Cheltenham Music Festival 2015

Tuesday 30th June to Saturday 11th July 2015
various venues, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 1JZ, England MAP
prices vary depending upon event

Daily capacity: 17,000

Last updated: Thu 7th May 2015

The 71st Cheltenham Music Festival is a huge summer celebration of live classical music with events ranging from free family workshops and young artists' projects, through to concerts from well-loved performers and the promotion of contemporary composers.

The festival will take place from Tuesday 30th June until Saturday 11th July 2015.

Line-up

Eric Whitacre, Edward Gardner, Ksenija Sidorova, Laura Mvula, Graham Fitkin, Charlotte Bray, Rolf Hind, Edward Gardner, Sarah Connolly, Alina Ibragimova, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Marc-André Hamelin, Ben Gernon, Martin James Bartlett, BBC Concert Orchestra, Ben Gernon, Martin James Bartlett, CBSO, Steven Osborne Edward Gardner, Chetham’s Symphony Orchestra, Sarah Connolly, Britten Sinfonia, The Kings Singers,Orlando Consort, Arcanto Quartet, Marc-André Hamelin, Gabriela Montero, Boris Giltburg, Danish String Quartet, Mahan Esfahani, New Zealand String Quartet, and Julian Bliss.

70 years on from the end of World War 2 and the inaugural Cheltenham Music Festival, Cheltenham also focuses on iconic works written in and around 1945, featuring music by Richard Strauss, Britten, Poulenc, Howells, Tippett, Shostakovich and Messiaen. Paris is a musical centre-point at this year’s festival, with events ranging from the second 'Live Screening', the 1928 silent film Jeanne d'Arc with live music from the Orlando Consort, a Parisian cabaret with Jazz vocalist and BBC Radio 3 presenter Claire Martin, and a theatrical recital exploring the life and music of Erik Satie.

Cheltenham has always had a reputation for championing new music, and this year is no different. A total tally of 22 premieres include a deconstruction of 1970s Disco by Graham Fitkin, Rolf Hind’s new work for contemporary Gamelan ensemble inspired by recent travels in Bhutan, ‘Entanglement’, a one-act chamber opera by Charlotte Bray about Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be executed in Britain, new pieces by Joe Cutler and Thomas Strønen for Trish Clowes’ genre-bending ensemble the Emulsion Sinfonietta, and works by Peter Wiegold, Jonathan Dove and Matthew Martin.

There’s plenty for children to enjoy at this year’s festival, with a strand of events aimed at ages four and up: From illustrator James Mayhew’s live painting of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition (with a bit of Indiana Jones, Holst and Grieg thrown in for good measure), to the ingenious slapstick of Classical Mayhem’s Decomposed!, the animated delights of Magic Piano & The Chopin Shorts, and a Family Day in the beautiful setting of Cheltenham’s Imperial Gardens.

Elsewhere, Cheltenham’s Everyman Theatre will host the New English Ballet Theatre’s first performance outside of London with music by Glass, Mussorgsky, Villa-Lobos, Beethoven and Janacek, there is a performance of accordionist Ksenija Sidorova’s contemporary tango project with Rambert dancer/choreographer Kirill Burlov, and non-classical performers include Kathryn Tickell and The Side and Iranian percussionists The Chemirani Brothers.

Expect over 60 events, the 650 performers and talks and workshops, film screenings, and excursions into dance, world music, jazz, and theatre, even offering an insight in to the rich history of Cheltenham with regular guided walks through the town.

As well as orchestral, chamber, choral and solo music, the festival also boasts education and community projects, a series for young musicians and a lively Fringe, including dance, world music and more.

Tickets

buy tickets now >

Ticket prices vary depending upon event.

Venues

Events take place in a variety of venues including the Town Hall, the Pittville Pump Rooms, various local churches, Tewkesbury Abbey and the Everyman Theatre.

More information will be here when available.