Ensemble to celebrate 40th anniversary at festival

An internationally renowned vocal ensemble will be celebrating its 40^th anniversary at this year’s Elgar Festival.

I Fagiolini will perform at Pershore Abbey in Worcestershire on Tuesday 26 May at 7.00pm to mark this special milestone.

Kenneth Woods, Artistic Director of the Elgar Festival said: “We can promise you some of the best vocal ensemble music at this performance by I Fagiolini, known for its world premiere recordings, collaborative cross-art projects and innovative live and online productions, the ensemble rethinks exactly what a vocal group does, considers how audiences receive music instead of just how performers want to deliver it; engagement with audiences both live and on film has always been at the heart of the ensemble’s work.  Here’s to another 40 years!”

Tickets cost £20.00 per person.

I Fagiolini is a British solo voice ensemble, founded by Robert Hollingworth in 1986; it has released 23 CDs and 5 films and is Associate Ensemble at the University of York.  It is made up of Robert Hollingworth, director, Anna Crookes and Rebecca Lea, sopranos, Martha McLorinan and Tania Murphy, altos, Matthew Long and Jacob Ewens, tenors, Sam Gilliatt and Frederick Long, bass and Anna Markland, piano.

Set in the composer’s hometown and surrounding areas over the week closest to Elgar’s birthday on 2^nd June – this year’s festival will take place from Saturday 23 May until Sunday 31 May – the festival is an annual celebration of Elgar’s music spanning symphonic and string orchestra concerts by the resident English Symphony Orchestra, along with chamber concerts, choral concerts, recitals, workshops, masterclasses, street performances, a young composers competition, exhibits, tours and talks.

Since its inauguration in 2018, when it was a Critic’s Pick in both The Guardian and The Times, the festival has doubled in size and scale and continues to grow annually through an innovative development programme of appealing and accessible events, working with hundreds of both internationally renowned professional artists and amateur musicians and performers of all ages to ensure Elgar really is for everyone.

The music of the festival’s namesake will be the centrepiece of a busy programme of 27 events across 15 different venues with 3 pre-festival events including the relaxed concerts. The full breadth of Elgar’s work will be showcased, including songs, miniatures, chamber music and choral anthems alongside his most beloved orchestral masterpieces.

This year’s festival will bring together world-class professional musicians and artists alongside local choirs and ensembles placing the music of Worcester’s most famous son alongside that of his contemporaries and some of today’s leading composers and arrangers.

For a full list of events, costs and booking information, please visit www.elgarfestival.org.