The Three Choirs Festival - a week-long classical music festival celebrating world-class music making - opens in Worcester this month (27 July to 3 August).

Having celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2015, Three Choirs Festival is thought to be the longest-standing classical music festival in the world, rotating its host location between the cathedral cities of Gloucester, Hereford and Worcester while featuring a programme of choral and orchestral concerts, recitals, talks, theatre, exhibitions and more...

One of the jewels in the festival’s crown is the Festival Chorus - a choir made up of auditioned singers from the local area which brings a high-quality community spirit to the music.

The schedule is packed with family events and community projects aimed at different age groups  meaning the festival truly welcomes the whole local community.  

The festival opening concert on Saturday 27 July features Worcester Cathedral Choir and the Three Choirs Festival Chorus - both beginning their performances in different parts of the city before making their way towards Worcester Cathedral for the Opening Celebration. The celebration includes a welcoming cathedral service and choral performance featuring works by Holst and Mathias.

The ever-popular Armonico Consort (pictured above) will present two exciting events at the festival this year including an interactive singing workshop at the Cathedral’s College Hall where the whole family can get involved (no previous experience needed), and a performance of The Forgotten Scarlatti at Worcester Cathedral. Both events take place on Monday 29 July, with the latter featuring two recently rediscovered masterpieces by Francesco Scarlatti

Several of the festival’s concerts feature works inspired by the natural world and planet Earth. These include the UK Premiere of Mass for the Endangered, by Sarah Kirkland Snider - performed on Monday 29 July; and The Angry Planet on Thursday 1 August. On the same day, The Friends of Worcester Cathedral will host a coffee morning with the work’s composer, Bob Chilcott, in The Old Palace, next door to Worcester Cathedral.

The festival also features a selection of family concerts and events including The Blackbird and the Whale on Wednesday 31 July - another dive into the natural world. There's also an interactive family concert on Friday 2 August from the Lilliput Duo, who will conjure all kinds of weather with their violins in Singing in the Rain. For families who fancy something a bit more theatrical, local actor and performer Edward Derbyshire (below) interweaves stories from Shakespeare with live piano music on Saturday 3 August, in All the World’s a Stage.

These performance and events only scratch the surface of the musical treats on offer at this year’s festival. There are also a series of informative talks taking place in various venues across Worcester and Malvern, ranging from revelations about composers (including Holst, Stanford and Scarlatti), to local poetry history and Worcester’s Peregrine Falcons, which roost on the Cathedral tower. 

For more information about this year’s festival, and to book tickets, visit 3choirs.org