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Roman River Festival takes place from Tuesday 20 to Sunday 25 October, with six days of classical music concerts in Colchester and venues across North Essex.
Now in its 26th year, the festival is produced by Wild Arts and features established international performers alongside younger musicians. This year’s programme includes music by Britten, Beethoven, Elgar and Mahler, with concerts taking place in Wivenhoe, Fordham, Colchester, Fingringhoe, Dedham, Coggeshall and Copford.
The festival opens on Tuesday 20th October at St Mary’s Church in Wivenhoe with Benjamin Britten’s five Canticles, performed by tenor Ben Vonberg-Clark and fellow musicians. The concert marks the 50th anniversary of the composer’s death and features vocal works written at different stages of his career.
On Wednesday, the Silvanus Quartet performs Nordic Dances & String Quartets at All Saints’ Church in Fordham. The programme includes works by Beethoven, Britten and Rebecca Clarke, alongside music influenced by Scandinavian folk traditions.
Thursday’s lunchtime concert takes place at The Old Library in Colchester, where cellist Orlando Jopling, Roman River’s Artistic Director, performs with Ellie Corr. Their programme includes Mozart, Ravel and Rebecca Clarke, as well as Halvorsen’s Passacaglia.
Later that evening, Nocturnalia Ensemble performs Wit & Mirth at St Andrew’s Church in Fingringhoe. The trio of violinist Mojca Jerman, cellist and viola da gamba player Pablo Tejedor-Gutiérrez, and keyboard player Alex Mastichiadis presents a programme of 17th-century British music, including works by Purcell, Locke and Matteis.
Friday’s Young Artist Spotlight features Cyrus Yuen and Bethany Reynolds, continuing the festival’s support for emerging musicians. The concert offers an opportunity to hear two younger performers as part of a programme that also includes established artists.
That evening, St Mary’s Church in Dedham hosts In Spiritu, featuring pianist and composer Alissa Firsova, violinist Daniel Rowland and cellist Sébastien van Kuijk. The programme includes music by Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Beethoven and Arvo Pärt, alongside compositions by Firsova.
On Saturday, the Wild Arts Ensemble performs Elgar’s Cello Concerto and Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 at St Peter ad Vincula Church in Coggeshall. Both works will be performed in arrangements by Iain Farrington, written for smaller ensembles rather than full symphony orchestras.
The festival concludes on Sunday at St Michael and All Angels Church in Copford with Lily of Eternal Praise, performed by the Bruegel Consort. The programme focuses on Tudor sacred music and polyphony, with the church’s historic interior providing the setting for the final concert.
Roman River Festival has been presenting classical music in Essex for more than 25 years, using churches and other local buildings as concert venues.
Full concert details, times and tickets are available at romanrivermusic.co.uk/whats-on.
