It will be the first time in two years the internationally renowned festival will be staged in full, from July 29 to August 7.

Featuring highly regarded names such as didgeridoo star William Barton returning to the festival with his own compositions, along with the Goldner String Quartet, soprano and composer Deborah Cheetham, double bass aficiando Kirsty McCahon, accordion player James Crabb, and harpist Alice Giles.

It’s the first program for Australian Festival of Chamber Music (AFCM) Artistic Director and internationally acclaimed British/German violinist Jack Liebeck.

“This is a large programme to create, lots of musicians and logistics to navigate,” Liebeck said.

“I have a wonderful team to help put my vision into reality.”

Liebeck has been praised for his “flawless technical mastery” of the violin, and is looking forward to bringing more world class performances to the 31st Australian Chamber Music Festival, as well as performing with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra during his visit to Australia.

“Australian composers are some of the most imaginative and creative that I have had the pleasure of working with,” Liebeck said.

“I would not go as far as to say that there is an Australian sound, but there are some incredible works that take inspiration from the landscape, climate, First Nation history that could only come from Australia.”

He said First Nations music will be celebrated on the program, with the world premiere on opening Night of Yorta Yorta composer and soprano Deborah Cheetham’s work Nginda Ngarrini Bi Ngya, which was especially commissioned for AFCM.

Written in the language of the local Indigenous people, it features Deborah singing with the Goldner String Quartet.

“First Nation music needs to be championed by festivals such as AFCM,” Liebeck said.

“I see an incredible link to history and nature in the music of Deborah Cheetham and William Barton. The storytelling and beauty of the sounds that William creates are truly awe inspiring.

“I have a lot to learn myself about First Nations music, and I am uniquely privileged to be able to translate the journey I will take over the next years as Artistic Director into programming the Festival.

“I am particularly touched by how First Nations music I have so far discovered is so rooted in country and history of the people. That makes it all the more pertinent and relevant.”

International musicians making their AFCM and Australian debut include French violinist and violist Charlotte Bonneton, UK pianist Daniel Grimwood and the famed Turkish cellist Jamal Aliyev.

The Governor’s Gala concert on Saturday July 30 will feature the premiere of 25 Australian composers, each commissioned to write short variations on Beethoven’s iconic ‘Ode to Joy’ to mark the 25th anniversary of the famous Goldner String Quartet.

Other new additions to this year’s program include AFCM Illuminates – combining science and music with topics including Einstein’s Universe and Sea Conservation, and a newly transformed Festival Garden in the land beside the Townsville Civic Centre where formal and informal concerts will take place.

For Liebeck, becoming artistic director of this festival is the culmination of a lifelong love and dedication to classical music.

“As soon as I put the bow on the string in my first violin lesson as an eight-year-old. I knew,” he said.

“Music has a direct way of entering the soul, it manages to reach places that words alone simply cannot get to. It provides great solace and therapy to people. Can you imagine how amazing it is to perform it?”