoffrey Parsons, Christopher Hogwood, Fretwork and many other international artists. The 1999 Festival was in honour of the late Australian accompanist Geoffrey Parsons. The proceeds of the Festival went towards the Geoffrey Parsons Fellowship at the University of Sydney.

The Artistic Director of the Glebe Music Festival is the Australian paediatrician and musician Dr E. David McIntosh currently based in London. Dr McIntosh works closely with the Glebe Society.

For further information please contact:
Mr EK McIntosh,

3/8 Russell Avenue,
Lindfield, NSW 2070

Phone 02-9416-6136