Saturday 26 September – Sunday 4 October
Plus: Inaugural Song Weekend, 13 – 14 March 2026
Tetbury Music Festival has announced its full programme for 2026, marking an exciting new chapter with the introduction of its first-ever Song Weekend in the spring, alongside the much-loved autumn Festival.
Set in the picturesque Cotswold town of Tetbury, the Festival is renowned for its exceptional music-making, intimate venues and carefully curated programmes. Welcoming internationally acclaimed artists while retaining a strong sense of place, the Festival continues to attract loyal audiences and regularly sells out. It is run entirely without public subsidy, made possible by the generosity of its Friends, patrons and supporters.
Festival Director Caz Weller Knight comments: “We’re delighted to be expanding the Festival with the launch of our first Song Weekend, while continuing to present the distinctive autumn programme our audiences know and love. Across both events, 2026 celebrates intimacy, imagination and the profound connection between music, words and place.”
This year is also the first under the guidance of Artistic Adviser Sir Nicholas Kenyon, who succeeds Jonathan Cohen.
Tetbury Music Festival is grateful for the continued support of its patron, His Majesty King Charles III.
Tetbury’s Inaugural Song Weekend
13–14 March 2026
Tetbury Music Festival launches its first Song Weekend in spring 2026, celebrating art song at Westonbirt School. Performances take place in the school’s ornate Library, an intimate setting ideal for the genre, with a Steinway Model B concert grand piano.
The opening concert features tenor Nick Pritchard and pianist Joseph Middleton in English songs by Gurney, Howells, Finzi, Vaughan Williams and Neil Cox. The second concert, Shakespeare’s Sisters, blends spoken word and song, with narrator Miranda Richardson, soprano Sophie Bevan and pianist Christopher Glynn exploring Shakespearean heroines through music by Schubert, Purcell, Verdi and others.
Tetbury Music Festival
26 September – 4 October 2026
The Festival opens on Saturday 26 September at The Goods Shed with Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale, a vivid fusion of music and theatre led by violinist Miranda Fulleylove. Featuring a seven-piece ensemble and cast of singer-actors, the one-hour production is directed by Elgiva Field and conducted by Peter Ash, with performances at 6pm and 8pm.
On Thursday 1 October, violinist Viktoria Mullova and fortepianist Alasdair Beatson perform Beethoven’s Sonatas Nos. 3, 2 and 9 (‘Kreutzer’) at St Marys’ Church.
Friday 2 October sees the return to Tetbury ofrenowned Italian ensemble La Fonte Musica, directed by Michele Pasotti, with La Sera del Combattimento which recreates the first performance of Monteverdi’s Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda, following the composer’s own vivid account of that historic evening.
On Saturday 3 October, the Eusebius Quartet performs works by Schubert, Elgar, Bridge and Fauré, showcasing the expressive range that defined their acclaimed Elgar & Fauré album.
The Festival closes on Sunday 4 October with the Tetbury debut of The Gesualdo Six, directed by Owain Park. Their Lux Aeterna programme offers a radiant sequence of sacred choral works from Tallis to Tavener, bringing the Festival to a contemplative close.
Tickets for the Song Weekend are available atwww.tetburymusicfestival.org