One of The Elgar Festival’s most popular concerts is back for 2024.
The annual Elgar for Everyone family concert – which will take place on Wednesday 29 May at 7.30pm at Worcester Cathedral – will bring together more than 100 young musicians from across Elgar Country to perform a varied programme alongside their teachers and mentors from The English Symphony Orchestra, following two days of rehearsals and workshops.
The event will welcome the Festival’s Patron, Julian Lloyd Webber and it’s Artist in Residence, Esther Abrami, as co-hosts, working with and performing alongside the young musicians.
The concert will also include performances of the Festival’s 2024 Young Composers Competition winners.
Kenneth Woods, Artistic Director of The Elgar Festival said: “The Elgar for Everyone family concert has been one of the most beloved and highly anticipated events of the Festival since its inception in 2018. Each year, approximately 100 young musicians from the three ESO Youth Orchestras, as well as members of other ESO Youth Groups, the Elgar Virtuosi and others take their music to an audience of families and young people, Elgar aficionados and newbies. We are delighted that this year’s event is co-hosted by Julian Lloyd Webber – who will also be conducting a portion of the concert – and young violin superstar Esther Abrami, who will also be soloing with the musicians. Come and join us!”
Esther Abrami is passionate about teaching and inspiring the next generation of musicians. She has delivered masterclasses internationally at universities such as Texas Christian University, Universidad Autonoma de Ciudad Juarez in Mexico and St Dixie State University in Utah. Esther has been a music coach for orchestras such as the Yorkshire Young Sinfonia in Leeds, Passeur d’Art in Paris and given lessons to individual students and chamber groups at St Paul’s Cathedral School in London.
In 2007, at the invitation of the Secretary of State for Education, Julian Lloyd Webber founded the UK Government’s In Harmony programme, introducing the power of music to thousands of school children from the least privileged parts of England. Julian was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Music in 1994 and is the recipient of a Crystal Award from the World Economic Forum (1998), the Classic FM Red Award (2005) and the Incorporated Society of Musician’s Distinguished Musician of the Year Award (2014). Julian has represented the music education sector on BBC1’s Question Time and The Andrew Marr Show, BBC2’s Newsnight and BBC Radio 4’s Today, The World at One, PM, Front Row, and The World Tonight.
In 2014 Julian was forced to retire from playing the cello due to a neck injury which reduced the power of his bowing arm. In July 2015 he was appointed principal of Birmingham Conservatoire. During his five-year tenure he oversaw the move to a new £57 million building and the merging of the existing Conservatoire with the Birmingham School of Acting. In September 2017 the Conservatoire was awarded the Royal status by Her Majesty the Queen.
Themed ‘The Origins of Inspiration’, this year’s Festival will combine orchestral, chamber, vocal and choral concerts with exhibits and lectures to celebrate the life and music of Sir Edward Elgar at various venues across Worcestershire. It will bring together an array of internationally renowned guest artists, placing the music of Worcester’s most famous son alongside that of his contemporaries and some of today’s leading composers and arrangers.
Launched in 2018, the Elgar Festival was established by decree of Worcester City Council and is traditionally held on the weekend closest to Elgar’s birthday, 2 June 1857.
Since it began – lauded as ‘Critic’s Pick’ in both The Guardian and The Times – the Festival has doubled in size and scale and championed Sir Edward to as wide an audience as possible.
Ticket prices are as follows: £15 for a full ticket or £10 (with code) for an ESO Youth Family Member. Under 18s are free although tickets must still be booked. Tickets are available at www.elgarfestival.org or by calling Worcester Theatres on 01905 611427.
For a full list of events, costs and booking information, please visit www.elgarfestival.org.