The Risør Chamber Music Festival was established in 1991 with the following mission statement:

"The Risør Chamber Music Festival is a non-profit foundation, the purpose of which is to arrange an annual chamber music festival at which both important classical music and more contemporary repertoires will be presented. Efforts will be made to find musicians - both Norwegian and foreign - of recognised high artistic standard or with proven, indisputable talent. The Chamber Music 
Festival will be a national and international forum for chamber music and will also stimulate musical and cultural life in Risør and the region."

The Risør Chamber Music Festival has new management this year, with Eirik Raude as festival director and Italian pianist Enrico Pace as artistic guest conductor. As always Risør church be the festival's main venue, where audiences can experience close contact with music and musicians. The concerts in the church will consist of music from the whole history of music and the audience will hear chamber music from the year Risør church was built and up until today.

The Risør Chamber Music Festival is an important arena to develop the classical music tradition through conservation and innovation. A central arena is the concert venue on Hødnebø, right on the waterfront, with views of the archipelago. With creative musical collaboration across age and genre, the festival seeks to create experiences beyond the ordinary.

This year's festival will be held from 28 June to 2 July.