Cheltenham Festivals (TDN 2024)
Cheltenham Festivals co-creates experiences which bring joy, spark curiosity, connect communities and inspire change. Our vision is a world in which everyone can explore and create culture. We are a leading UK festival organisation serving local, regional, national and international audiences. Our participation programmes reach out year-round and culminate at our internationally-acclaimed Jazz, Science, Music and Literature Festivals. Each year we produce 36 days of festivals featuring around 1,000 events. Media partners (Radio 2, Radio 3, Radio 6, BBC Introducing, Classic FM, Times Radio and The Times & The Sunday Times) extend our reach significantly beyond our physical audiences.
Cheltenham Festivals, the South West’s leading Festival organisation, provides a platform and varied opportunities for music creators at the very beginning of their careers to artists at the pinnacle of their careers. Cheltenham Jazz Festival welcomes over 50,000 people. Forty percent of the events are free, taking place on the Free Stage and as part of the …around town programme, which welcomes local and national artists. The Showcase gives two emerging artists the opportunity to play the 750-seat Jazz Arena, alongside a career support package including a mentoring session with key music industry figures. The Jazz Festival also hosts a PAC programme for jazz innovation. In addition to an …around town programme, Cheltenham Music Festival programmes concerts from the winners of Gloucestershire Young Musicians, the BBC Young Musician, and by showcasing artists from BBC Radio 3’s talent development programme, the New Generation Artists. Across both Festivals, Cheltenham Festivals prides itself on new commissions and, in 2024, will premiere five new pieces across the two festivals. Creative and professional development is at the Festivals’ core and we are proud to nurture an ever-growing family of Cheltenham Festivals musicians, especially as we enter the Talent Development Network.