The English Music Festival

THE ENGLISH MUSIC FESTIVAL (EMF) celebrates Britain's rich musical heritage by showcasing the brilliance, innovation and beauty of works by British composers, with a particular emphasis on unearthing works that have been overlooked or forgotten. Although the focus of the Festival is the Golden Renaissance of English Music - the late-nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries, our programmes span mediaeval music through to contemporary music; indeed, the Festival has commissioned numerous thrilling and accessible new works from some of Britain’s most admired contemporary composers. We are proud to have staged the world première performances of not just these new pieces, but also of important works by composers such as Frederick Delius, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Sir Edward Elgar, Sir Charles Villiers Stanford, and Sir Hubert Parry (among many others).

Artists who have taken part in the Festival include the BBC Concert Orchestra – whose annual concert at the Oxfordshire EMF is broadcast on Radio 3; Roderick Williams, James Gilchrist and Kathryn Rudge; the Carducci, Villiers and Piatti Quartets; the City of London Choir, Eysian Singers and Joyful Copmany of Singers; the English Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Swan and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestras and the Armonico Consort.

Thus far we have held thirteen main Festivals in Oxfordshire (in and around the mediaeval Abbey at Dorchester-on-Thames), and our Autumn Festivals in the Yorkshire Dales have also become annual events. Our Festivals are complemented by a UK & European Concert Series, which hosts regular events in London as well as in other locations ranging from Birmingham and Dorset to France and Sweden.

Our record label, EM Records, and publishing arm, EM Publishing, take our work to a new level, further facilitating accessibility of these rare and wonderful pieces by enabling listeners worldwide to experience these works for themselves, giving performers previously-denied access to scores, and advancing scholarship and knowledge of composers and musicians through our books.