23/05/2025
Our first ever Children’s concert!
Led by the incredible we introduced a young audience to the violin, cello, piano, bassoon, trumpet and clarinet through Martinu’s ‘Kitchen R***e’.
Now, more than ever, access to classical music in schools is under threat, with music classes and instrumental teaching increasingly cut back. This makes it all the more vital that we find other ways to introduce children to the richness and joy of live music. From the festival’s very beginning, we’ve made all concerts free for under-17s—a simple decision that has allowed families to come together and try out classical music in a welcoming environment.
Rather than ‘dumbing down’ the experience, we aim to present fantastic chamber music in a way that invites children to explore it with curiosity and imagination. It’s a chance to connect with the music on their own terms, while still being treated as thoughtful, engaged listeners.
Looking ahead, we hope to build stronger links with local schools and introduce more children to the extraordinary experience of live music—whether as audience members or performers. Music has an innate power to lift, soothe, and inspire in just moments. What a gift it is to introduce children that power too.
