Press release
For release: Tuesday 5 March 2024
Images available here
2024 Newbury Spring Festival: 11 – 25 May, public booking open now
After a very successful pre-sale to sponsors and friends, tickets for Newbury Spring Festival are now on sale to the general public. The Festival’s diverse programme of classical, choral, chamber, cabaret, dance, jazz, folk and world music takes place in Newbury and its surrounding villages from 11 – 25 May 2024.
The London Mozart Players (Saturday 11 May) play host to a stellar lineup of soloists: young horn player Ben Goldscheider returns to Newbury to perform Benjamin Britten’s iconic Serenade for tenor, horn and strings with superstar tenor Allan Clayton, directed from the keyboard by Martin James Bartlett. The popular orchestral concerts at St Nicolas’ Church continue this year. The London Philharmonic Orchestra (Saturday 18 May) will perform under the baton of Jonathan Bloxham and their concert will include cellist Andrei Ioniță performing Dvořák’s ever-popular Cello Concerto. Closing the Festival is the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (Saturday 25 May) with conductor Stephen Barlow, building on the Festival’s Sibelius symphony cycle (which started in 2022 with Symphony No. 5 and 2023 with Symphony No. 1) with Sibelius’s Symphony No. 2. Mezzo soprano Christine Rice joins the RPO for a performance of Wagner’s only song cycle, Wesendonk Leider.
Also at St Nicolas Church is the 25th Anniversary concert of Newbury Spring Festival Chorus (Friday 17 May), who are performing with members of Southbank Sinfonia. They will sing a popular programme of choral greats, including Handel’s Zadok the Priest, Vaughan Williams’ 5 Mystical Songs, with Alex Ashworth, and Haydn’s Nelson Mass under the baton of their chorus master Tom Primrose. Rising star soprano Hilary Cronin, one of the UK’s leading young singers, who recently received a standing ovation at Carnegie Hall as soprano soloist in the Monteverdi Choir’s USA tour, will also perform two of Handel’s greatest arias, Let the Bright Seraphim and Eternal Source of Light Divine.
Other choral highlights at this year’s Festival include Tenebrae performing Joby Talbot’s seminal work Path of Miracles (Wednesday 22 May), based on the most enduring route of Catholic pilgrimage, the great Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella. Candlelight, singing from memory and an imaginative use of the concert space will guarantee Tenebrae at its dramatic best in the atmospheric setting of Douai Abbey. VOCES8 will return to the Festival (Thursday 23 May) for a varied programme of Wilbye, Holst, Arvo Pärt, Caroline Shaw, Paul Simon and more.
Chamber music also features prominently on the programme. There are performances from Ukrainian pianist Vadym Kholodenko (Sunday 12 May, Corn Exchange), who returns to the Festival after an outstanding performance with BBC Symphony Orchestra in 2022, Calefax Reed Quintet (Tuesday 14 May, Holy Cross Church, Ramsbury), Kinsky Trio Prague (Wednesday 15 May, Englefield House), Takács Quartet (Wednesday 15 May, St Mary’s Church, Shaw). Also heading to the Festival are several duos including Tamsin Waley-Cohen and Cordelia Williams (Sunday 19 May, St Mary’s Church, Kintbury), Manu Brazo and Bryan Evans (Monday 20 May, Church of the Ascension, Burghclere), and Catrin Finch and Aoife Ni Bhriain (Tuesday 21 May, Donnington Priory). Emma Johnson and the Orchestra for the Environment, will also be appearing (Friday 24 May, St Lawrence Church, Hungerford).
International young star musicians feature prominently throughout the Festival, and include pianist Martin James Bartlett, horn player Ben Goldscheider, Tchaikovsky Gold Medal winner cellist Andre Ioniță, soprano Hilary Cronin, jazz singer and pianist Sam Jewison, clarinettist Manu Brazo, and resident at London’s Ritz Hotel, soprano Miranda Heldt and pianist Jamie Safir. The popular lunchtime series of Young Artist Recitals continues at Newbury’s Corn Exchange, featuring some of the best up-and-coming young musicians of all genres including the winner of this year’s Sheepdrove Piano Competition following the public final at Sheepdrove Eco Centre the previous afternoon. We are also delighted to welcome this year’s graduating class of Central School of Ballet, Ballet Central (Tuesday 21 May), who will perform at Newbury’s Corn Exchange.
