Cowbridge Music Festival has announced the programme for its 2022 festival, which welcomes some of the finest musicians to the beautiful south Wales market town.
This year’s theme of ‘Songs from my Homeland’ invites us to celebrate our roots. The programme features such internationally acclaimed Welsh musicians as soprano Natalya Romaniw, Cowbridge Music Festival Associate Artist Llŷr Williams, and singer Kizzy Crawford. The programme also includes world-class artists such as BBC Young Musician Winner Laura van der Heijden, 2022 BBC Music Magazine Award winners Tom Poster and Elena Urioste, plus a rare opportunity to hear stunning music from Afghanistan.
Concerts take place at venues throughout the town, including Holy Cross Church, The United Free Church and Cowbridge Comprehensive School. For those who may be unable to travel, the festival will also bring music out into the community with a number of performances in care homes and a full slate of outreach workshops reaching over a thousand pupils across the local area.
The festival programme is designed by leading violist Rosalind Ventris and Director of The Choir of King’s College London, Joseph Fort, who have served as Artistic Directors of the festival since March 2021.
Speaking about this year’s programme, they commented “We are tremendously excited to unveil the programme for the 2022 Cowbridge Music Festival. This year’s theme of ‘Songs from my Homeland’ invites us to explore the idea that one’s home has long been a source of inspiration for composers and performers alike. Several artists draw deep on Welsh connections and roots: Llŷr Williams’s programme celebrates of the centenary of Bartók’s first visit to Wales, while Kizzy Crawford offers her own unique brand of Welsh-language soul-folk jazz.
“Other performers bring their home to us: Tom Poster and Elena Urioste recreate the award-winning Uriposte Jukebox that they first broadcast from their own living room, while musicians of Afghan heritage present a programme of their native folk music. Meanwhile, other musicians explore the notion of home as an inspiration for composers, ranging from Welsh-Ukrainian opera star Natalya Romaniw’s selection of heartfelt songs by Dvořák, Grieg and Rachmaninoff to jazz legend Darius Brubeck’s upbeat finale. With such a broad range of artists uniting around this theme, there is surely something for everyone here, and we hope that all will join us for the 2022 festival!”
2022 FESTIVAL PROGRAMME
Fri 16 Sept, 7pm: Tom Poster (piano) and Elena Urioste (violin)
Fri 16 Sept, 9.30pm: Laura van der Heijden (cello)
Sat 17 Sept, 5pm: Kizzy Crawford (singer songwriter)
Sat 17 Sept, 7pm: Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective
Sun 18 Sept, 5pm: Llŷr Williams (piano)
Date TBC, time TBC: Music from Afghanistan
Thurs 23 Sept, 7.30pm: Charlie Lovell-Jones (violin) and Ariel Lanyi (piano)
Fri 23 Sept, 7pm: Natalya Romaniw (soprano) and Michael Pollock (piano)
Fri 23 Sept, 9.30pm: Gwenllian Llŷr (harp)
Sat 24 Sept, 7pm: The Choir of King’s College London and Joseph Fort (conductor)
Sun 25 Sept, 7.30pm: The Darius Brubeck Quartet
For tickets and more information, please visit https://cowbridgemusicfestival.co.uk/
Main Image of Natalya Romaniw