Orchestral, Choral, Instrumental, Jazz and Film Events from International Artists and Local Groups

Barnes Music Festival in South West London is an annual celebration of music-making which includes choral, instrumental, orchestral, opera, jazz and film events with international stars and local groups and schools performing at venues across Barnes.

The Festival celebrates music-making of the highest standard in conjunction with established and emerging stars.

The Barnes Music Festival’s Youth Programme is now established as an integral part of the festival. With the ‘Under 12 Free Entry’ scheme we like to encourage parents to bring their children to festival events.

2019

Music & Invention

Leonardo da Vinci’s 500th anniversary this year has inspired us to choose Music & Invention as our theme for the 2019 Barnes Music Festival. Leonardo himself was an accomplished musician and lyre player which must not come as a surprise as he was the quintessential Renaissance man, a polymath, who not only excelled in the arts but whose interests as an influential thinker and inventor covered the sciences, math, astronomy and botany, engineering, anatomy and architecture.

Da Vinci’s curiosity, creativity and playfulness have guided us and our artists in choosing a programme that reflects on Da Vinci’s ingenuity in various ways, might it be the re-invention of the trio, the science behind the horn or involving our school kids in creating, composing and crafting in the spirit of Leonardo - and much more.

James Day, Artistic Director

In 2018 we welcomed James Day as our new Artistic Director. James is Director of Music of the Pimlico Music Foundation and Director of Tiffin Boys’ Choir. A prize-winning Choral Conductor at the Royal Academy of Music James has worked with conductors Gustavo Dudamel, Bernard Haitink, Jakub Hruša, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Vladimir Jurowski and Simon Halsey and has prepared choruses for the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonia, London Philharmonic Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has been broadcasted on BBC, ITV, Chanel4 and ClassicFM.

Festival History

The inaugural Festival took place in March 2013 with the theme Holst & the English Tradition celebrating the centenary of Gustav Holst living in Barnes. The Festival returned in 2014 concentrating on Three Greats: Elgar, Delius, Holst & the English Tradition marking the 80th anniversary of these landmark composers. For 2015 the Festival took as its theme The Magna Carta, Music & Freedom celebrating the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta and its links with Barnes. For 2016, the theme was Handel & Composers of Barnes focusing on the rich variety of composers who have lived and worked in Barnes from Handel to Holst, Howells to Howard Goodall and Roxanna Panufnik. Music & Place, the theme for 2017, celebrated the way in which music enhances our appreciation of spaces and landscapes. The 2018 theme Peace & Harmonies was all about the ability of how creativity and artistry can overcome chaos and face adversity, focussing on the positive power of music to inspire and unite.

The Festival Committee brings together representatives from the Barnes Music Society, Barnes Choir, Barnes Community Association, St Michael's Barnes, The Friends of St Mary’s Barnes and local music lovers who volunteer their expertise.

Andrew Summers, Chairman; James Day, Artistic Director; Jane Bennett-Powell, St Michael's Barnes; Dr Kirsten Fehring, Angela Hoggarth, Barnes Choir; Christopher Morgan, Barnes Music Society; Katherine Passerieu, PR & Media; Gary Smith, Barnes Community Association; Christine Thornton, Community & Schools Coordinator; Orsi Torjak, Festival Administrator

Festival Brochure 2016 pdf    2017 pdf 2018 pdf