The Elgar Festival is established as a major event in the national festival calendar. Lauded as Critic’s Pick in The Guardian in 2018 and featured as one of the top 20 Jubilee events in 2022, it offers a wide programme combining concerts of popular repertoire and new commissions performed by internationally recognised guest artists as well as the cream of the region’s musicians, with talks, masterclasses, workshops, film screenings and family-friendly events.
Amongst highlights this year are symphonic and ensemble concerts given by the festival’s orchestra-in-residence – English Symphony Orchestra (ESO) – under their Principal Conductor and Festival Artistic Director, Kenneth Woods. World-renowned guest artists taking part include Raphael Wallfisch, Gareth Brynmor John, April Fredrick, Simon Callaghan and David Briggs.
Since its inception in 2018, the Elgar Festival has grown from a weekend to a nine-day celebration of the life and music of Worcester’s most famous son and Britain’s great composer, Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934), held at a number of integral and accessible venues of historic interest and personal significance to the composer including Worcester Cathedral and Guildhall, St George’s RC Church and Great Malvern Priory.
‘There are few composers whose sense of home, community and place was as closely connected to their creative work as Elgar,’ says artistic director and principal conductor of the ESO, Kenneth Woods, ‘and it’s easy to understand how the beauty of Elgar Country – Worcestershire and the Malvern Hills – inspired him. First time visitors to the Elgar Festival are often surprised and hugely excited by just how much of a presence Elgar is here.’
Edward Elgar. Photo: Mary Evans Picture Library
Who was Sir Edward Elgar?
Worcestershire enjoys a unique musical association with Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934), the ennobled composer who rose from a humble Worcester shop-keeper’s son to the internationally revered luminary whose works are performed and recorded throughout the world today.
The young Elgar was educated at Littleton (now Lyttleton) House school, near Worcester. He was mainly self-taught in composition as his father could not afford to send him to a music Conservatory, and as a youngster he would borrow books from the music library at Worcester Cathedral. Elgar was always sensitive about his humble origins even after he achieved recognition.
An important early opportunity came as conductor of the attendants’ band at the Worcester and County Lunatic Asylum in Powick, which provided Elgar with practical experience and understanding of the instruments of the orchestra.
Elgar’s career took off following the success of the ‘Enigma’ Variations, and many of his subsequent works have entered the concert repertoire, including concertos and symphonies, his oratorio ‘The Dream of Gerontius’, as well as chamber music and songs. He was appointed Master of the King’s Music in 1924 and lived in Worcestershire for much of his life, often finding inspiration for his work on the Malvern Hills.
The country cottage in Lower Broadheath where Elgar was born, ‘The Firs’, is now the Elgar Birthplace Museum (National Trust), and Elgar’s statue at the end of Worcester High Street stands facing the cathedral, near to where his father’s shop once stood.
Elgar died in 1934 at the age of 76 and was buried next to his wife, Alice, at St Wulstan’s Roman Catholic Church in Little Malvern.
The English Symphony Orchestra
Firmly established as ‘The International Orchestra of Elgar Country’, the English Symphony Orchestra, under their artistic director and principal conductor, Kenneth Woods, has become synonymous with artistic excellence, innovative and visionary programming, distinctive commissioning, ground-breaking recording, a welcoming and immersive concert experience, transformative youth programmes and service to the community.
Each year, the ESO headlines an ambitious series of concerts across the Midlands’ region and beyond. They have been orchestra-in-residence at the Elgar Festival since its inception, and there are a number of opportunities to hear them in this year’s programme.
Gala concert in Worcester Cathedral
Hear the combined forces of the ESO and the Elgar Festival Chorus conducted by Kenneth Woods at the Festival Gala Concert in Worcester Cathedral in performances of Elgar’s Symphony no.2, a World Premiere by Ian Venables, and John Ireland’s oratorio These Things Shall Be featuring baritone soloist Gareth Brynmor John.
English String Greats
Composers from the heart of England including Elgar, Vaughan Williams and Howells have been at the forefront in writing some of the world’s most beautiful music for strings throughout the 20th century and perhaps no other orchestra has done more to champion the tradition of British music for strings as the strings of the English Symphony Orchestra – the English String Orchestra. Always highly anticipated, this year’s concert features award-winning viola soloist Rosalind Ventris in works by Elgar and Ian Venables, plus a thrilling Sonata for Strings by William Walton.
Showcase for the region’s finest performers
The abundance and variety of choral and song repertoire is regularly showcased at the Elgar Festival by the region’s well-loved ensembles, represented this year in a programme of Part Songs by Elgar, Parry and Stanford performed by the Proteus Ensemble; the acclaimed Midlands chamber choir directed by Stephen Shellard.
The Jenny Lind Singers is a virtuosic female voice choir named after the ‘Swedish Nightingale’ under the leadership of Lynne Lindner, and their programme provides the chance to hear works by Errolyn Wallen, Master of the King’s Music, and award-winning Worcestershire-based composer, Liz Dilnot Johnson.
The Elgar Chorale has established itself as one of the leading specialist choirs in the West Midlands and will be performing works by Elgar, Coleridge-Taylor, Stanford and Ian Venables under the direction of Piers Maxim.
Worcestershire Symphony Orchestra, which Elgar helped to found in 1905, will perform popular works by Elgar and Mozart and a more recent re-discovery by Midlands-based composer, Ruth Gipps, entitled Cringlemire Garden and inspired by the Lake District.
Who was Samuel Coleridge-Taylor?
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875 -1912) was a British composer and conductor of mixed-race descent, hailed as the “African Mahler”. Following studies at the Royal College of Music, Coleridge-Taylor began to earn a reputation as a composer and it was Edward Elgar, who recommended him to the Three Choirs Festival where one of his works was subsequently premiered.
