It offers the finest classical music in the Cotswolds and metaphorically holds the perfect key to celebrate its 21st birthday. Tetbury Music Festival hosts some of the world’s leading soloists and ensembles and showcases this high-class musicianship in the royal market town’s beautiful acoustic of St Marys’ Church.
But this year it is also unlocking something different by providing audiences with a fascinating insight into the stories behind the strings. How does an extremely valuable instrument that is hundreds of years old end up in the hands of a young musician? What is the narrative linking a musical object of a bygone era with a talented young man or woman who brings it to life in another?
It adds an extraordinary dimension which legendary interviewer Donald Macleod will unpack through a panel discussion entitled ‘Fantastic instruments and where to find them’ on Thursday, October 3 (3pm) at The Goods Shed.
Each year this prestigious week-long festival delights its audiences, who come from far and wide, with a fresh and diverse programme showcasing those who are at the top of their game and 2024 no exception. Tetbury Music Festival kicks off on Saturday, September 28 at The Goods Shed with Craig Ogden, one of the UK’s most-recorded guitarists. He is a regular fixture in the UK Classical Charts, a firm favourite with Classic FM listeners and will be showcasing the versatility of the guitar in the 2024 festival programme. This includes the plaintive lute tunes of Dowland and the Baroque flourishes of Bach and Vivaldi, to Latin American and Spanish music of the 20th and 21st centuries.
It is a festival which has had the support of HM King Charles III since it was founded in 2003 by Elise Smith OBE and Graham Kean, and despite reviewing his involvement with the wide-ranging organisations and charities close to his heart since becoming King, Tetbury Music Festival remains firmly on his agenda.
Having lived in his beloved Highgrove, just outside Tetbury, for some 40 years, the King’s connections are strong. Whilst the house is not accessible to the public, the Gardens are open between April and September, allowing visitors to share imaginative and inspirational designs which are a haven for a rich variety of flora and fauna. Highgrove Shop in Tetbury’s Long Street is a popular hub for tourists and local visitors who appreciate luxury outdoor and garden ware, traditional crafted homeware, and beautifully designed artisan pieces, which showcase the traditional and artisan crafts from around the UK, including pieces that have been designed exclusively for Highgrove.
‘As the festival takes place at the start of autumn when the nights are drawing in, those attending the concerts who get to the church early enough will see the two candelabras, each holding 36 candles, being lit. They are balanced by weights, and it is fascinating to watch as they are expertly lit. It is beautifully atmospheric,’ explains Caz.
‘It is also a great way to put summer behind us, see familiar faces and start to look forward to the autumnal evenings.’
On Saturday, October 5 at 6.30pm, Stephen Layton and his universally acclaimed choir, Polyphony, will be enthralling music enthusiasts with an exciting programme featuring the work of Holst, Vaughan-Williams, Stanford, and other British and Anglo-Irish composers. Stephen formed Polyphony in 1986 for a concert in King's College Chapel, Cambridge. The choir has since performed and recorded regularly to great critical acclaim throughout the world.
Earlier in the day at 3pm at The Goods Shed, the distinguished arts administrator and music writer Sir Nicholas Kenyon will deliver the second festival lecture. Entitled ‘The Pied Pipers of Early Music – how period performance changed the musical world,’ Sir Nicholas will look at the interest in playing music of the past on the instruments of the past as well as in keeping with the manner of the composer who wrote the music. He looks at the influential figures who paved the way, assessing the lasting impact of the ‘early music’ movement.
Like all festivals, the success of this music festival relies on the support of not only those who organise it, but the enthusiasm of the sponsors, Friends of Tetbury Music Festival (known as Dolphins) and the audiences who attend. Before meeting with festival director Caz in The Close Hotel, one of the many hospitable and elegant places to chat, dine and stay in Tetbury, I challenged her to think what piece of classical music would best portray Tetbury. She called on the wisdom of fellow festival organisers for an answer. One suggested ‘The Swan’, the 13th and penultimate movement of ‘The Carnival of the Animals’ by Camille Saint-Saëns.
‘This is partly because the festival runs smoothly on the surface, but underneath we are all paddling hard!’ explains Caz.
One business which helps ensure the church looks its best for Tetbury Music Festival is Scentiments, the town’s stylish florist, based in Church Street.
‘We have been flowering for them pretty much since the beginning. The festival brings a lot of visitors into the town and it’s an honour to be included because it is such a high-profile event,’ says Jo Poole who set up Scentiments almost 30 years ago.
‘We think Vivaldi’s ‘Four Seasons’ is a good melody for Tetbury as the town looks great no matter what season,’ she adds.
As well as offering visitors an abundance of independent shops, boutiques, great food, beautiful surroundings, enchanting places to visit such as Westonbirt Arboretum, Chavenage House, Highgrove Gardens, and cycling and walking opportunities along the Thames Path, there is a strong community spirit and appreciation for the arts.
Spencer House Gallery, on Long Street, represents emerging, early-career and established Cotswolds artists and is enjoying partnerships with other arts organisations and entrepreneurs in the region.
One of the Gallery's exhibition stars was painter Angie Spencer (the name match is a happy accident) who had spent a year as 'Artist in Residence' at Painswick Rococo Garden. Angie is herself the embodiment of joint music-and-art talent, being a gifted landscape artist as well as a classical violinist and leader of Stroud Symphony Orchestra plus playing in a popular string quartet.
Also on Long Street, near the iconic Tetbury Market House, is Mayfair & Grace, awarded Best Salon 2024 in the National Beauty Awards. In keeping with the musical theme, every Saturday, this hair, beauty laser and aesthetic salon hosts a young pianist who plays its baby grand piano for the enjoyment of any passers-by and for their clients. This is Max Winfield, a year 8 Music Scholar at Westonbirt School and the 2024 Winner of the Philip Turner Cup at the Cheltenham Festival of Performing Arts.
As festival director, Caz admits it is only when the audience is seated and the programme begins that she can remove the festival director hat and enjoy the music, knowing she and her team have fulfilled their role.
‘What has really made the 21st birthday year special is to have had confirmation from the King’s personal secretary that the King will continue the Patronage of Tetbury Music Festival which began when he was Prince of Wales,’ says Caz. ‘His support and enthusiasm were so inspiring when the festival first began 21 years ago and his re-commitment means a very great deal to us.’
https://www.tetburymusicfestival.org/
