Elgar Festival 2024 - We need funds now!

The Elgar Festival is raising money to help deliver its 2024 iteration 27th May-2nd June. This year the festival will be working with a 40% funding cut of from Arts Council England. Your donations will be valuable in helping to continue the legacy of one of England's most revered composers. We believe Elgar is for everyone and our developing range of events are for people of all ages, interests, and lifestyles.

Held during the week closest to Elgar's birthday (2 June 1857), the Elgar Festival is an annual celebration of Worcester’s most famous musical son set in his home town and surrounding areas. The festival combines symphonic and string orchestra concerts by the festival's orchestra-in-residence, the English Symphony Orchestra, with chamber concerts, choral concerts, recitals, gigs, exhibitions and talks. Venues for the festival include Worcester Cathedral, Huntingdon Concert Hall, Henry Sandon Hall, The Royal Porcelain Works, the Elgar Birthplace, Worcester Guildhall and the Elgar School of Music. The Festival brings together the full gamut of leading musical and educational organisations across Worcestershire with a starry array of internationally renowned guest artists.

The first annual festival in 2018 was a Critic's Pick in both The Guardian and The Times. Since then it has expanded to an ambitious week-long programme with many events free of charge to ensure Elgar really is for everyone.

Here is an example of what your donations will go towards:

£185 One musician fee for 2 Relaxed concerts

£200 Timp Hire for Come and Play event

£400 Venue hire for Come and Sing event

£400 Supports the programme of talks

£500 Piano hire for Quintet concert

£800 DL printing costs

£1,000 Lunchtime concert artist costs

£2,000 Elgar 4 Everyone youth concert venue hire

£3,000 Helps keep many events free

£3,500 Pays for the piano quintet concert musicians

Please watch this short message from our Patron, Julian Lloyd Webber OBE