Starting this Friday, the Bantry region will be echoing with the music of friends.

From 30 June - 8 July, the West Cork Chamber Music Festival will return to host a wealth of world-class quartets and soloists, including Irish violinist Mairéad Hickey.

Among the other acts are the Doric Quartet (UK), the Pacifica Quartet (USA), Pavel Haas Quartet (Czech Republic), and Zaïde Quartet, as well as violinists Tamsin Waley-Cohen (UK), Henning Kraggerud (Norway), Viviane Hagner (Germany), Miranda Cuckson (US), pianist Joonas Ahonen (Finland), and cellist Johanes Moser (Canada).

Starting on July 1st, the festival will also premiere the new Fringe Festival, a series of popups in which young musicians will perform with professionals in random locations, such as coffee shops, streets, shops, and restaurants. All of these events will be entirely free of charge and will be scattered throughout the Bantry area.

A complete list of programs can be found on the festival's website.