Presteigne Festival of Music and the Arts Limited: TDN 2026
Short Project Title: Presteigne Festival Composer Development Programme
Bio: The Presteigne Festival has a unique place in the UK’s musical calendar – ‘a festival which continues to surprise and delight. Its well-judged mixture of accessible yet probing and avowedly contemporary music, set in rewarding, carefully compiled programmes, remains a unique, matchless and irreplaceable facet of the British classical music calendar’ (Musical Opinion).<br /><br />The Festival is widely acknowledged internationally for its exceptional work in commissioning, performing and promoting new music and living composers, and has a strong tradition for supporting emergent artists in its programme. Its influence is felt artistically and economically throughout Wales and beyond.
Programme Description: Demonstrating its continued commitment to contemporary music, the 2026 Presteigne Festival welcomes British composer Michael Zev Gordon as composer-in-residence, includes a rich selection of new and recent works from some of today’s most exciting voices – Michael Berkeley, Cameron Biles‑Liddell, Ninfea Cruttwell-Reade, Lillie Harris, Cheryl Frances-Hoad, Gabriel Jackson, Tayla-Leigh Payne, Robert Peate, Electra Perivolaris, Lynne Plowman, Emma-Ruth Richards, Claire Victoria Roberts, Daniel Soley and Natalie Roe, a member of the 2025 Royal Philharmonic Society composer cohort. It will shine a spotlight on Mathilde Wantenaar, one of the Netherlands’ most exciting emerging composers and celebrate important birthdays for Cecilia McDowall (75), Sally Beamish (70) and Adrian Williams (70). The organisation has also commissioned six pieces for solo cello from early career composers as part of its ‘Compose for’ scheme. The composers are afforded mentoring from composer Mark Boden, conductor George Vass and cellists Gemma Rosefield and Clare O’Connell. After a public workshop as part of the Presteigne Festival ‘Springboard’ weekend in April, the pieces will be recorded for video for dissemination via the Festival’s website.The Presteigne Festival continues to seek out a fresh mix of voices and styles, showcasing the creativity, innovation and diversity that define today’s classical music landscape.