The 2017 festival will run between Saturday 24th June and Saturday 1st July 2017. You can download the publicity brochure for the 2017 festival by clicking here.
> Saturday 24th June 2017 @ 7:30pm – £16
Austonley Brass (dectet) & Neil Taylor (organ)
This brass dectet boasts some of the most sought after brass musicians and educators in the country; every player is a soloist in their own right. Neil Taylor, formerly Director of Music at Sheffield Cathedral, will play the church’s recently refurbished Laycock and Bannister organ.
A full programme can be found by clicking here.
> Sunday 25th June 2017 @ 6:30pm
Choral Evensong with Guest Preacher The Very Reverend Peter Bradley – Dean of Sheffield
Peter Bradley has been Dean of Sheffield since 2003. Before then he
served in parishes and chaplaincies in Cambridge, Northampton, High
Wycombe and near Oxford. During his time in Sheffield the Cathedral
has been substantially rebuilt, from the golden weather vane on the
spire to the centre for the homeless far below.
During 2015, Peter led for the Cathedral on an international art show
in Sheffield, showing major works from the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo
Collection in Turin throughout the Cathedral. More recently, he has
welcomed a large exhibition of works celebrating the Divine Comedy by
Dante.
Peter chairs the Sheffield City Partnership Board which brings together
all statutory and voluntary sector agencies to focus on reducing poverty
in the city. He also chairs Sheffield Money, a new agency which seeks to
provide fair financial services to those who would otherwise use high
cost lenders.
> Monday 26th June 2017 @ 7:30pm – £18
Jacqui Dankworth & Charlie Wood
Celebrated vocalist Jacqui Dankworth is accompanied by her husband, singer/pianist Charlie Wood. In a programme entitled “Just Me, Just You” Jacqui will present songs from her many original recordings, including interpretations of jazz standards and specially arranged duet versions of some of her favourite classic and contemporary numbers, from Duke Ellington to Carole King and from Lil Hardin Armstrong to Lizz Wright.
A full programme can be found by clicking here.
> Tuesday 27th June 2017 @ 7:30pm – £18
Formed in 2005 in New York, the Escher String Quartet quickly caught the attention of key musical figures worldwide and has subsequently built on its success, becoming known for its beautifully blended sound, intelligent shaping and depth of musical perception. A former BBC New Generation Artist, the quartet made its BBC Proms debut at Cadogan Hall in 2012. The group is a regular guest at Wigmore Hall and Artist of The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Centre, New York.
A full programme can be found by clicking here.
> Wednesday 28th June 2017 @ 7:30pm – £22
Benjamin Grosvenor (piano) & Hyeyoon Park (Violin)
Benjamin first came to prominence as the outstanding winner of the Keyboard Final of the 2004 BBC Young Musician Competition at the age of eleven. (Nicola Benedetti was the overall winner that year!) Benjamin makes his third visit to Bradfield and it is true to say that he loves to play at our Festival . As part of this concert Benjamin will share the platform with Hyeyoon Park.
On the concert platform Hyeyoon Park combines integrity with elegance, focus with panache, all of which makes her an artist of true style and virtuosity. In 2012 Hyeyoon received the London Music Masters Award, which brought her to prominent venues in the UK. Passionate about education, this award has also provided her with a platform to bring her music and performance into London’s schools, many in underprivileged areas. She was previously awarded the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award in 2011 and she was the youngest ever first prize winner of the ARD International Music Competition in Munich.
A full programme can be found by clicking here.
> Thursday 29th June 2017 @ 7:30pm – £18
Songsmiths – Elizabeth Watts (soprano), Nicky Spence (baritone), Christopher Ainslie (counter tenor) & Audrey Hyland (piano)
Songsmiths was founded in 2012 by the pianist Audrey Hyland. The aim of the group is to connect songs in varied languages and styles in order to unite the world of song through a common theme, story and emotional journey. Songsmiths brings together one of Sheffield’s most loved sopranos, Elizabeth Watts, and two other talented young opera singers Nicky Spence (tenor) and Christopher Ainslee (counter-tenor) in a programme of music entitled “Secrets and Obsessions”.
A full programme can be found by clicking here.
> Friday 30th June 2017 @ 7:30pm – £22
The Academy of St Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble
A return visit by these marvellous London-based musicians. Drawn from the principal players of the orchestra, the Chamber Ensemble tours as a string octet, string sextet, and in other configurations including wind ensembles.
A full programme can be found by clicking here.
> Saturday 1st July 2017 @ 7:30pm – £16
ZRI – Max Baillie (violin), Matthew Sharp (cello), Ben Harlan (clarinet), Jon Banks (accordion), Iris Pissaride (santouri)
The group ZRI take their name from ‘Zum Roten Igel’ – the Red Hedgehog Tavern – a 19th century Viennese hub of socialising, beer-drinking, and of music. The musicians have come together to give a flavour of the music that Brahms, Schubert and others would have listened to.
Both Brahms and Schubert went to the tavern to hear gypsy musicians play and this influence found its way into their writing, most closely in the Brahms Clarinet Quintet and the Schubert C Major Quintet. ZRI have re-scored both of these works weaving Klezmer and gypsy music into the original fabric of the score. So come and let your hair down at Bradfield’s very own version of the Red Hedgehog Tavern.
The evening’s music is based around Schubert’s String Quintet in C. reimagined to sound as it did when it was first written. Bursting with gypsy and Hungarian themes it is rescored to include clarinet, santouri (cymbalom) and accordion and interleaved with traditional tunes.
A full programme can be found by clicking here.
We hope you agree that this is an outstanding list of musicians, many of whom are not seen at other venues in this area. We strive to bring top quality musicians to this unique Festival.