Brass to the fore: this year's Cumnock Tryst is a tribute to the late Scottish trumpeter John Wallace & a celebration of the tradition of brass band music in the Ayrshire coalfields

The cooperation band

Sir James MacMillan's Cumnock Tryst returns with its twelfth festival, running from 1 to 4 October 2026, the festival brings together world-class international artists, leading Scottish ensembles, and young musicians from The Tryst’s growing community of local talent. 

A strong brass thread runs through the weekend, reflecting a tribute to the late Scottish trumpeter John Wallace, a longstanding friend of The Tryst who died earlier this year, and celebrating both Wallace’s legacy and the deep tradition of brass band music in the Ayrshire coalfields. The festival closes with a performance by The Wallace Collection (the brass ensemble Wallace founded forty years ago) joining with the cooperation band at Cumnock Old Church for Giovanni Gabrieli’s Canzoni et Sonate in Wallace’s own arrangement, a project he had been passionate about bringing to Cumnock. 

Other highlights include saxophonist Jess Gilham and euphonium player David Childs joining the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in James MacMillan’s Saxophone Concerto and the Scottish premiere of his Where the Lugar Meets the Glaisnock, a new euphonium work and the composer’s love-letter to the town where he grew up.

The Cumnock Tryst Festival Chorus joins the Wallace Collection for a programme of Vaughan Williams, Rutter, Ēriks Ešenvalds’ and premiere of a new commission by American composer AJ Harbison, with the chorus being joined by young singers from East, North and South Ayrshire. 

Other events include recitals by pianist Ethan Loch (the Scottish pianist who won the BBC Young Musician Keyboard Category in 2022) playing his own music alongside Gluck, Chopin and Liszt's Piano Sonata in B minor, and there are recitals from euphonium player David Childs and from the Jess Gilham Trio. There are Promenade concerts at Dumfries House showcasing young talent, including Kilmarnock pianist Ethan Chan, the South Ayrshire Chamber Singers and a finalist from the 2026 Scottish Young Musician of the Year competition.  Late-night Festival Club performances at the Dumfries Arms Hotel feature the Hannah Rarity Trio, the Seonaid Aitken Quintet, and Cumnock favourites CAMPS (Cumnock Arts Makes People Smile). 

The Unbroken Thread is the annual free sharing of work created by service users at the Riverside Centre and pupils from Hillside School in collaboration with Drake Music Scotland and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.  The Cumnock Hour with writer and broadcaster Stephen Johnson in partnership with the Boswell Book Festival, discussing his new book Music Lessons: Seven Composers and What They Taught Me. 

Speaking about the 2026 festival, James MacMillan said: "This year's festival is, in large part, a tribute to my dear friend John Wallace, who did so much for Scottish music. Through our brass and choral focus, we celebrate the tradition of the Ayrshire coalfields -- the world my grandfather knew as a miner and euphonium player. Honouring this heritage and John's memory by placing young Ayrshire musicians at the heart of the weekend, alongside his own Wallace Collection — who will perform the world premiere of a new commission from American composer AJ Harbison — feels exactly right for our twelfth year."

Full details from the Festival website.