Welcome to the Music Home page of the Festival.

Our next event is Bath Young Musician on Tuesday 1st October at 7.30 pm in the Pump Rooms, Bath.  We have five young performers taking part: Anna Campbell (Horn), Will Liao (Piano), Clara Phelps (Soprano), Xavier Raynes (Bassoon) and Sonia Sung (Harp).  Their performances will be adjudicated by Paul Denegri, Helen Deakin and Michael Johnson.  Last year’s winner , Katie Bunney (Saxophone), will play during the adjudication.  Do come and join us for this very special evening and enjoy the performances of these very talented young musicians.

Our aim with all festival events is to foster the enjoyment of live music making and extend the learning experiences of all participants whether they are performing or watching and listening to others. To this end, we provide a variety of performance opportunities for all levels of musical ability.  We seek to move with the times, consulting with local teachers and deleting and adding classes or events as appropriate. So please let us know if there are any new classes you would like to see.

*New for 2020*

Adult Choral classes

A new non-competitive class for community choirs.  This class is for any combination of voices performing two pieces of their own choice. Contact lynne@midsomersetfestival.org for more information

We are already looking forward to 2020 and have the following dates booked so you can put them in your diary now.

We open on March 6th with our Bands and Orchestras evening at The Roper Theatre, Hayesfield School with opportunities for Wind Bands, Swing Bands and Conventional Orchestras.  Some classes are for school age performers only while others are open to amateur performers of all ages.

Smaller instrumental groups and ensembles will find our Chamber Music evening on Wednesday 18th has opportunities for a variety of instrumental groups to compete in an informal and friendly atmosphere.

Wednesday March 11^th is Primary Music Day at the Pavilion. We offer a mix of competitive and non-competitive classes for choirs and instrumental groups up to Year 6.   Please note the entry secretary for Primary Music Day is now Sue Summers who can be contacted at susansummers@metronet.co.uk

Thursday 12th sees Secondary Choral Day return to Bath – this year taking place at the St Mary’s Church, Bathwick while on Saturday March 14^th, Adult Choral Day takes place at St Michaels Without.  Please note the entry secretary for Secondary Choral is now Judy Hellyer who can be contacted at s.choral@midsomersetfestival.org

Vocal Classes are on Monday and Tuesday March 16th and 17th with Musical Theatre on Friday March 13^th – all at Bath Citadel, (Salvation Army).

On Tuesday March 17^th Harp classes return to the Cedar Hall in Wells Cathedral School while on Wednesday and Thursday March 18th and 19th Piano and all other Instrumental classes take place either at the Guildhall, Bath or Bath Citadel.

We are your local Festival and seek to provide opportunities to perform in a public environment. All our classes are judged by professional adjudicators who are friendly and encouraging to young players while offering useful feedback and advice.

Look out for the 2020 syllabus which will be published in hard copy and online in September 2019.

CLASSICAL MUSIC EVENING

Braunschweig Room, the Guildhall, Bath Thursday 19th March 2020 at 6.15pm. Free Admission.

We invite you to an evening of Classical Music involving two of the Festival’s most prestigious competitions:

The Thelma King Instrumental Award for high achievers in Solo Instrumental classes, which offers the winner a substantial prize.

The Concerto Final a play-off between the winners of the Piano Concerto class, the Wind Concerto class and the Concerto class for any Stringed Instrument. The winner will be presented with the Premier Award of the Festival as well as a generous cash prize.

Please take this opportunity to come along to listen and you will be sure to hear some music making of the highest quality.