Top artists announced for Elgar Festival Worcester Cathedral finale

This year’s Elgar Festival will draw to a close with a Gala Concert on Sunday, June 2 at 7.30pm at Worcester Cathedral.

The festival will host South African violinist Zoë Beyers and soprano April Fredrick for the final concert.

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The performance will be conducted by the festival’s artistic director, Kenneth Woods, and will feature the Worcestershire-based English Symphony Orchestra.

Mr Woods said: “If love and longing were the most frequent and important source of inspiration for Edward Elgar, place and landscape runs a close second.

“The Elgar Festival is unique in the world in letting audience members immerse themselves in the countryside, hills, villages and forests which informed so much of Elgar’s music.

“It is a celebration that can be enjoyed by all people of all ages and all musical tastes.

“Our Gala Concert is the pinnacle of this and one which is a true showcase for the power of music.”

Beyers, who is also the concertmaster of the English Symphony Orchestra, is seen as one of the finest and most versatile violinists in the UK.

Alongside her, popular soprano Fredrick, described as “astonishing and luminous” by Bachtracks, will appear.

The array of pieces to be performed in the final concert include Sir Edward Elgar’s Violin Concerto, op. 61 and Cockaigne (In London Town) op. 40, as well as ‘Wreck, op. 10’ from Festival Composer Steve Elcock.

Moreover, Elgar’s rousing Cockaigne, inspired by the sights, sounds and smells of London Town, will bring this year’s festival to a conclusion.

The festival was launched by Worcester City Council in 2018, and occurs on the weekend closest to Elgar’s birthday, June 2, 1857.

Themed ‘The Origins of Inspiration’, the festival presents a host of concerts, exhibits and lectures to celebrate the life and music of Sir Edward Elgar, who was born in Lower Broadheath.

Tickets for the Elgar Festival Gala Concert cost between £10 and £27.

For further details and for a full list of events, visit www.elgarfestival.org or call Worcester Theatres on 01905 611 427.