THE Canberra International Music Festival will soon be in full swing, but before that, in keeping with the chosen focus on music related to World War I, a grand preview concert is planned for Thursday, Anzac Eve – and it’s sponsored by “CityNews”, so we don’t mind blowing our own trumpet.

Fittingly, the “CityNews” “Lest We Forget” concert at the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture in Barton, will feature former “CityNews” Artist of the Year, the distinguished cellist David Pereira.

The Festival’s artistic director, Chris Latham, another former “CityNews” Artist of the Year,  has unearthed some beautiful music written by soldier composers – and much of this music will be heard for the first time at this year’s festival. The program features works that were composed, performed or connected in some way with the time surrounding the First World War. Latham won’t be in town, he’ll be at Gallipoli conducting the annual Symphony on Anzac day.

Of this cello and piano program, he says, “It was a time of great creativity and young composers wrote an abundance of very good works, which because of their relative youth, were largely for cello and piano.”

On Thursday Pereira will be joined by Tamara Anna Cislowska on piano, as they perform works with a war connection from England, France, Spain, New Zealand, Hungary and Switzerland, with five Australian premieres and one world premiere on the program.

The program will include the following works: Francis Purcell Warren’s  (UK)  “Adagio for cello and piano”, Joseph Boulnois’ (France) Cello Sonata (1917), Manuel De Falla (Spain) “Siete canciones  populares espanolas” (1914), Enrique Granados’ (Spain) “Madrigal for  Cello and Piano” (1915), Claude Debussy’s (France) Cello Sonata (1915), FS Kelly (Australia) “Con Moto” (world premiere), Arnold Trowell’s (New Zealand) ‘Andante quasi adagio’ from “Cello Sonata No. 2” (1916), Sándor Vándor’s (Hungary), “Air”, and Ernst Bloch’s (Switzerland) “Schelomo” (1916).

“CityNews” “Lest We Forget” recital, in the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture, 15 Blackall Street, Barton, 7 PM, Thursday, April 24,  by former “CityNews” Artist of the Year David Pereira, with Tamara Anna Cislowska on  piano at 7pm  on Anzac Eve, April 24. Tickets $45/$40,  bookings to TryBooking.com/EMTC