About Us

The spectacular coastline of Cardigan Bay in West Wales is the perfect backdrop for one of the finest music festivals in the UK – MusicFest Aberystwyth. Since 1986, we have hosted the exciting fusion of a world-class music festival and a summer school, attracting an international rostra of artists, teachers, students and audience alike.

We are back.

For 2023, we are committed to provide you with the world-class Musicfest experience that you have grown to love. Our summer school is taking place and we have some new courses as well as our supremely successful well-established ones. These will include Violin, Viola, and Cello. Professional newly established string quartets have a development course, our vocal course, woodwind, composition, traditional violin, and harp and a new one in Baroque Dance.

Our popular fringe events throughout Aberystwyth at more venues and more performance.

Our concert programme is also varied including Dafydd Iwan, Catrin Finch and Cimarron, the Solem Quartet, National Youth Orchestra of Wales, Llyr Williams, Tom Mathias, Huw Boucher and the renowned vocalists Lucy Crowe and Nicky Spence.

Meet The Team

Catrin Finch

Artistic Director

Catrin Finch has delighted audiences as an international harpist from Wales since the age of 5. Catrin is the former Royal Harpist to HRH the Prince of Wales. Holding the appointment from 2000–2004, she had the honour of reviving this ancient tradition last held in 1873. Catrin has appeared on all the major television and radio networks in the UK and many abroad. Known for her work within the community and with the younger generation, Catrin is committed to promoting the harp and classical music in general to a new and wider audience.

Nathan James Dearden

Associate Artistic Director

Nathan James Dearden is an award-winning Welsh music creator, whose work has been described as “hauntingly beautiful” (Media Wales), and performed and featured by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Tippett Quartet, National Youth Orchestra of Wales, Grand Band, National Youth Choirs of Great Britain, Fidelio Trio, and Hebrides Ensemble. His music has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru, Resonance FM, RTÉ lyric FM, S4C and Soho Radio, whilst also released on NMC Recordings and Delphian. Nathan is also a sought-after conductor, arts advisor, event curator and educator, holding arts advisory roles with several international organisations such. He is currently Interim Director of Composition at Royal Holloway University of London and the Centre for Young Musicians at Morley College.

Joan Rowlands

Festival Manager

Aberystwyth Arts Centre Penglais, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, Wales (UK) SY23 3DE Email: musicfest@aber.ac.uk
Telephone: 01970 612034

Aberystwyth MusicFest
Registered Charity: 1184328
Company Number: 10520961