Sedbergh Champions 2024 Music Festival & Hosts Spectacular Performances
The 2024 Sedbergh Music Festival concluded last week, bringing to an end a run of more than twenty concerts and events at venues across Sedbergh, featuring a diverse range of repertoire to record audiences.
The bi-annual festival was founded in 2000 and has a rich history of celebrating local musicianship as well as inviting performers from further afield. This year’s ambitious programme did just that, with local groups such as the Sedbergh Town Band, the Sedbergh Orchestra and Sedbergh School musicians featuring in the schedule alongside internationally-renowned saxophonist Jess Gillam, and the celebrated BBC Singers.
For the first time, Sedbergh School hosted a number of the concerts, including sold-out concerts in Powell Hall and the chapel, welcoming members of the local community as well as those from further afield in the North West. All of them remarked how special it was to have such a high quality of music on their doorstep.
Sedbergh School musicians featured in a number of the concerts, including a special ‘Come & Sing’ to launch the festival on 16th June, as well as dedicated concert slots. Meanwhile, the Sedbergh School Chapel Choir joined forces with Kendal-based ‘Amabile’ for a special ‘Songs of Praise’ service.
The festival concluded with a workshop led by the BBC Singers and their conductor, David Hill. Choristers from Sedbergh and Sedbergh Preparatory School were joined by more than 200 pupils from other schools including Aysgarth, Terra Nova, Terrington Hall and local primary schools in Sedbergh and Kendal – as well as friends from Ampleforth and Stonyhurst.
It has been an incredibly successful and enriching 10 days. A special word of thanks to John Seymour, who as Festival Director co-ordinated a committee of volunteers to bring the festival to the town.