Further performances at Newbury’s Corn Exchange include National Youth Jazz Orchestra’s tribute to Dizzy Gillespie (Saturday 11 May), the big beats of the Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers (Tuesday 14 May), folk-influenced outfit Kabantu (Wednesday 15 May) and a delightful evening of Indian Classical Music (Thursday 23 May) with masters of the genre Kousic Sen (tabla) and Jonathan Mayer (sitar). Jazz singers Joe Stilgoe (Friday 24 May) and Sam Jewison (Friday 17 May) will also take to the Corn Exchange stage with their bands during the Festival. Combining music and theatre in their show Into the Melting Pot are The Telling (Wednesday 22 May); plaintive songs and lively Spanish medieval music come together with the story of a Jewish woman in 15th-century Seville. It’s a story of migration, community and conflict that may be set in the past but has sad resonances today – with a broader message of hope. Closing the Festival at the Corn Exchange is Tim Kliphuis (Saturday 25 May) and his trio performing their show Django Meets Mussorgsky, which promises to be a genre-bending mix of musical styles.
There is also plenty on offer for families to get stuck in with; shows specially devised with children in mind will introduce the next generation to the joy of live music through audience participation, imagination and plenty of fun. Whether they’re setting sail with groovy pirates (Saturday 25 May) or exploring the world from Thumbelina’s perspective (Sunday 12 May), children will love this year’s family events. There’s also the opportunity to see Toscana Strings’ delightful family show Wind in the Willows (Saturday 18 May), and for budding young brass players, Ben Goldscheider will be giving a special masterclass at the Corn Exchange (Saturday 11 May). The Festival’s evolving education programme offers young people from the local area opportunities to experience workshops and performances by Festival musicians, as well as to perform themselves within the main Festival programme.
Mark Eynon, Festival Director, comments:
“This anniversary year proudly celebrates the 45th Newbury Spring Festival, the 25th Anniversary of our wonderful Festival Chorus, the 15th Anniversary of our own Sheepdrove Piano Competition, and a personal milestone – my 25th Anniversary as Festival Director. We will continue our long-standing tradition of bringing the best artists from around the world to Newbury and its immediate area as we welcome musicians from as far afield as India and Japan, USA, Argentina, Spain, Ukraine, Holland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, and of course the United Kingdom and Ireland.
“Our international programme, “two weeks of world-class music” also continues to feature some of the finest young artists emerging on the international scene in both our Young Artist Recital Series and within the evening concerts, as soloists and ensembles alongside some of the greatest and most established musicians whom we are honoured to welcome to Newbury.”
