World-class musicians return to Winchester for early May Bank Holiday Festival
Tickets are now on general sale for the 19th Winchester Chamber Music Festival, which returns to the city from Friday 1 – Monday 4 May 2026, with a series of concerts and community outreach events.
Led by Artistic Director and cellist Kate Gould, this year’s Festival features music by Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Dvořák and Ravel, alongside a special celebration of British composer Benjamin Britten, fifty years after his death. A creative theme exploring how composers portray the weather in music runs throughout the programme.
Artistic Director, Kate Gould, says of the Festival: “Since returning to this cultured city, I am more dedicated than ever to share the wonders of live classical music with the whole community. I can’t wait to hear local schoolchildren performing their own creations in a special Schools Performance which opens the Festival. This year, we have introduced a Young Musicians Platform, giving talented young musicians the chance to take to the stage. Festival musicians will also head out into the community for our regular visit to Winchester Go LD’s ‘Funky Lunch’ in the Arc as well as to several local care homes, spreading the joy of music to all.”
The Festival brings internationally acclaimed performers to Winchester, including American soprano Katharine Dain, cellist Alice Neary (daughter of the late Martin Neary, a prominent organist at Winchester Cathedral) and the effervescent wind quintet Lumas Winds. Popular Welsh pianist Jâms Coleman, will make his Festival debut, and two ex-members of the award-winning Doric String Quartet will be featured – Jonathan Stone (violin) and Hélène Clément (viola).
Events take place across the extended bank holiday weekend in a range of central Winchester venues. St Paul’s Church will once again serve as the Festival hub, whilst the popular Festival Gala returns to the Theatre Royal Winchester on the Saturday night. The sell-out Family Concert will return to local Arts hub, The Nutshell, offering a relaxed and accessible introduction to live classical music.
Community engagement remains central to the Festival’s work. Visiting professional musicians will be helping local primary school students from Westgate Lower School to compose and perform their own original songs, whilst Lumas Winds will be heading to The Arc to give an informal concert for partner charity, Winchester Go LD. In a Festival first, a Young Musicians Platform will showcase talented local under-18 performers on Sunday afternoon. Musicians will also be heading out into the community to share the joy of music amongst residents of several care homes.
The Festival continues its initiative of inviting an up-and-coming quartet to join them in Winchester as their Emerging Quartet-in-Residence. 2026 is the turn of the Karelia Quartet, who will receive daily coaching from the Festival musicians, a Masterclass from Hélène Clément and the opportunity to perform alongside the professionals at various events. Karelia Quartet will also deliver their own concerts to local state primary schools in the run-up to the Festival, working in partnership with Hampshire Music Hub.
Chairman Tony Stoller said, “We are delighted to welcome world-class musicians to Winchester once again. Our aim is to make the Festival accessible to as many different people as possible – from longstanding supporters to those trying classical music for the first time”.
The Festival is supported by the Festival Friends, corporate sponsors Paris Smith and Christopher Jones Wealth Management and grant funders including Winchester City Council.
