The Cumnock Tryst has announced the cancellation of this year’s festival, which had been scheduled for October.

The uncertainty surrounding the possibility of large gatherings in the near future has forced their hand and instead of the series of gigs they had planned this Autumn, they are inviting audiences to join them in the new year.

It’s become an important date in the Cumnock calendar and has been hailed as a great meeting place for music lovers and musicians from all over Scotland.

In recognition of the fact, organisers behind the Cumnock Tryst have decided to host a “series

of concerts and events which will comply with Government guidelines over the first six months of the year” rather than wait until October 2021.

Sir James MacMillan, founder and festival director of the Cumnock Tryst said: “Now more than ever we want to find ways to bring the best classical music to as wide as possible an audience in our local communities in Ayrshire and bring people together safely, to enjoy it.

“Although we can’t mount the festival as planned this year, we’re planning some wonderful concerts over the first few months of next year to lift our souls. We look forward to sharing these with you soon.”

This had promised to be a big year for The Cumnock Tryst, with plans involving Barony Hall at the new Robert Burns Academy in Cumnock and the launch of its major new community project, the Musical Celebration of the Coalfields, which will span the next two to three years.

In the autumn this year it will announce musicians set to visit Cumnock during the first half of 2021, including its very first orchestral concert, and thereafter will follow another stellar line-up for the festival in October 2021.

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