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= Newcastle Music Festival = The Newcastle Music Festival is held annually in the city of Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia. The festival takes place in the month of August, and has grown each year in numbers of performers and duration. From around 200 performers over 10 days in 2016, the festival will attract over 300 performers over 18 days and nights in 2018. Performers from around Australia and Newcastle musicians combine in the festival. The Festival Orchestra and Festival Choir provide opportunities for community members to play or sing with professional musicians and a conductor. The NSW Music Teachers Association Piano Scholarships are judged during the festival.

History
The inaugural festival took place in 2016. The festival was based on a smaller weekend event held in 2015, which featured an orchestra comprising string performers gathered from the community. The conductor of the 2015 concert, David Banney, joined with Newcastle composer and pianist Ross Fiddes, to propose an annual festival. A management committee of volunteers was created. Professor John Rostas, founding executive director of the Hunter Medical Research Institute, was elected President of the committee. David Banney and Ross Fiddes are co-artistic directors of the festival.

Venues
The festival concerts are held in major venues suitable for acoustic classical music. These include Christ Church Cathedral, Harold Lobb Concert Hall, and Adamstown Arts at Adamstown Uniting Church.

2016

 * Acacia Quartet
 * Susan Carson
 * Andrew Chubb
 * Deborah Humble
 * Tor Fromhyr
 * Sally Walker
 * Ayse Göknur Shanal
 * Anthea Scott-Mitchell
 * Claire Howard Race
 * Erin Sweetman
 * Newcastle Strings
 * Christopher Allan
 * Rebecca Gill
 * Newcastle University Choir
 * Opera Hunter
 * Michael Leighton Jones
 * Newcastle Youth Orchestra
 * Christ Church Camerata
 * David Banney
 * Ross Fiddes
 * Ian Cook

2017

 * Orava Quartet
 * Deborah Humble
 * Hyeseoung Kwon
 * Sylvia Clark
 * John Paul Young
 * Anthony Albrecht
 * Sally Walker
 * Rosalind Halton
 * Anna Da Silva Chen
 * Gavin Clark
 * Claire Howard Race
 * Heather Price
 * Brett McMahon
 * Dungeon Big Band
 * Christopher Allan
 * Erin Sweetman
 * Hunter Singers
 * Nova Praetorians
 * Newcastle Youth Orchestra
 * Newcastle Strings
 * Waratah Girls Choir
 * Kim Sutherland
 * David Banney
 * Ian Cook
 * Ross Fiddes
 * Christ Church Camerata