“I was born in Bronglais hospital, Aberystwyth, and grew up not far from the town in a small village called Llanon. So naturally, when I was asked last year if I would be willing to come and join the Musicfest team, I was overjoyed and accepted the invitation with open arms. Aberystwyth and its surrounding area have always held a special place in my heart, as has music, culture and the arts, so to join all these things together through Musicfest, is a wonderful privilege for me.

We have something for everyone this year. From Colombian joroppo music, to an evening of song celebrating LGBTQ+ composers; and from a piano recital, to exciting, young Welsh talent, to a Welsh pop icon – in this year‘s festival, we celebrate friendship and collaboration, and so artists will join together to create and inspire through music.

Our evening Concerts begin on July 31st with a concert featuring my collaboration with the energetic and unforgettable Colombian group, Cimarrón, followed by a return visit by the wonderful Solem quartet on the Tuesday evening. On Wednesday the Musicfest tutors will feature Dvořák‘s piano quartet in their concert, before we welcome young musicians from the National Youth Orchestra of Wales for an afternoon of Chamber Music on the Thursday. On Friday night we are very excited to welcome acclaimed soprano Lucy Crowe and tenor Nicky Spence for an evening of music featuring LGBTQ+ composers (including our Resident Composer Nathan James-Dearden), curated by pianist Andrew Matthews-Owen. Finally, we will close the festival on Saturday, August 5th with an evening dedicated to a true Welsh icon, Dafydd Iwan. Dafydd’s career has spanned nearly 5 decades, and as he celebrates his 80th birthday this year, it is only fitting that the festival, alongside the Welsh Pops Orchestra and presented by Huw Stephens, plays homage to his incredible career.

It’s not only the evenings that will keep us busy as we also have a full program of lunchtime recitals by all welsh artists (including the remarkable pianist Llyr Williams), events down on the bandstand, literary events at the Drwm theatre in the National library, plus of course, not forgetting the daily Musicfest students concerts and late night events.

It will be a great pleasure to welcome you to the festival this year, and to share some of this remarkable talent with you. We look forward to seeing you.”

Catrin Finch Artistic Director