Arrive in Sydney on suggested Qantas flights. Renaissance Tours or your travel agent can assist you with your flights and other travel arrangements including pre-tour accommodation and a private transfer from the airport.

At 9:00am, meet your tour leader Damien Beaumont and fellow travellers at the rear entrance of the Sydney Four Seasons Hotel. Then, travel by coach from Sydney to Blackheath with a stop en route for lunch.

This evening, attend the opening performance of the 2026 Blackheath Chamber Music Festival at Phillips Hall titled Resounding Bell. Internationally renowned Shakuhachi Grand Master Riley Lee joins Timothy Constable on percussion and four Japanese taiko drummers from Taikoz, Australia’s only professional Japanese taiko drumming group, based in Sydney.

(L)

This morning, visit the nearby Campbell Rhododendron Gardens with autumnal trees in glowing shades of red, yellow and flame orange.

Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant before a performance of the world

premiere of Passionate Pilgrims, a collaboration between composers Matt McMahon

and Jenny Eriksson from Elysian Fields, Australia’s only electric viola da gamba ensemble. The music is inspired by the poems of William Shakespeare and Thomas Wyatt’s lyric poetry. Thespian actor John Bell and the voice of Susie Bishop will perform in this work.

This evening, delight in a performance by the internationally acclaimed Chroma Quartet, joined by Australian clarinettist Lloyd Van’t Hoff.

PROGRAM:
Johannes Brahms – Clarinet Quintet in B minor, Op. 115
Holly Harrison – Spitfire
Leoš Janáček – String Quartet No. 2, Intimate Letters

(BL)

Begin the day with a matinee performance titled Introspection featuring Australian composer Nicholas Routley in conversation with acclaimed soloists Josh Batty, Louise Johnson and Amanda Verna.

PROGRAM:
Claude Debussy – Syrinx
Claude Debussy – Clair de Lune
Tōru Takemitsu – And Then I Knew ‘Twas Wind
Nicholas Routley – Sonata for flute, viola and harp
Arnold Bax – Elegiac Trio

After lunch at a local restaurant, return to Phillips Hall for a performance by an ensemble of wind instrumentalists of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

PROGRAM:
Maurice Ravel – Ma mere l’Oye
Ross Edwards – The Laughing Moon
Astor Piazzolla – Estaciones Porteñas arranged for wind quintet: Primavera and Otoño
Leoš Janáček – Mladi for wind sextet

This evening, attend the final gala concert of the Blackheath Chamber Music Festival featuring a work titled Terra Mater Aestiva, a bespoke compilation of works by celebrated Australian composer Ross Edwards.

ARTISTS
Susannah Lawergren (soprano), Susie Bishop (soprano), Jessica O’Donoghue (mezzo soprano), Andrew O’ Connor (bass baritone), Geoffrey Webb (tenor), Philip Murray (bass), Riley Lee (Shakuhachu), Louise Johnson (harp), Julian Smiles (cello), Timothy Constable (percussion), Nicholas Routley (conductor)

Afterwards, celebrate the conclusion of the tour with a special farewell dinner with Damien and fellow travellers at a nearby restaurant.

(BLD)

This morning, check out of the hotel and return by coach to Sydney.

Tour arrangements conclude upon arrival in the early afternoon at the Four Seasons Hotel in Sydney. Renaissance Tours or your travel agent can assist you with your flights and other travel arrangements, including airport transfers, travel insurance (strongly recommended) and additional nights’ accommodation either before or after the tour.

(B)