THE West Cork Chamber Music Festival will be running nearly 20 concerts in Bantry House between Sunday, June 29th and Sunday, July 6th. The festival programme is once again based on residencies which will bring together, among others, the RTE Vanbrugh and Chilingirian String Quartets (most notably for Mendelssohn's teenage masterpiece, his Octet), pianists Joanna MacGregor, Hugh Tinney and Susan Tomes, violinist Anthony Marwood, cellist Steven Doane, clarinettist Romain Guyot, mezzo soprano Christa Pfeiler, baritone Stephan Genz.

New works for string quartet have been commissioned from John Tavener and Ian Wilson and the year's major musical centenaries will also be noted the closing work is Schubert's Octet, and works by Brahms are generously dotted through the week. Poetry reading and music are again brought together - Michael Longley with Shostakovich and the late Sean Dunne (read by Tom McCarthy) with Smetana's autobiographical First Quartet. Programme information and booking details can be had from 028 33757 (phone and fax).