Box office
Public booking from 10am Tuesday 5 March 2024
In person: Corn Exchange, Market Place, Newbury, RG14 5BD
By phone: 01635 522733
Online: https://www.newburyspringfestival.org.uk/
Full Listings
Saturday 11 May
St Nicholas Church, Newbury, 7.30pm
Masterclass with Ben Goldscheider
Corn Exchange, Newbury, 10am
National Youth Jazz Orchestra: A Tribute to Dizzy Gillespie
Corn Exchange, Newbury, 7.30pm
Sunday 12 May
Sheepdrove Eco Centre, 11am and 2.30pm
Corn Exchange, Newbury, 3pm
Combe Manor, Combe, 7.30pm
Monday 13 May
Young Artist Recital: Maiastra Piano Quintet
Corn Exchange, Newbury, 12.30pm
Corn Exchange, Newbury, 7.30pm
The Vineyard, Stockcross, 7.30pm
Tuesday 14 May
Dr Jude Currivan: The Story of Gaia
Shaw House, 3pm
Mugenkyo Taiko Drummers: 30th Anniversary Tour
Corn Exchange, Newbury, 7.30pm
Holy Cross Church, Ramsbury, 7.30pm
Wednesday 15 May
Young Artist Recital: The Bellot Ensemble
Corn Exchange, Newbury, 12.30pm
Corn Exchange, Newbury, 7.30pm
Englefield House, Theale, 7.30pm
Thursday 16 May
Daniel Finkelstein in Conversation with Robert Harris
Englefield House, Theale, 3pm
Graffiti Classics: The Comedy String Quartet
Corn Exchange, Newbury, 7.30pm
St. Mary’s Church, Shaw, 7.30pm
Friday 17 May
Young Artist Recital: Alinde Quintet
Corn Exchange, Newbury, 12.30pm
Corn Exchange, Newbury, 7.30pm
Newbury Spring Festival Chorus: 25th Anniversary Concert
St Nicolas Church, Newbury 7.30pm
Sheepdrove Eco Centre, Lambourn, 7.30pm
Saturday 18 May
Wind in the Willows: Stories Set To Music with Dance
Corn Exchange, Newbury, 10am and 11.30am
St. John’s Church, Newbury, 3.30pm
A Night of Argentinian Tango: The Romano Viazzani Ensemble
Corn Exchange, Newbury, 7.30pm
St. Nicolas Church, Newbury, 7.30pm
Sunday 19 May
Kennet Centre Centre, Newbury, 11am
Sheepdrove Piano Competition Final
Sheepdrove Eco Centre, Lambourn, 3pm
Corn Exchange, Newbury 3pm
Tamsin Waley-Cohen & Cordelia Williams
St. Mary’s Church, Kintbury, 7.30pm
Monday 20 May
Corn Exchange, Newbury, 12.30pm
Good Vibes Music Academy: Showcase Performance
Corn Exchange, Newbury, 7.30pm
Church of the Ascension, Burghclere, 7.30pm
Tuesday 21 May
Marc Chagall: Wandering Jew or Citizen of the World
Arlington Arts, 10.30am and 1.45pm
Corn Exchange, Newbury, 7.30pm
Catrin Finch & Aoife Ni Bhriain
Donnington Priory, 7.30pm
Wednesday 22 May
Young Artist Recital: The Finn Collinson Band
Corn Exchange, Newbury, 12.30pm
The Telling: Into the Melting Pot
Corn Exchange, Newbury, 7.30pm
Douai Abbey, 7.30pm
Thursday 23 May
Paul Nicholas: In Conversation with Edward Seckerson
The Chapel, Sydmonton Court, 11.30am
A Night of Indian Music: Jonathan Mayer and Kousic Sen in Concert
Corn Exchange, Newbury, 7.30pm
St Martin’s Church, East Woodhay, 7.30pm
Friday 24 May
Young Artist Recital: Jack Hancher
Corn Exchange, Newbury, 12.30pm
Joe Stilgoe Trio: The Entertainers
Corn Exchange, Newbury, 7.30pm
Emma Johnson: The Orchestra for the Environment
St. Lawrence Church, Hungerford, 7.30pm
Saturday 25 May
Corn Exchange, Newbury, 10.30am
St. Nicolas Church, Newbury, 7.30pm
Tim Kliphuis: Django meets Mussorgsky
Corn Exchange, Newbury, 7.30pm
Note to editors
Newbury Spring Festival
Founded in 1979, Newbury Spring Festival is a glorious fortnight of world-class music in Newbury and its beautiful neighbouring villages, with up to 45 events in 18 venues, and where international symphony orchestras, ensembles and soloists rub shoulders with jazz legends, world music artists and the stars of tomorrow. It aims to bring excellent, new and innovative work from around the world to a variety of local venues adding to the economic and cultural wellbeing of the area, and to continue to create opportunities for young people, existing and new audiences to enjoy the arts.
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Images available here
For further information or to book an interview with an artist please contact:
Milly March, Marketing Manager, [email protected]
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