Arran International Festival
of Chamber Music and Song
"Belonging Without Borders"
17–23 August 2026
A word from Richard
AIF2025 was a joyful celebration of music, live performance, and human connection, bringing together international artists, local musicians, and the island community in concerts and events across Arran’s villages.
We’re now delighted to offer a first look at AIF2026.
A gentle theme runs through this year’s festival: "Belonging Without Borders".
AIF2026 explores what it means to belong — to place, to culture, to one another.
Culture travels with artists. Our visiting performers this year bring with them a sense of belonging to their own cultures and traditions, which they express and share through their performances. In return, they meet a community and fellow artists on Arran with a strong sense of place, heritage, and belonging — creating a space for openness, collaboration, and human connection.
Details of venues, dates, and ticket information will be shared in the weeks ahead.
AIF2026 — rooted in community, outward-looking in spirit
Richard Morrison
Festival Director
A word from Electra
I'm so excited to be returning as Composer-in-Residence to the AIF in 2026. This promises to be our most ambitious programme so far!
The festival this year will see the development of our biggest community project to date, bringing together school children with diverse communities from across the island and further afield to compose a brand new piece of music. This project will culminate in a massed pre-concert performance given by the young people, local musicians, and visiting musicians.
I will also be composing a new piece for internationally acclaimed violinist Magdalena Filipczak. The new piece will bring together influences from Scottish, Greek and Polish folk music, drawing on my own Scottish/Greek background and Magda's Polish heritage and inspired by the festival's themes of connection across borders.
Come along and join us at the AIF2026 for this celebration of community and the connective power of music in an inspiring series of island-wide events - wherever you come from and whoever you are, you'll receive a warm welcome!
Electra Perivolaris
Composer-in-Residence
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Magdalena Filipczak
Violinist Magdalena Filipczak joins us for AIF2026 with an international reputation for performances of exceptional range and musical intelligence. She performs worldwide as a soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician, appearing at major concert halls across Europe and the Americas. A prize-winner at numerous international competitions, her honours include First Prize at the United States International Concerto Competition and the Gold Prize at the Manhattan International Music Competition.
Her critically acclaimed debut album Essence of Violin was described by The Strad as “glittering… beguiling… hauntingly atmospheric,” and her work spans recordings and broadcasts for BBC Radio 3, Deutsche Grammophon, film, and television. She is also deeply committed to collaboration with living composers and new music projects. Magdalena performs on historic instruments supported by Beare’s International Violin Society, including violins by Stradivari, Nicolo Amati, Guadagnini, Francesco Rugeri, and Peter Guarneri.
At AIF2026, Magda will present a programme inspired by song and dance, featuring classical repertoire and music rooted in her Polish heritage, alongside the world premiere of a new work written especially for her by Composer-in-Residence Electra Perivolaris. Further details will be shared in the weeks ahead.
David Enhco & Marc Perrenoud
CHET
“Jubilatory! They practise music as outlaws.” — Marie-Aude Roux, Le Monde
Two of Europe’s most celebrated jazz musicians, French trumpeter David Enhco (twice winner of Victoire du Jazz) and Swiss pianist Marc Perrenoud come to Arran with CHET — their acclaimed tribute to the great American jazz trumpeter Chet Baker.
Through a selection of emblematic jazz standards, Enhco and Perrenoud retrace Baker’s musical journey and tragic destiny — music shaped by lyricism and light, as well as by fragility, struggle, and darkness. Their playing is widely praised for its elegance, musicality, and depth.
Mariia Petrovska & Nazar Lekh
Ukrainian traditional musicians Mariia Petrovska and Nazar Lekh join us at AIF2026, bringing an evocative and contemporary expression of Ukrainian musical heritage.
Mariia is a charismatic bandura player and singer, known for blending virtuosic technique with a pure, emotionally direct voice. She has quickly emerged as a compelling new voice on the UK music scene, with performances ranging from the Eurovision Village stage to acclaimed solo concerts across the country.
She is joined by Nazar, a remarkable multi-instrumentalist best known as a master of the Ukrainian sopilka and other traditional flutes. Moving effortlessly between haunting folk melodies and dance-driven music, he brings both depth and vitality to their shared performances.
