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Drawn from the collections of the Holst Victorian House, Gloucester Cathedral Library and the Three Choirs Festival archive, this small exhibition features a wealth of material illustrating how important the festival was to Holst’s career. It was the setting for two premieres of Holst’s music, and intriguingly would have hosted a third premiere in 1928 if Holst had finished a promised new work in time. On display will be a rare draft programme from the 1928 festival, featuring details of the performance that never was!
The exhibition has been co-curated by Simon Carpenter, Volunteer Archivist and Historian of The Three Choirs Festival. A professional librarian, Simon holds an MA by Research in History from the University of Gloucestershire. His forthcoming book on the history of the Three Choirs Festival will be published by Logaston Press in July.
Photo: Holst and Vaughan Williams in Malvern
William Gillies Whittaker (1876–1944)
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