2025 Elgar Festival hailed as ‘best event yet’

The Worcestershire-based Elgar Festival returned for its May and June events this year with a joyful week of concerts, conversations, talks, innovative events and exhibitions spread across Worcester, Malvern, Lower Broadheath and Pershore, celebrating the life and music of Britain’s greatest composer.

The music of the festival’s namesake was the centrepiece of a busy programme of 27 events across 20 different venues, from Saturday 24 May until Sunday 1 June. The full breadth of Elgar’s work was showcased, including major orchestral works, choral, miniatures, part-songs, violin sonata, and his wind quintets performed in the Worcester church where Elgar was organist, St. George’s RC, Sansome Walk.

More than 500 performers were involved throughout the festival, aged from 8 to 90, reaching an impressive audience of nearly 3,000 over 10 days. Record audiences attended with most events at capacity and some sold-out in advance. There were several free events including relaxed concerts, an exhibition and Worcester Concert Brass in Cathedral Square.

Themed ‘Celebrate with Elgar’, this year’s Festival brought together world-class professional musicians and artists, local choirs, ensembles and orchestras, placing the music of Worcester’s most famous son alongside that of his contemporaries and some of today’s leading composers and arrangers.

Highlights included the annual Gala Concert on Saturday 31 May in a packed Worcester Cathedral with the festival’s orchestra-in-residence, the English Symphony Orchestra (ESO) and its Artistic Director and Principal Conductor, Kenneth Woods. The Gala featured a song cycle by Ian Venables, Elgar’s mighty 2^nd Symphony, and John Ireland’s ‘These Things Shall Be’, performed by the Elgar Festival Chorus with baritone Gareth Brynmor John and conductor Stephen Shellard.

The ESO gave chamber and strings concerts in Worcester Guildhall and Malvern Priory, and recitals by world renowned artists included cellist Raphael Wallfisch, organist David Briggs, and soprano April Fredrick. Participatory events included ‘Come and Play Elgar 1’ and a Young Singers Masterclass.

This year’s Featured Composer, Worcester-based Ian Venables, was busy throughout the week with a film screening and performances of his music, involvement in the Young Singers Masterclass, and adjudicating the Young Composers Competition. Winners of the competition had their pieces performed at the Elgar for Everyone Family Concert in Worcester Cathedral by members of the ESO. The concert, featuring over 100 young musicians, was presented by Classic FM’s Zeb Soanes and featured ‘Paddington Bear’s First Concert’ a narrated work by Herbert Chappell.

New events at this year’s Festival included a guided walk on the Malvern Hills, a performance partnership with students from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, and a bike event at Rushwick Pump Track in celebration of Elgar’s love of cycling!

The festival is committed to championing the music of our time, as Artistic Director Kenneth Woods said: “Elgar was a tireless champion of the contemporary music of his own time, and the festival honours his legacy by supporting living composers in as many ways as possible.  We are delighted that this year’s festival was so well received.”

Adrian Gregson, Chair of The Elgar Festival and former Mayor of Worcester concluded : “We would like to say a very big thank you to all the performers and support teams who made this year’s festival such a fabulous success.”

Set in the composer’s hometown and surrounding areas, the festival is an annual celebration of Elgar’s music spanning symphonic and string orchestra concerts.

The festival – which was launched in 2018 – was established by decree of Worcester City Council and is traditionally held on the weekend closest to Elgar’s birthday, 2 June 1857.

Since it began – lauded as ‘Critic’s Pick’ in both The Guardian and The Times – the festival has doubled in size and scale and championed Sir Edward to as wide an audience as possible. It 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.

For further information please visit www.elgarfestival.org.