Subscribe - be the first to hear
To help us keep in touch with you, please sign up to our Mailing List to receive news and updates, and be the first to hear about the Festival Programme.
Sign up for updates
Please be assured your email address will only be used for the purposes of sending information about Cantilena and will never be disclosed to any other parties.
Latest News
Cantilena Festival Moves Online for 2021
- Details
- Published: 19 June 2020 19 June 2020
- Last Updated: 06 May 2021 06 May 2021
In keeping with the other cultural highlights on the Islay social calendar, this year’s Cantilena Festival on Islay will be enjoyed online and with the power of the internet, will be a global rather than local celebration of music.
2020 should have been the event’s 20th anniversary celebration, but due to the lockdown restrictions, the celebrations were put on ice and carried forward to this year. This has made the decision to not visit the island all the more heart-breaking, though somewhat expected.
Although disappointing, we are excited by the opportunity that hosting an online event presents. We hope that our supporters will enjoy listening to the familiar sounds of the Cantilena musicians from the comfort of their own home. It is also our hope that the concerts will be broadcast to a much wider global community and will create further interest in our events for future years.
Please stay tuned for more details on the virtual festival which will be released shortly!
2020 Festival (5 – 10 July)
- Details
- Published: 03 February 2020 03 February 2020
- Last Updated: 23 June 2020 23 June 2020
It is with extreme regret that the 2020 Festival has been cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We do hope that you can join us at the 2021 Festival where we will celebrate our postponed 20th anniversary.
Our Artistic Directors have been busy working on the programme for the 2020 Festival, and there are two themes this year; the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth and of no less importance, Cantilena’s 20th season on Islay. To help us celebrate, we’ll be joined by our old friend and player, Angus Anderson (violin), and towards the end of the week by oboe and horn players for a performance of Mozart Symphony No. 26 and a symphony by Haydn. Earlier in the week the Festival will commence with Beethoven’s Archduke Piano Trio and Schubert’s Trout Quintet. The rest of the week will have old favourites, new works and the popular Students’ Showcase. Look out for the publication of the full Programme in late Spring, along with more information about the Festival and tickets, and be sure to sign up so that you don’t miss it! If you have any questions, please email us at
New Coordinator
- Details
- Published: 03 February 2020 03 February 2020
- Last Updated: 03 February 2020 03 February 2020
We are delighted to announce that Lauren McCormick is our new Coordinator. Lauren is currently the Music Operations Manager of the Junior Conservatoire at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS), of which she is an Masters graduate. Lauren is also the co-founder and Manager of the Gorbals Youth Brass Band. We are thrilled to welcome Lauren on board and we are sure that she will very soon have Cantilena running like clockwork and wish her well in the post.