Coleridge-Taylor drew from traditional African music integrating it into the classical tradition, and his popular Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast sold hundreds of thousands of copies.
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor died of pneumonia aged 37 but in recent years many of his works have been published and performed. Both Coleridge-Taylor’s children had musical careers; his daughter, Avril Coleridge-Taylor, also became a composer-conductor.
Hear more music by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor when the ESO’s Chamber Orchestra perform Romances and Serenades in a programme entitled Summer Sunset Soirée: Salons, Serenades and Songs.
Elgar For Everyone: Free and informal events
To ensure accessibility for everyone, all concerts at the Elgar Festival offer free entry for under 18s accompanied by full-paying adults. Many other events are free-of-charge including relaxed concerts, talks, film and an exhibition.
Informal events include an outside performance by Worcester Concert Brass in Worcester’s Cathedral Square – also free-of-charge – and there’s early evening Club Elgar at West Malvern Social Club featuring a Retro 70s Fusion where 70s fancy dress is recommended, priced at £10.
In Elgar’s Footsteps is a guided walk from the top of the Malvern Hills to St Wulstan’s Church, culminating in a short recital, while Festival Evensong in the Cathedral is a fitting conclusion celebrating the music of Edward Elgar and Ian Venables, and to which all are invited to attend.
Participatory events for young musicians
As a major community event committed to attract the widest possible audience, the Elgar Festival provides inspiring performance opportunities for children, young people and adults through initiatives such as the ‘Elgar for Everyone’ Family Concert, Young Composers’ Competition, Elgar Festival Chorus, and by way of masterclasses and workshops, giving hundreds of people in the wider population the chance to participate.
Youth courses this year include a new performance partnership with students from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.
Classic FM broadcaster Zeb Soanes hosts the ‘Elgar for Everyone’ Family Concert in Worcester Cathedral which provides a platform for ESO Youth Orchestras and Ensembles – young musicians from across the Midlands’ region. During the concert there will be the opportunity to hear the winning entries from this year’s Young Composers’ Competition.
Other participatory events include Come and Play Elgar 1 and a Young Singers Masterclass – this year, students will work on a song of their choice by a British composer with soprano April Fredrick and featured composer Ian Venables.
Support the Elgar Festival
The Elgar Festival is raising money to help deliver its 2025 iteration and to continue the development of its range of events for people of all ages, interests, and lifestyles. Funding continues to be a huge challenge across all arts organisations and donations are valuable in helping to continue the legacy of one of England’s most revered composers, contributing towards costs for relaxed concerts, artist’s fees and instrument and venue hire, and keeping the free events free for all. elgarfestival.org/support
The Elgar Festival runs from May 24-June 1, 2025. Worcester Theatres, Huntingdon Hall Box Office, Worcester WR1 3LD, tel: 01905 611427, elgarfestival.org
Worcestershire in song
Celebrating his 70th year – with a number of national and international performances as well as being the subject of a biographical film – is featured composer and well-loved Worcester resident, Ian Venables who, like Elgar, shares Worcestershire both as a home and inspirational landscape.
The Song of the Severn is one of Ian’s most popular works written for baritone and string quartet, and the songs in this cycle celebrate his home county of Worcestershire with titles such as On Malvern Hill, and Elgar’s Music.
The recording features world-renown baritone Roderick Williams and the Carducci Quartet, available on Signum Classics.
‘I am absolutely delighted to be this year’s featured composer at the Elgar Festival,’ says Ian Venables. ‘The festival, held in my hometown of Worcester is one of the musical highlights of the year and I am very much looking forward to working with some of the county’s talented young musicians and composers and to attending the many exciting concerts that Kenneth Woods and the English Symphony Orchestra have programmed. The festival is an event not to be missed!’
Featured composer: Ian Venables
Each year the Elgar Festival celebrates the work of a featured living British composer. In a tribute from his home City of Worcester, Ian Venables, who is celebrating his 70th birthday in 2025, will be this year’s Featured Composer, with his works programmed in no fewer than eight concerts and in venues that include Worcester Cathedral, Great Malvern Priory and ‘The Firs’ (Elgar’s Birthplace).
Acclaimed as “Britain’s greatest living composer of art songs” by Musical Opinion, and as “a song composer as fine as Finzi and Gurney” by BBC Music, audiences to the Elgar Festival will recall a memorable performance of the composer’s Requiem by the ESO, Worcester Cathedral Chamber Choir and Saint Cecilia Singers which took place in Great Malvern Priory a couple of years ago.
The undoubted highlight this year will be the world premiere of the song-cycle, Out of the Shadows, in its orchestral version. Under the baton of Kenneth Woods, The English Symphony Orchestra and baritone Gareth Brynmor John perform this powerful cycle, one that explores themes of love and sexuality, through the words of Constantine Cavafy, Lord Tennyson, Horatio Brown, John Addington Symonds and Edward Percy Warren.
Other artists performing Venables’ music at the festival include: April Fredrick (soprano); The Elgar Chorale and Piers Maxim; David Briggs (organ); Raphael Wallfisch (cello); Simon Callaghan (piano) and The Worcester Cathedral Chamber Choir.
For those unfamiliar with his work, a film screening of Ian Venables: Hidden Music provides a biographical journey through the composer’s music and presents an intimate portrait of his life and musical development. Directed by Anthony Cheng and with contributions from Roderick Williams, Alessandro Fisher, Patricia Rozario, Simon Heffer and Stephen Johnson amongst others, this will be followed by a Q & A with the composer himself, hosted by Classic FM’s Zeb Soanes, this event will follow a performance of his Three Pieces for Violin and Piano.
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