Three Choirs Festival

The Festival opens with Britten’s War Requiem, performed by the Festival Chorus, the Philharmonia – the resident orchestra since 2012 – and soloists soprano Elizabeth Watts, tenor Peter Hoare, and baritone David Stout. A homage to those lost in battle and a heartfelt appeal for peace, the monumental War Requiem was last performed at Worcester Cathedral to open the 2014 Festival.

The combined forces of the Festival Chorus and the Philharmonia Orchestra will close the edition with Elgar’s The Light of Life, written for the Three Choirs Festival and premiered in Worcester with Elgar conducting in 1896. The concert will also include Walton’s Orb and Sceptre and Strauss’ Four Last Songs, with soloists soprano Elizabeth Watts, contralto Jess Dandy, tenor Ruairi Bowen, and baritone Marcus Farnsworth. The Festival Chorus and the Philharmonia will also perform Beethoven’s Missa solemnis (Fri 30 July), in the year marking the bicentenary of his death, with soloists Katie Trethewey, Helen Charlston, Nick Pritchard, and James Atkinson.

The Three Cathedral Choirs will mark the 300th anniversary of Handel’s majestic Four Coronation Anthems (Mon 26 July), and the Three Choirs Festival Youth Choir will perform Haydn’s Nelson Mass alongside a new work by Cecilia McDowall, Songs of Exile (Wed 28 July).

In his second year as Three Choirs Festival Associate Composer, Gavin Higgins’ new work His Salt Skin will be performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and guest conductor Duncan Ward with mezzo-soprano Marta Fontanals-Simmons, and countertenor Cameron Shahbazi (Tues 27 July). The nautical-themed programme also includes Ralph Vaughan Williams’ A Sea Symphony with soloists Roderick Williams (Honorary Patron), and soprano Anita Watson.

Continuing a strong commitment to expanding the British choral repertoire, the world premiere of a Festival commission by Dobrinka Tabakova will be the centrepiece of a concert featuring Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music, and the first public performance of a new realisation of Elgar’s Piano Concerto by David Owen Norris (Sun 25 July).

Portraits of a Mind by Worcester-based composer Ian Venables will be performed by Misha Kaploukhii (piano) and Gwilym Bowen (tenor). The work was commissioned and recorded by the Ralph Vaughan Williams Society and shortlisted for a Gramophone Award in 2024. Misha Kaploukhii will be joined by musicians from the Royal College of Music for Elgar’s Piano Quintet.

Elsewhere, I Fagiolini will delight audiences with Purcell’s masterpiece Dido and Aeneas (Thurs 29 July), there will be a recital from this year’s celebrity organist Nathan Laube, and an Evensong featuring the RSCM Youth Choir will celebrate the organisation's centenary.

The week’s Daytime Highlights include Nick Pritchard and Ian Tindale in The Dance Continued, marking the 125th anniversary of Gerald Finzi’s birth; a programme of Renaissance music from the Gesualdo Six; the National Youth Choir of Great Britain performing Joby Talbot’s Path of Miracles; a Come and Sing session on Elgar’s The Music Makers; Marta Fontanals-Simmons and Lana Bode in a programme celebrating the seascapes and sleep songs of the early twentieth-century British Isles; Tenebrae performing Howells’ Requiem alongside a new commission by Eric Whitacre; and recitals from James Newby & Rebecca Cohen, plus Helen Charlston and the Consone Quartet.

Samuel Hudson, Artistic Director of the Worcester Three Choirs Festival, says, “The launch of a Festival programme is always a thrilling moment, and this year is no exception! After months of planning with Festival colleagues, it is wonderful to lift the covers on our exciting plans for 2027. There is, as ever, plenty on offer, which I hope will attract people from far and wide to Worcester next summer!”

Ben Cooper, Worcester Chair of Three Choirs Festival, says, “With my third Worcester Festival as Chair, and 17th as a member of the Chorus, I’m often asked how I’m excited about ‘yet another festival’. Well, this programme encapsulates it perfectly, with reassuring well-known classical favourites alongside the new and exciting. I await with anticipation to learn and sing the Festival composition by associate composer Gavin Higgins, paired with Vaughan Williams’ ‘Sea Symphony’. We even have some new Elgar with his piano concerto, recently discovered to delight and intrigue. Other than the fabulous weeklong programme, we also start our community work in schools in January. So here’s to the next exciting Festival!”

David Francis, Chief Executive, says, “It’s remarkable to be celebrating the 299th Three Choirs Festival, with another invigorating programme on offer for Worcester 2027. This year’s line-up spans some of the best-loved choral works, many with a long history at the Festival, right through to contemporary works and premieres from some of the UK’s most celebrated living composers. And not just our Associate Composers, but voices from across the choral scene. It promises to be another fantastic edition, and we anticipate building on the strong ticket sales that have driven recent years of this great and significant Festival.”