2026 Elgar Festival hailed as ‘best event yet’

The Worcestershire-based Elgar Festival returned for its May events this year with a joyful week of concerts, conversations, events and exhibitions 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 15 different venues with 3 pre-festival events including relaxed concerts. The full breadth of Elgar’s work was showcased, including songs, miniatures, chamber music and choral anthems alongside his most beloved orchestral masterpieces.

More than 650 performers were involved, aged from 6 to 90 years, reaching an impressive audience of more than 2500 people during the festival.

This year’s festival brought 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.

There were several free events, relaxed concerts, a family concert, exhibitions, choral events, Q and As, a guided walk, youth masterclasses, a multi-media community event and a performance partnership with students from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

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 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 by the resident English Symphony Orchestra, along with chamber concerts, choral concerts, recitals, workshops, masterclasses, a young composers’ competition, exhibits, tours and talks.

This year it was a Critic’s Pick in both The Telegraph and The Times; since it’s inauguration in 2018, the festival has quadrupled 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.

Next year’s Elgar Festival will take place from 29 May until 6 June.

For further information please visit www.elgarfestival.org.