The Brook Street Band
The Brook Street Band is one of the UK’s leading period-instrument ensembles, known for their performances of brilliance, imagination and warmth. Named after the London street where George Frideric Handel lived, the ensemble has built a long-standing reputation for its vivid, communicative approach to eighteenth-century chamber music, with a particular affinity for Handel’s work.
Formed by baroque cellist Tatty Theo, the band has worked together for over twenty years, developing a distinctive identity and close musical relationship.
Details of their programme at the festival will be announced soon.
Richard Morrison
Alongside his role as Festival Director, Richard appears as a performer at AIF2026. He is widely respected for the warmth and lyricism of his voice and the breadth of his work across opera, concert, and recital. He has appeared in leading opera houses and concert halls throughout Europe, with performances at venues including the Berliner Philharmonie, the Royal Albert Hall, and the Royal Festival Hall.
Alongside classical repertoire, his work extends into musical theatre and film, including collaborations with the John Wilson Orchestra. His recordings appear on Deutsche Grammophon, Naxos, and Warner Classics, and he has broadcast widely for BBC television and radio and Classic FM, both as a singer and a presenter.
Findlay Napier & Gillian Frame
Findlay and Gillian return to the AIF for the third successive year.
Findlay is one of Scotland’s finest singer-songwriters and a leading artist on the UK music scene. In 2025, he was named Composer of the Year at the MG ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards, having perviously been nominated for Musician of the Year and Live Act of the Year.
Arran-born Gillian is an outstanding traditional fiddler and singer, whose authenticity and natural charm shine through in her performances. She was the first winner of BBC Radio Scotland’s Young Traditional Musician of the Year and has been listed by The Scotsman as one of twelve influential women in Scottish culture.
Karin Leitner
Renowned flautist and composer Karin Leitner is an internationally acclaimed soloist, performing worldwide both as a concert flautist and in chamber music settings.
She has appeared with leading orchestras including the Vienna State Opera Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, as well as in London’s West End productions such as The Phantom of the Opera and Les Misérables. As a composer, she has written extensively for flute, harp, and orchestra, and has released recordings spanning original compositions, classical and Irish programmes, and cross-genre work.
Her concerts move elegantly across genres and styles, drawing on classical, Celtic, and global influences and she performs on a range of instruments — from Irish tin whistles to Chinese and Indian bamboo flutes.
Marty Ross
Marty Ross is an Arran-based dramatist with a long track record writing drama for the BBC, Wireless Theatre, and Audible, including the recently released Scottish ghost story The Dead of Rannoch Moor. Alongside his writing, he performs his own work as a live storyteller, shaping this most ancient of art forms into vivid contemporary theatre.
At AIF2026, Marty returns to perform DRYAD — a drama about the unexpected, disturbing, and possibly supernatural consequences of a construction company attempting to destroy an ancient woodland with a sinister reputation in order to create a modern bypass. For extra effect, the show will be performed as part of a journey for performer and audience among the ancient trees of the Roots of Arran woodland between Brodick and Lamlash.
Full details coming soon.
Festival supporters
The Arran International Festival is made possible through the generosity, encouragement and shared belief of those who support us. From individual patrons and benefactors to local businesses and community partners, we are deeply grateful to all who contribute to the life of the festival.
Dear Richard and Trustees of the festival, The Arran International Festival of Chamber Music and Song looks fantastic and you’ve clearly put in an enormous amount of work to get to this stage. As you know I’ve always been a huge fan of arts festivals of any kind, not least because my first professional job in the industry was at the Edinburgh Festival. Whilst organising and participating in festivals requires huge commitment, many regard festivals as the lifeblood of our industry, they allow artists to get together to share and celebrate their work and enrich their skill and talent, but more importantly they offer audiences the opportunity to experience creativity, entertainment and work that is usually difficult for them to access, it looks like The Arran International Festival fulfils all of these things. Having spent many happy times on Arran over the last 20 years, I believe your festival will be embraced wholeheartedly by local people and business, and will add to the many existing attractions on the island for visitors. PW Productions is delighted to be able to support the festival, congratulations for getting this far and we wish you every success with it this year and well into the future, With very best wishes, Iain Gillie CEO, PW Productions, London.