Developing Artists Programme

20/11/2022

Thaxted Festival is delighted to announce the launch of its Developing Artists Programme. The Festival has a successful recent history of featuring highly talented musicians at early stages of their careers. The Developing Artists Programme, supported by a dedicated Fund, will provide a Festival platform for professional musicians and composers at the earlier stages of their careers, both within our main summer season and at other times throughout the year.

The Programme will provide early-career musicians with performance opportunities in local and wider Essex communities, especially in areas with less access to music-making. It will facilitate mentoring of local young musicians by established professionals and will provide professional musicians to lead educational activities at all levels, as well as engagement with talented amateurs and those considering careers in music.

To deliver this programme, Thaxted Festival Foundation will work with our established leading partners in the field, including the Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT), London Mozart Players, and the Leeds International Piano Competition.

Thaxted Festival has its origins in the music-making which Gustav Holst led with great enthusiasm while he was living in the town in the early years of the twentieth century. His Whitsuntide Festivals and other events brought together students, professionals and local amateur singers and musicians which he would describe as ‘a feast’ of music-making. The Developing Artists Programme continues this spirit of developing young musicians and sharing a delight in music-making which was so important to Holst.

Since Thaxted Festival was established in its current form in 1987, it has hosted performers such as Nigel Kennedy, Nicola Benedetti, Nicholas Daniel and Jamie Cullum in the early stages of their careers. More recently it has featured such acclaimed young talents as Rob Burton, Eric Lu, Iyad Sughayer, Charlotte Salouste-Bridoux, Anna Lapwood, Neil Balfour, Sarah Cattley and many others.

The Developing Artists Programme, with an associated Fund, will enable the Festival to continue this commitment to supporting and showcasing the very best in young professional musical talent, and to sharing their experience of music with the wider community.

To ensure the Developing Artists Fund gets off to a strong start, all donations made to Thaxted Festival during 2023 will be allocated to the Fund (unless otherwise specified). Our new tier of Thaxted Music Lovers Bronze Plus membership will be especially devoted to support of the Fund.